Help, 1! Cover Crops To Produce The New Rich Rice Farmer, To Help Him Raise Rice Right!

Correct me if I am wrong, but our PH government is not directly helping our farmers rise from poverty and stay up there! No such plans that I know. And my alma mater, UP Los Baños, neither has plans nor programs nor studies on how to produce rich farmers out of poor farmers! It’s not that they don’t know how – it’s that they are not paying attention! Of course, UP Los Baños knows about most if not all of the 13 practices in Regenerative Agriculture that I listed previously (see my 29 Aug 2024 article, “Help! Only Then Can Hope Be Coming To The Farmers. Help!,” Regenerative Agriculture, blogspot.com). How can I, an alumnus, explain the lack of attention of my alma mater to farming practices that are low-costs-high-returns? Don’t ask me – ask them!

Our farmers will rise from poverty if their earnings are great! That is, their costs are low and their returns are high – I don’t knw of any government official concerned about raising the standard of earnings of Filipino farmers, and that’s a shame!

So, I have come up with this new blog of mine, “Regenerative Agriculture, 13” to discuss 13 ways that farmers can decrease their costs and at the same time increase their returns:
(“Help!” image from somebodystolemythunder.blogspot.com)

I have already listed the 13 farming practices that require low costs but result in high returns (see my article, “Help! Only Then Can Hope Be Coming To The Farmers. Help!” (29 Aug 2024, Regenerative Agriculture, blogspot.com).

This article is all about cover cropping. (image from Gardening ABC, gardening-abc.com)

Asia Farming says, “Cover crops are grown between cash crops to improve soil health, reduce erosion, and provide other benefits” (Asia Farming, asiafarming.com).

Here is from IRRI (undated, Rice Knowledge Bank, knowledgebank.irri.org):

Cover Crops Or Green Manure Are Organic Nutrient Sources

Green manuring with legumes involves (1) growing the plants, then (2) slashing the crop and (3) leaving it on the soil surface.

Leaving the crop on the soil surface has additional benefits, as it also reduces soil erosion and conserves soil moisture.

The following are common cover crops: Sesbania, Azolla, and other legumes.

Sesbania is a fast-growing legume with nitrogen-fixing nodules on its stem and roots. It is commonly used as a green manure crop to add nitrogen and organic matter to the soil.

The organic matter and nitrogen produced by Sesbania help improve the soil and subsequent crop growth. Under some circumstances, growing green manures is a cheaper and renewable source of N, especially when inadequate infrastructure and transport mean that other sources of nutrients (e.g., fertilizer) are expensive or not delivered on time.

It takes about 40-60 days for Sesbania to grow.

There is absolutely no mention of “cover cropping” in the website of PhilRice – https://www.philrice.gov.ph/!!! Why is that? PhilRice came into being almost 40 years ago via Executive Order (EO 1061) signed by Pres Ferdinand “FM” Marcos on 05 Nov 1985 (PhilRice, philrice.gov.ph).

Wake up, PhilRice! Help us produce The New Rich Rice Farmers!@517