Local farmer-cooperators in Barangay Parasanon and Barangay Anibongon, Abuyog, Leyte recorded significant harvest results during a full-day crop-cutting activity held on April 1, 2026. The event showcased the effectiveness of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), a climate-resilient methodology that prioritizes wider plant spacing over traditional high-density seedling broadcasting.
The SRI initiative aims to increase agricultural productivity while reducing production costs. The program is designed to help farmers transition toward sustainable, organic-ready farming practices that can better withstand extreme weather conditions.
The activity was conducted by Municipal Agriculture Technician Mr. Joevile Austria, in coordination with farmer-cooperators Erlinda Suan, Leah Francis, Vernoli Lamoste, Alquein Infanso, and Pedro Cuta. Utilizing inbred rice varieties RC 402 and RC 18, the team gathered technical data from 2m x 5m sample plots. The results showed an average plant height of 115 cm and a robust tillering performance of 26 tillers per hill. The harvest yielded an average fresh weight of 5.4 kg at 20% moisture content, marking a successful cropping season for the participants.
Farmer Leah Francis shared her observations on the crop’s resilience. “𝘔𝘢𝘶𝘱𝘢𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘙𝘐 𝘬𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘯 – 𝘚𝘙𝘐 𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘨-𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘶𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯, 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘨-𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘶𝘱𝘢𝘺,” Francis stated.
[SRI is much better compared to non-SRI because our rice weighs heavier now, and even though it was flooded by successive rains, our plants stayed strong and still grew well.]
Farmer-cooperator Vernoli Lamoste also noted that the visible success of the demonstration plots influenced his decision to adopt the method. “𝘕𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘙𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘪 𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘢 𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘢 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘢. 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘨 𝘚𝘙𝘐 𝘱𝘢 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘬𝘰 𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘩𝘢 𝘬𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘮,” Lamoste added.
[I am thankful that I saw the SRI demo here during the first cropping because I was encouraged to test it now. I will continue using SRI next season because I have personally seen the much greater advantages compared to our old system of planting.]
This successful crop-cutting activity in Abuyog demonstrates that low-input, sustainable farming is a viable strategy for increasing local rice yields and improving the livelihoods of farming communities in Leyte.