prsented by Dr. V. Bruce J. Tolentino of International Rice Research Institute during the AFNR Symposium last September 30, 2015

1. Rice farming
in the
Philippines:
some facts and
opportunities
V. Bruce J. Tolentino, Ph.D.
Deputy Director-General
International Rice Research Institute
September 2015

2. Areas
planted
to rice

3. Total Paddy Production
1961 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2012
Rice Production (paddy, million tons)
Philippines 3.9 5.6 7.6 9.9 12.4 15.8 18.0
Thailand 10.2 13.9 17.4 17.2 25.8 31.6 30.6
Vietnam 9.0 10.2 11.6 19.2 32.5 40.0 44.2

4. Population
Country 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2012
PHILIPPINES 36.7 48.1 60.7 76.5 92.3 100.0
VIETNAM 44.9 54.0 67.1 78.8 87.1 88.8
THAILAND 36.9 47.5 54.5 61.4 65.5 64.5

5. 45
50
55
60
65
70
Consumption per capita in kg/person
Thailand = 140 kg
Myanmar = 228 kg
Philippines = 120 kg
Vietnam = 215 kg
We like rice!
Global, per
person = 65 kg

6. Rice consumption by income
group: urban
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5
2000 2003 2006

7. Rice consumption by income
group: rural Philippines
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5
2000 2003 2006

8. Rice: still a “normal good”
in the Philippines
Urban Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5
Rice, 1ST class
& ord.
78.6 93.9 98.9 102.9 107.3
Rice, NFA 13.9 7.1 4.9 2.7 1
Total 92.7 101.1 104 105.8 108.6
Rural Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5
Rice, 1ST class
and ord.
76.15 103 114.3 117.2 120.6
Rice, NFA 12.67 8.8 5.3 2.3 1.9
Total 89.16 112.2 120 120 123
Source: Balagtas, Yorobe and Rejesus

9. 2.4 M Filipino
rice farmers
Average
farm size of
1.14 ha.

10. Changes in rice farming in
the Philippines: Insights
from 50 years of the
IRRI Loop Survey

11. IRRI Loop Survey
•Initiated in 1966, every 4-5
years until 2011-12, 23 rounds;
•Detailed records on rice
production in both wet and dry
seasons.
•The world’s longest survey
series of rice farming and rice
farm families.

12. Downloadable
for free at
www.irri.org
Dataset also
downloadable

13. Central
Luzon
Loop
Survey
• Surveyed farms at specific kilometer posts
along highway “loop” (50th, 100th, 150th etc.)
• Same field surveyed, even when the operator
changes)  Plot-level panel data

14. Land reform: since 1963, speeded up from
1972, then again 1987  # of owner-
cultivators↑
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Land tenure
Mortgaged-in
Borrowed
Share tenant
Leaseholder
Owner

15. Rice Harvested Area, Philippines
0
1
2
3
4
5
1961 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2012
Million Hectares

16. Irrigation dev’t: UPRIIS (1975), Low-lift
pumps (1990s~)  cropping intensity ↑
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
2
1966-67 1970-71 1974-75 1979-80 1982-83 1986-87 1990-91 1994-95 1998-99 2003-04 2007-08 2011-12
Cropping intensity

17. Rice Harvested Area*
1961 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2012
Harvested Rice Area (million ha.)
Philippines 3.2 3.2 3.5 3.3 4.0 4.4 4.7
Thailand 6.1 6.9 9.2 8.8 9.9 12.1 10.8
Vietnam 4.7 4.7 5.6 6.0 7.7 7.5 7.7
* Including double- or triple-cropped irrigated areas

18. Irrigated rice area, 1970s and 2010s
0
20
40
60
80
100
BGD IND MMR VNM PHL IDN CHN
Irrigatedarea(%)
1970s 2010s

19. Diffusion of MVs
Switch to newer MV very
rapid: 70-90% of farmers
w/in 4 years. Very few
hybrid users
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1966 1970 1974 1979 1982 1986 1990 1994 1999 2003 2008 2011
WS
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1967 1971 1975 1980 1987 1991 1995 1998 2004 2007 2012
DS
Hybrid
Mv4
Mv3
Mv2
Mv1
TV
MV2: short duration,
pest and disease
resistant
MV3: MV2+ grain quality
MV4: MV3+tolerance to
environmental stress

21. Adoption of MVs, 1975-2010
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
BGD IND MMR VNM PHL IDN THA CHN JPN
AreaunderMV(%)
1975 2010

22. Fertilizer price and use
• Introduction of MV  fertilizer demand
•  fertilizer use ↑ (regardless of p↑)
• N use in 1980s close to recommended level
N Price, WS NPK application, WS

23. Fertilizer (NPK) use, 1970-2009
0
100
200
300
400
IND VNM PHL THA CHN JPN
Fertilizeruse(kg/hacropland)
1970 2009

24. Insecticide use
Education campaigns & IPM  reduction of
insecticide use
Direct seeding since 80s  increasing herbicide
use
(kg active ingredients per ha)

25. Maintaining low
insecticide use
• Philippines farms use the lowest amount
than other countries: Thai, Vietnam,
Indonesia, and China;
• New varieties released since 1997 have
less resistance to pests and diseases
(Laborte et. al, 2015);
• Should resistance traits again be added
to future varieties? Are there alternative
approaches to pest management?

