Soil conservation--and profitable farming [editorial]

Title

Language

English

Year

1946

Subject

Soil conservation—Philippines.

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

There is now a widespread talk about soil conservation. Be fore the war, the government started giving aid toward soil conservation by a ing liberal sums of money for the organization of soil survey activities. Then it started propagating information on soil fertility conservation through green manuring and fertilizer application. ‘To prevent soil erosion it started soil conservation through the help of terracing. The fundamental basis of soil conservation has been laid down since liberation. Serious attention has been given by the government to soil conservation and the soil conservation office has been one of the government offices that was early organized. Its offices are now active in the field helping farmers to undertake soil conservation through terracing and planting legumes.

Fulltext

~·=E D=l=T O=R=I A=L~l Soil Conservation---And Profitable Farming There is nnw a wide,prcad talk about soil <:on'n'·,1tion. Be· fore the war. the go\·crnment 'tarted gi,·ing aid tnward ;oil t·11n,:t:r. \'ation by appropriating liberal rnms of money tor thc or_g.111i1.:1· tion of soil sur\·cy activities. Then it startcd propag:lttng i11 formation on soil fertility cnnscrvation through grcl'n 111:1nuri11_g a11d fcrtilizn ;1pplicttio11. To prcn:nt soil erosion it ,:tarted ,;oil tt>llscn·ation thrnugh the help of terracin,g. Thc fundamc11tal ba,;i,: of soil ron,;cn·ation has been Ltid do\\·n sinre liberation. Seriou-' attention has been given_ by the government to soil con,:cn·ation and the mil cnnscrvation offire has been one oi the govcrn111e11t of fire:- that was eariy organized. 1 t' oflircs arc nm,· active i 11 the field helping farmers to undertake soil romcn·at1tlll through terracin_g and planting legumes. This is a \·cry fundamental service if the prc,:e11t _ge11n:1tio11 is to save soil for posterity. But to make soil conservation program attractive to farmer' there is still a major adjustment neccssan· in the "'"tl'ln nl produ,._ tim:. The cost of terr.acing :rnci pL111ti;1g legun1e,; 111u,:t be pa id for by the farming system to be established 011 terraced la11d. Frt1m _time immemorial the rice farmers have practiced tnrari11_g tn a degree not cn:n approached in quality and e.\tcnt by :HJ\ ,:oil co11:sen·ation project in any country. The l3anauc terrace> nr the .lgorots arc \\'orld renown as great cngincerin.~ frat,;. But thiis only a small project compared to rice terrace,; :ill m·er thc Philippines. The rice terraces of Rizal, Bulacan, B:it:1nga,;, lhta:111. Zam bales. Tar lac, and Pampanga arc equa 11 y admi ra bk a' engineering achievements. But because the system or farming pral·· ticed on them is. invariably palay planting. the hrmn,; haH not attained a stanciard of living comparable with dairy farmers or other lands. ?\lcrely terracing the land and planting legume,; \\'i 11 1101 make terracing pay nor improve our farming enterpri,;cs. 'Vhat is necessary is to develop a scheme of farmi11.~ \\'hich will make the terraced lands render great i111.:ome to the iarmcrs. ''\'e point to a farming system with a combination of fruit trees, dairy rnttle. "hogs, and pnultry for the rolling lands and a limited palay in the flat lanrls. The farming system that utilizes the cow that .~ivc;; the manure, that fertilizes the soil, that makes the grass gro\\', that feeds the cow, complimented with the terra1.:ing of land and the rotation of crops is the most effective method of soil 1.:111m:rvatio11 and maintaining soil fcrtilitv. Soil 1.:onscrvation proje~ts deserve every help anrl ent·ouragcment but the development of a system of lucrative farming 011 . lands under soil conservation is an imperative 11c1.:cssicy. The goYernment should play its leadership in this direction in a prartirnl way by showing the farmers what is the proper "ystcm and how ·to establish it on their farms. The time to assert this leadership is now. 20 PARTNERS WE ARE FARMING & COOPERATIVES promotes better and profitable agriculture thereby increasing the buying power of rural folk. Business men must show where they should buy. --------·-------INDEX OF ADVERTISERS (ALPHABETICAL LIST) Pages Certcza Surveying 2 Dee C. Chuan & Sons . . . . . 6 Frisco Bakery . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Lee Tay & Lee Chay, Inc ... 19 Magdalena Estate, Inc. . . . . 18 Professionals' Directory . . . 16 P. P. Gocheco & Co., Inc. . . . 13 Phil. Chin. Gen. Cham. Com. 6 Riverview Hospital . . . . . . . 7 R"dio Brokerage Vicente Gotamco i 5 l'11Mi.•ha: P1111.1p1•1~1: F \R~IERS .-\~:mct.\TIOS .\'111jf: 1111.\J.1.IOS S. S11 .. \Y.\S, Editor; R. R. .-\K.\~.\. ~bna:.:ing Editor ancl Bu:"ine!'~ i\l11nagn; L ni: S \ST05, .'ls.rl. 1\lmwgi,,9 Ediror; J 1-::;us :\. ZAC.\Rt.\!\, .:\chertisinr:: Director. t.,/1/ol'i11/ 1111.I B1ui11n.t Uj{ra: lt"!5; .\rlq.!ui, :\lanib. P. I. S11/iJ1 rip1io11 N.111t.··: Unc..· ~-t"a r lblf year P6.00 3.00 1·.ntt·rtd a~ ~cconcl cl:1~:' mauer :it the ~·lanila Po:->I Office on Dec. H, 19..JS. r .. -··-··-··-··-··-··-.. -·._,._,,_,,_, .. _i i Make Use of !. : I I . l Farming I j ! : I ! and i J ' I ! 1 Cooperatives 1 l I j as your Advertising ,! j ! i Medium! ! l,,_,._,,_,,_.,_,,_,,_.,_••-•-•-u-H-J

Media