System of Rice Intensification

SRI or System Intensification of Rice is a methodology for increasing the productivity of irrigated rice cultivation by changing the management of plants, soil, water and nutrients. SRI practices lead to healthier, more productive soil and plants by supporting greater root growth and by nurturing the abundance and diversity of soil organisms. The agroecological principles that contribute to SRI effectiveness have good scientific bases. SRI concepts and methods have been successfully adapted to upland unirrigated rice, and they are now being extrapolated to other crops like millet, wheat and sugar cane.

SRI does not require the purchase of new seeds or the use of new high-yielding varieties. Although the highest yields with SRI have been obtained from improved varieties, most traditional or local varieties of rice respond well to SRI practices and command a higher market price. And while chemical fertilizer and agrochemicals can be applied with SRI, their use is not required as organic materials (compost, manure or any decomposed vegetation) can give good or even better results at low cost. Farmers report that when SRI methods are used correctly, rice plants are better able to resist damage from pests and diseases, reducing or eliminating need for agrochemical protection.

Because plant populations are greatly reduced with SRI, seed costs are cut by 80-90%, and because paddy fields are not kept continuously flooded, there are water savings of 25 to 50%, a major benefit in many places. However, cessation of flooding means that increased weeding is required. If this is done with soil-aerating implements like a rotating hoe, this cost has a benefit of enhanced crop production.

for more info: http://ciifad.cornell.edu

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Solid Waste Management Project

COMMUNITY– DRIVEN INITIATIVE ON IMPLEMENTING INTEGRATED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

CLARO C. DEGUIT

RATIONALE:

1. The recent over-riding concern and imperative of the producing and the consuming public to address the garbage and rubbish administration problems.
2. The ever-increasing trend of the Solid Wastes volume brought about by the intensifying production and economic activities in the urban and rural areas.
3. The imminent danger and the reality of potential hazards to human health and environment resulting from the improper solid wastes disposal and management.
4. The continued degradation of the agricultural lands due to mismanagement and improper utilization of the agricultural waste materials generated out of the production activities.
5. The great danger of contamination of community water sources and supply due to the leachate produced in the dumping site/areas when the solid waste materials are undergoing decomposition.
6. The lack or absence of discipline and the indifferent attitudes on the part of community residents, farming and producing communities towards solid waste prevention, generation, control and reduction, recovery and disposal.
7. Lack or absence of a collaborative mechanism to ensure active participation of the community residents in the over-all administration of Solid Waste Management.
8. On going effort of the LGUs to execute and implement RA 9003 and other legislated environmental laws aimed at effecting proper Solid Waste Management.
9. The pressing concern of global warming brought about by agricultural production practices and lifestyle resulting to massive emission of methane and carbon-dioxide. read more
   

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Solid Waste Management Project


THE PROJECT GOAL

The Project envisioned to establish and operates an effective and efficient community –driven Ecological and Integrated Solid Waste Management mechanism and systems in the target Municipalities/Barangays with the constituents taking it as the free exercise of their fundamental responsibility in the context of pursuing community resource conservation, environment protection, health enhancement and sustainable development.


THE PROJECT OBJECTIVES:

1. To minimize and reduce solid wastes generation at the source level as well as the cost of collection.
2. To maximize the generated volume of Municipal and agricultural solid waste materials for the agricultural production uses, thereby providing the farmers with an alternative inputs, reduce production costs and increase farm yields and household income.
3. To promote and provide additional source of livelihood to the residents and farming households through their direct involvement in the processes of solid wastes recovery, recycling, processing and to its immediate utilization.
4. To install in to the partner communities up to t he households level a workable Solid Waste Management System and Mechanism that is facilitative of attaining a clean, safe and health-enhancing environment.
5. To push for the activation of the law mandated bodies tasked to take charge on Solid Waste Management.
6. To facilitate the institutionalization of public/peoples participation in the development and implementation the community integrated, comprehensive and ecological solid waste management program/plan.
7. To develop the discipline and attitudes of the community residents toward solid waste generation prevention and control, storage and recovery, processing and disposal.
8. To assist in the review and enforcement of the legislated laws for the effective and efficient implementation of Solid Waste Management Program.