26. Yield growth over 5 decades
Yields more than doubled. DS yields steadily
increased. WS yields plateaued at 4 t/ha.

27. Rice paddy yields
1961 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2012
Rice Yield (average, ton/ha)
Philippines 1.2 1.7 2.2 3.0 3.1 3.6 3.8
Thailand 1.7 2.0 1.9 2.0 2.6 2.9 2.8
Vietnam 1.9 2.2 2.1 3.2 4.2 5.3 5.7

28. 1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
1970 1973 1976 1979 1982 1985 1988 1991 1994 1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012
3.9%
2.1%
0.8%
Source: BAS, 2013
Rice Yield Growth, Philippines

29. Small scale mechanization
Small scale mechanization has proceeded rapidly.
Carabaos still useful sides and corners of fields
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Land preparation: WS
Rotavator
Large tractor (4W)
Power tiller (2W)
Animal
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Threshing: WS
Big thresher
Small
thresher
Manual
threshing

30. DS farm labor over time
MV is labor using for
crop care.  Labor
use increased Mechanization, direct
seeding (in DS only),
short duration MVs
Substitute hired
“porcientuhan”
labor for more
expensive family
labor

31. Declining real paddy price
• Net rice buyers (marginal farmers and
urbanites) are the beneficiaries of GR.
Real
2012
price

32. SWS
Philippines domestic rice price
Thailand domestic rice price
Monthly rice price index: PH vs Thai rice, 2000-14

33. Changes in farm profit
• Declining profit in WS, almost zero in 2000s.
• Maintained profit in DS.
Real price
at 2012

34. Stagnant WS yield
WS yields plateaued at 4 t/ha. Kajisa (2015):
major reason is flood, a man-made disaster.

35. Poultry farm blocks water flow
Highway blocks water flow
Man-made floods?
Central Luzon flooding is very site-specific.
Irrigation vs. flood control?

36. Reducing losses
due to floods
WS flooding is worsening:
•A man-made disaster? Flooded
areas in patches, seriousness varies
by location.
•What is best approach? Breeding or
engineering?

37. Submarino rice survives
17 to 21 days of flooding
Samba-Sub1
Samba
Samba-Sub1
IR64-Sub1
IR49830 (Sub1)
IR64
IR42
IR64
IR64-Sub1
Samba-Sub1
IR49830 (Sub1)
Samba
IR64
IR64-Sub1
IR49830 (Sub1)
IR42
IR64-Sub1
IR64
IR49830 (Sub1)
IR49830 (Sub1)
IR42
Samba
IR42
Samba

38. Factors behind profit changes
Gross revenue
• DS: Paddy market price ↓ < Yield ↑ 
Revenue ↑
• WS: Paddy market price ↓ > Yield -- 
Revenue ↓
Total costs
• Total cost stable (both DS and WS);
• Farmers have substituted less expensive
inputs (hired labor) for more expensive
inputs (family labor).

39. Schooling has improved
Average schooling: 5 years in 1966, 9 in 2011;
Increasing number of HS and college graduates
among younger farmers.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1966-67 1970-71 1974-75 1979-80 1982-83 1986-87 1990-91 1994-95 1998-99 2003-04 2007-08 2011-12
College
High
school
Elementary
No
education

40. Changes in income sources
Rice farming has become just a side business.
The family farm now managed by family member, with
aged parent remaining in HH.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
Other sources (rentals, etc.)
Remittances
Off-farm employment
Livestock and poultry
Nonrice crop
Rice

41. Rural aging (1979-2011)
1979:
average
age of
farm
operator:
43
Young exit to industrial, service sectors;
Current rural pyramid looks like those in DCs.
2011:
average
age of
farm
operator:
59

42. Increasing % of
female-headed farm HH
1966-
67
1970-
71
1974-
75
1979-
80
1982-
83
1986-
87
1990-
91
1994-
95
1998-
99
2003-
04
2007-
08
2011-
12
Male 100 100 98 99 99 98 96 94 89 85 87 81
Fe-
male
2 1 1 2 4 6 11 15 13 19
Possible key factors:
• Death of husband
• Sons are working in non-farm sectors.

43. Obstacles to improved
productivity
• Prolonged land reform inactive land
rental market little land consolidation 
weaker adoption of improved seeds,
technology, mechanization  dormancy or
decline in productivity;
• Land improvement constrained  Rolling
landscape, soft soils, and small plots 
difficult to operate combine harvesters 
location specific diffusion.

44. Labor inefficiencies
Outsourcing of farm labor may
increase inefficiency:
• Frequent replacement of labor;
• New laborers increasingly less
skilled and unfamiliar with specific
agro-ecological characteristics of
the farms they work upon.