Farmers go low-tech as fuel prices soar

Rice farmers Rodolfo San Antonio, 60, and his son, JayR, 19, of Victoria town in Laguna province of southern Luzon did the sums: renting a tractor to plow their three-hectare farm would cost P50,000 (US$1,136) for one planting season. However, if they relied on animal power, they would need only P30,000 ($681).

With oil prices reaching new heights, it was an easy choice.

"We decided to buy our own carabao [sub-species of water buffalo]. It will save us money," JayR told IRIN.

On 7 June, they set out for the nearby town of Nagcarlan and bought a nine-month-old carabao. They are about to plough the land for the second harvest this year.

Like the San Antonios, many farmers nationwide have been forced to revert to the carabaos because of high fuel prices. "There is a trend and it's very much linked to the high crude oil prices," said Libertado Cruz, executive director of the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC).

In central Luzon, considered the "rice granary" of the Philippines, farmers are also reverting to carabaos, said Joseph Canlas of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luzon (Alliance of Farmers in Central Luzon). The problem is, compared with Laguna, it is more difficult to find carabaos in the region.

A big majority, or 90 percent, of farmers in central Luzon have long depended on tractors, Canlas said, having sold their carabaos years ago. "It's not easy to recover them now. But if there's a carabao they can use, they are willing to revert," he said.

Shifting back to carabaos is "the inevitable direction because of the oil prices", said former Department of Agriculture chief Salvador Escudero. "It's always an issue of savings."

Offsetting fertiliser costs

The San Antonios' first harvest this year suffered because they were not able to use sufficient fertilisers and insecticide sprays. Operating the rented tractor, which costs P1,700 ($38) to fill up, ate up their capital.

"We only harvested 100 sacks of palay [unhusked rice]. Normally, we harvest up to 300 sacks," JayR said.

For this second planting season, JayR is confident he will not have the same problems. "We can use the money we would have paid for [diesel] to run the tractors to pay for fertilisers and insecticide sprays," JayR said.

Unlike tractors, we don't need to feed the carabaos. You can just leave them in the swamp

Carabaos may take longer than tractors to plow the field, but Cruz and Escudero agree that productivity will not suffer. "Our rice farmers are tending small land areas. It's very suitable to use carabaos," Cruz said. "It's another case if it's as large as the sugarcane farms."

"In the small farms, speed is not so important compared with the need for fertilisers and insecticides," added Escudero. "Productivity is an input output ratio."

Doing away with the tractors is also "sustainable", added Cruz. "We don't have the luxury of non-renewable energy. Somehow there has to be a sustainable system of food production."

"It's a good thing except even carabaos are getting too expensive. They range from P25,000 to P40,000, depending on the province you buy them from," Escudero said.

The San Antonios bought theirs for P25,000 ($568), which is not cheap but JayR said the math was foolproof. The carabao can last up to five years or 10 planting seasons. "Unlike tractors, we don't have to feed the carabaos. You can just leave them in the swamp," JayR said.

JayR is confident that buying their own carabao will pay off come the next harvest in November. "I believe we will be able to recover even the cost of the carabao," he said.

cf/mw