A Policy paper for the eradication of environmentally harmful farming practices and development of community livelihood in General Natividad,

Llanera and Talavera Nueva Ecija By Jarvis Edmond Cubelo, Nathaniel De Leon, Joie Alphonse Gernimo, Aaron Gabriel Santos, John Marvin Tayabas and Christian Vicedo Introduction The province of Nueva Ecija is called the Rice Granery of the Philippines, primarily because of its massive rice production. It produced roughly 1,313,487 metric tons of palay as of 2011, making it one of the largest rice-producing provinces in the Philippines for many years (Philippine Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, 2011 Nueva Ecija Palay Production). The production of rice is the life blood of the whole province, the practice of farming and cultivating rice is being seen in the province since the Spanish era. Through time, there have been substantial developments in the methods and technologies used in farming in order to make the industry more productive and efficient. As municipalities in province of Nueva Ecija, Talavera, General Natividad and Llanera are in an apt position to pursue the dual objective of this policy and program for Rice Husk solid waste management and promotion of community livelihood. These contiguous municipalities have less financial capabilities than other cities and municipalities in Nueva Ecija which makes it necessary for local cooperation. Moreover, these areas are the rural areas with the greater concentration of famers which makes them fitting of the rationale to be set later. Waste Management Problem with Rice Husk In the production of palay, from planting to harvesting, one key byproduct is the husk derived from removing the rice seed from the rice plant. Given the fact that Nueva Ecija produced 1,313,487 metric tons of rice as of 2011, the husk byproduct of this figure necessarily comes close to the tonnage of palay produced. The problem is not the husks, however, but rather the practices involved in disposing of this deemed-useless byproduct. One of these practices is the burning of the husk of the palay. This is done after the harvesting. Farmers dispose of husks by way of collecting them in huge files in the middle of the farm and incinerating them until they come to ashes. The amount of carbon emissions generated through this farming practice is something that has a direct negative impact on the atmosphere. Furthermore, when done near highways, it even causes several vehicular accidents due to the smoke screen generated by incineration. Given the large palay yield of the province, we can say that the sheer tonnage of the husks burned yearly constitutes not only an environmental hazard (due to the dangerous gases released in incineration), but also a local hazard (the vehicular accidents from the lack of visibility caused by the smoke). Sustainable development is about finding creative and innovative solutions to problems, making something useful out of trash and wastes. It is the thrust of this project to indorse sustainable ways for these agricultural byproducts to be of better use for the people who use them. The best place to implement such projects would be in the municipalities of Nueva Ecija. With the enormous amount of 1

these byproducts found throughout the province, not only would solving the husk problem better the people of the area, but also others surrounding the province or other regions with this similar dilemma. It is important to create inter town programs that can address the issue of the burning of these byproducts. Legal Framework of the Policy and Program The burning of rice husk and straw, although not specifically prohibited by any law is covered by the following statutes available both in national and international jurisprudence. Domestic Jurisprudence It is enshrined in the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines under article two, sections fifteen and sixteen the following: The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health conscious among them (Sec. 15) The State shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature. (Sec. 16) In order to realize the following State Principles an enabling law is required in order to fulfil such aspirations. The most recent Philippine environmental laws that would suffice in the matter of the burning of rice husks and straws would be The Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 and The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. It is declared in The Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 under Section 20 that the State would implement a ban against incineration which is defined: as the burning of municipal, bio-medical and hazardous wastes, which process emits poisonous and toxic fumes. However it is also provided under the same section of the act that traditional burning of substances are not included such as traditional small-scale method of community/neighborhood sanitation "siga", traditional, agricultural, cultural, health, and food preparation and crematoria. Although it has been said explicitly by the Act that the traditional-agricultural method of burning will not be prohibited, it deemed necessary to be regulated which is absent in Local Government Units wherein agriculture is the primary industry. It is further provided by the said Act that the State must establish an inventory list of all sources of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the country and the State shall develop short-term and long-term national government programs on the reduction and elimination of POPs such as dioxins and furans (The Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999, Section 32). The smoke produced in the burning of rice husks and hays are deemed by the authors of this study to fall under the Persistent Organic Pollutants. Agricultural Waste is defined by The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 as: waste generated from planting or harvesting of crops, trimming or pruning of plants and wastes or run2

