Domoguen: Icrisat offers help to restore Mt. Province soil back to health

AT THEIR headquarters in Hyderabad, India, scientists at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) scan the internet to appraise themselves with current international developments that relate with their work.

Clicking at the Sun Star online website, KB Saxena and his assistant, Dr. Myer Mula read about the farm soils in Mountain Province being very sick. They clicked me right away with a message expressing their willingness to help the local farmers restore their farm soils back to health.

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In our follow-up internet exchanges, Dr. Mula said that “since pigeonpea functions as a soil ameliorant, we suggest that pigeonpea be planted and used to restore the fertility level of the soil without disrupting the cropping system. This is done by intercropping pigeonpea in orchards (i.e. citrus banana, pineapple). For vegetable farming, aside from intercropping, we can also do relay cropping by sowing 1 month before harvesting the main crop. We can use the early duration type of pigeonpea for this purpose,” he said.

Readers of this column who need more information on the many uses of pigeonpea can refer to our article on this same topic published by Sun Star Baguio some three weeks ago. It is still available for your reading pleasure at the Baguio Sun Star website.

In the case of Mountain Province, using pigeonpea as a soil ameliorant may yet generate multiple blessings to marginal farmers and local residents as well. On a nationwide scale, past government surveys rated Mountain Province in the top ten in terms of malnutrition and hunger. The surveys indicate that even people who seem to be very robust have hidden health and hunger problems. The eating of much rice, meat and some other food failed to satisfy the requirements of good nutrition and health.

In this aspect, pigeonpea as a food crop may also help restore or enhance the people’s health.

Pigeonpea yields good food rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. For the local folks, it’s a good intervention crop to address human malnutrition problems and sick farm soil.

Through their pigeonpea program, Icrisat helped marginal communities throughout the globe address agricultural production problems food security and even natural resources restoration and management concerns. Countries such as India, Myanmar to as far as Australia and South America plant Icrisat developed pigeonpea varieties to address soil health problems, soil erosion, food security, and livelihood.

In China, Icrisat and the government jointly implemented a pigeonpea program that helped in emerging this country as a major pigeonpea producer. China even now uses the pigeonpea to control erosion in its highways and along mountain slopes.

Some farmers in Mountain Province have been clearing or burning the forest to plant pigeonpea landraces or native varieties. Such local practices or understanding needs improvement. The use of new technologies and varieties to fit into local conditions and needs is where Icrisat’s expertise, in collaboration with local scientists, local government units and the Department of Agriculture (DA) can come in.

What is needed to pursue this proposition to its desired end? “Foremost is the interest and willingness of the beneficiaries to do their part. A proposal has to be prepared then probably they (whoever is the responsible institute) would invite us for a meeting cum workshop to plan out the project,” Dr. Mula said.

At present, BSU is responsible in conducting research on pigeonpea for relay cropping on vegetable, soil erosion mechanism and product development through a PCARRD, Icrisat and SUCs funded project.

The realization of a Mountain Province pigeonpea project can “be the window in up scaling pigeonpea in the Cordillera region,” Dr. Mula said. Thus far, and I hope the right response will come through for the realization of this proposition for the benefit of the people and the region as a whole.