off materials from farms or fields (Sec 3, a). It is further provided that these agricultural wastes must be properly disposed of the efficiency of composting: that the composting of agricultural wastes, and other compostable materials, including but not limited to garden wastes, shall be encouraged (Sec. 34). Although it may seem that the Act only encourages the composting of agricultural waste and does not explicitly ban the other methods of disposal, the burning of any solid waste is strictly prohibited by the said act which is found under its Penal Provisions: The following acts are prohibited: (3) the open burning of solid waste (Sec. 48, No.3). International Agreements The following are international agreements to which The Philippines adhere to promote and execute Invalid source specified.: 1. Stockholm Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment 2. Rio de Janiero Declaration on Environment and Development (Agenda 21) 3. Vienna Convention on the Protection of the Ozone Layer 4. Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer 5. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 6. Kyoto Protocol to Global Climate Change Convention 7. Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants 8. Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal 9. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna The legal basis for the policy set up to be described at the latter portion is similarly present. The Local Government Code of 1991 provides for the right and capacity of local government to engage in collaborative efforts to address issues and concerns affecting the public. Under these provisions of the local government code, financial inter-local cooperation for the implementation of programs that address their common objectives. These provisions also recognize the participative opportunities available to the barangay units for the implementation of programs for development. BOOK I: GENERAL PROVISIONS TITLE ONE. - BASIC PRINCIPLES CHAPTER 1. - THE CODE, POLICY AND APPLICATION SECTION 3. Operative Principles of Decentralization. - The formulation and implementation of policies and measures on local autonomy shall be guided by the following operative principles:

(f) Local government units may group themselves, consolidate or coordinate their efforts, services, and resources for purposes commonly beneficial to them; (g) The capabilities of local government units, especially the municipalities and Barangays, shall been enhanced by providing them with opportunities to participate actively in the implementation of national programs and projects; Proposed policy and programs for addressing the rice husk disposal problem and development of livelihood opportunities The alternative to the environmentally hazardous method of eliminating rice husk waste in Nueva Ecija demands for inter-local cooperation of all municipalities because an important component of this policy recommendation is the acquisition of an existing technology for public usage and hence the pooling of local funds for a shared purpose. Nevertheless once such technology is acquired it would be clear from here on that the benefits acquired from such technology would assure sustainable development for the target beneficiaries who the citizens of the barangays in which the program will be implemented at the unit level. A. The Rice Husk Gasifier Stove Technology

The reality of environmental degradation due to the excessive consumption of virgin resources is felt globally. This causes problems for countries around the world such as the increase in oil prices. Because of this, different countries have continuously researched on the development of new ways to harness energy or the process of discovering alternative energy sources. This is the very process that led to the creation of the Rice Husk Gas Stove which was developed at the Technology Center of the Department of Agricultural Engineering, College of Agriculture, Central Philippine University in Iloilo City by Engineer Alexis T. Belonio (Belonio, 2005). The overall function process of the rice husk gas stove can be explained by identifying its parts and their functions: 1. Gasifier stove reactor - it is the cylindrical compartment which is the main body of the stove. It is where the rice husk is placed and burned with a limited amount of air. 2. Char collector It is where the char produced from the burnt husk falls. The char can be used as a soil conditioner because of its water absorbent nature. 3. Fan the fan produces the air that is needed for burning in the reactor 4. Burner the burner is the top most part of the rise husk gas stove. It converts the gas produced from the reactor into its final form which is the blue flame that would be used for cooking (Belonio, 2005).

Figure 1 Rice Hull (top Left), Gas stove burner (bottom left) and Belonio Rice Husk Gas stove Here we can see that the gasification process, in which the dry rice husks from the rice mill (agricultural waste) are converted to flammable gas similar to that of a liquefied petroleum gas, significantly reduces the amount of carbon emissions into the atmosphere through its enclosed cylindrical compartment and fan (Belonio, 2005). The benefits derived from such technology primary lie in its cost efficient nature. As a true example of technology for sustainable development it not only eliminates the problem with a waste material but similarly transforms it to a useful material. In such an invention we are able to solve the problem of rice husk disposal and avail ourselves of new opportunities for livelihood. Also, this kind of technology may include complex scientific principles but the manner to operate it is as simple as using a match stick and some papers. Such ease would make it a kind of technology which one can offer to more individuals. Moreover, the burned rice husks which fueled the cooking process can be used as effective fertilizers for the soil. B. Target Beneficiaries of proposed policy and programs

On the question of who will benefit from such technology, the farmers from the rural barangays of Nueva Ecija are the necessary targets. Most of the farmers in the rural areas of Nueva Ecija only have the farming as means for self subsistence. An even greater problem with the absence of job alternatives in the rural areas is that their only means of self subsistence is seasonal and is not always available. Moreover, it is susceptible to extreme weather conditions for their profit will be based on the quantity of their harvest. The farmers will benefit from such government environmental and livelihood program through participating in the barangay cooperatives revenue generating schemes to which the innovation of the rice husk gas stove is to be incorporated. C. Phases of Policy and Program Implementation

1. Contracting with the Rice Husk Gas Stove developer for the rights to reproduce its design This phase of the rice husk waste eradication measure is the most challenging part for it would require the local governments of Talavera, General Natividad and Llanera to contribute financially and equally to for gaining the rights for the reproduction of the said design of Alexis T. Belonio. However, since such reproduction is not to be conducted for the business of selling rice husk gas stoves but rather 5

for the development of the community more tenable and desirable arrangements could be set in the contract or purchase of rights for reproduction. The cost of the patent right share for the developer of the gas stove is to be paid by the three municipalities through equal division. This rests on the idea that the quantity of beneficiaries from each municipality or the amount of available funds from each municipality should not be considered since the subject to be paid is the right for reproduction and not the reproduction costs. Moreover, for the inter-local cooperation to work in this environmental program the division of financial obligations must be equal. 2. Production and Distribution of Rice Husk Gas Stoves to Barangay Cooperatives The production of a single Rice Husk Gas Stove has an estimated cost of P5000 and for it to make a significant contribution to whatever livelihood project of a barangay cooperative, at least three Rice Husk Gas Stoves must be provided to the barangays which are considered to be less urbanized or those barangays which have the highest concentration of farmers. As stated above the objective of this program aside from waste eradication is the development of alternative sources of livelihood for farmers and their families. The production and distribution cost of such rice husk gas stoves should be the sole financial responsibility of each municipality since it holds the administrative capacity to decide for its citizens or in this case to decide how barangays and how many gas may stoves are to be given. This would be mainly dependent on the local funds allocated by the LGU for social welfare and community development programs. The importance of the Barangay Cooperative should, however, be highlighted here since aside from having a systematic for of distribution in develops community cooperation and greater exploration of the revenue generating potentials of the Barangays. 3. Providing business training and seminars per Barangay for livelihood enrichment The third phase is essential in ensuring that the citizens would participate in the environmental project of the government of eliminating rice husk waste as well as the negative effect of its elimination process in our environment. There must be a sufficient incentive or benefit that the citizens would receive if a responsibility would be imposed upon them or if they would be prohibited from doing certain actions. In this case the action prohibited is the incineration of rice husks which is quite convenient for the farmers as compared to what is to be proposed later. However, the benefit lies in the new business opportunity that they will receive from the new policy. It is important that business skill trainings and seminars for marketable good production should be conducted in the Barangays before the no rice husk burning policy is implemented so that the citizens would have both the motivation and commitment to save their rice husks rather than burn them. Once the citizens have identified a marketable good which they can produce with the aid of a rice husk gas stove, the sense of cost efficiency will be understood by the communities and they would be more cooperative in the program.

4. Implementing the No Rice Husk Burning Policy Once all of the aforementioned considerations had been addressed the policy of that absolutely prohibits the burning of the Rice Husk can be implemented. Such policy will serve for the primary purpose of protecting the environment from hazardous practices such as husk incineration. As had been mentioned earlier it can similarly prevent the instances wherein smoke generated from the incineration 6

becomes a hindrance to motorists traversing the roads of Nueva Ecija. To ensure that there would be full compliance with the prohibition the local government unit will similarly create monitoring bodies within different Barangays. Aside from monitoring the compliance with the No Rice Husk Burning Policy, such monitoring bodies comprised of the selected members of the Barangays will similarly serve as the evaluation body of the productivity of the Barangays in relation to their identified business that makes use of the awarded rice husk gas stoves. Such bodies will serve as the linkage of community members with the LGUs with regards to their problems and needs in making their identified businesses more profitable. Moreover, through such monitoring and evaluation bodies the LGUs of General Natividad, Llanera and Talavera will be able to determine whether the Barangays has reached a level of productivity high enough to accommodate a demand for exportation. If such becomes the case, the three Municipalities may further their inter-local cooperation now on the aspect of marketing and exporting.

Implications of the identified Policy and Program in promoting sustainable development From the policy and program provided we have observed that several aspects or objectives of sustainable development had been satisfied. First is environmental protection. It was explicitly explained how the adoption of the no rice husk burning policy contributes to the protection of the atmosphere by reducing the amount of hazardous carbon emissions within Nueva Ecija. Second is the maximization of technology to improve the existing paradigm. Such policy had looked into the potential of a Filipino invention in solving a problem of province in the Philippines. It has looked into the importance by which actors in the society can adopt a more ecological conservationist perspective towards development and this was achieved by such proposal through the conversion of waste materials into practicable and profitable service goods for the citizens. Third is the promotion of human empowerment in the process of sustainable development. This was achieved in the proposal through the linkage between environmental protection and community development that is embedded within the mechanism set in the policy and program. Such policy was able to extend the participation to the people in terms protecting the environment while at the same time giving them opportunities to improve their living conditions through an alternative source of income aside from farming.

Bibliography Belonio, A. (2005). Rice Husk Gas Stove Hand Book. Iloilo: Central University of the Philippines Department of Agricultural Engineering and Environmental Management Colloge of Agriculture. Philippine Bureau of Agricultural Statistics. (2011). Palay and Corn: Volume of Production by Cereal Type, Geolocation, Year and Period, 2011 Nueva Ecija. Retrieved December 7, 2012, from CountrySTAT Philippines: http://countrystat.bas.gov.ph/selection.asp