THE STAKEHOLDERS:

The Project shall primarily involve the following:

1. The farming households in the target agricultural communities
2. The players/operators in the trading and marketing centers in the target communities.
3. Rural industries, farm workers and operators.
4. The Civil Societies operating in the Area
5. The Respective LGUs concerned.

The immediate target areas and groups to be engaged shall depend on the existing efforts and priority areas of the LGUs and the concerned NGOs/RDIs.

STRATEGIES AND PROGRAM COMPONENTS

General Approach:

PROCESS- KEEN AND PARTICIPATORY APPROACH TO ECOLOGICAL AND INTEGRATED SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Action Program Components:

To effectively and efficiently implement Solid Waste Management Campaign Program, operation of the following components and sub-components are highly recommended and be taken cared of:

A. EDUCATION AND VALUES CLARIFICATION

1. Situation and Problems appreciation
2. Values and Cultural clarification
3. Health and Sanitation
4. Relevant laws and legislations
5. SWM Orientation and Program Unification
6. Facilitation of Education Tour on SWM

B. SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDING AND STRENGTHENING

1. Inventory and activation of existing people’s organization
2. Possible formation of needed community organizations
3. Clustering of areas and organizations
4. Multi-Sectoral and Community consultations
5. Task Forces and Technical Teams Creation

C. TECHNICAL AND PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS

1. Technical knowledge and skills on proper physical administration and handling of solid and toxic/hazardous wastes – from generation to recovery.
2. Setting up of needed facilities/equipment for Wastes segregation and recovery at source. Specific guidelines on storing segregated wastes shall be defined.
3. Setting up of the Systems and Mechanics on Wastes Collection and Transport from source to City/Municipal Solid Wastes Management and Disposal Site. Likewise, specific guideline on collection at source shall be formulated.
4. Building construction and installation of physical facilities and equipment required for the recovery of solid materials, processing and composting of degradable materials, disposals of non-degradable materials and hazardous wastes at the WMD Site. The design and lay out would be based on set Wastes Management Process Flow.
5. For the farming barangays, a community composting site and MRFs can be set up separately to facilitate income of the brgy out of the recovered materials. This is optional.
6. Setting up of operating structures that would ensure smooth flow of Wastes from the source up to the WMD site.

D. PUBLIC ADVOCACY SUPPORT, COOPERATION AND ENFORCEMENT

1. Promotion of SWM principles, practices and discipline into a way of life. ( LGU Officials and NGO Personnel setting as models)
2. Public legislation, local ordinance formulation relative to SWM.
3. Definition of penalties and fines for any violations of the defined and unified SWM laws and ordinances.
4. Publication of SWM Primers and placing of Bill Boards in strategic and conspicuous areas.
5. Creation of Advocacy and Enforcement bodies and the mobilization of the existing Local and Law mandated enforcement bodies.

E. UTILIZATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF PROCESSED WASTES

1. An authorized group or PO/Coop shall be designated to operate and administer the processing and distribution of the processed wastes.
2. A reasonable sharing scheme would be defined to apportion among the stakeholders the benefits and proceeds out of the sales/disposals of the processed wastes.
3. Capability and skills training shall be given to the designated Coop/PO for it to effectively and efficiently administer the waste recovery and processing as well as the distribution/marketing of the processed wastes.
4. Assisting the Coop in promoting, locating and coordinating the possible buyers/users of the processed waste.
5. Creation of Tripartite Monitoring and Consultative Body on the WM at Site.

ON PROJECT ADMINISTRATION

The Solid Waste Management Project implementation shall take to consider and carry the following management functions:

ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE AND OPERATING UNITS

1. Activation of the mandated City/Municipal Solid Waste Management Board as policy making body.
2. Creation of City/Municipal Executive Committee and needed Technical Teams as implementing bodies and operating units.
3. Creation of SWM Districts/Brgy Cluster Units to facilitate and ensure SWM program implementation, monitoring and coordination.
4. Creation of SWM Committees at the Brgy level under BDC to ensure SWM Program direct operation.
5. Household Clustering for program/project cooperation, enforcement and monitoring within the parameters of Purok operation.

PROJECT POLICIES, SYSTEMS and PROCEDURES

1. Definition of Tasks, Functions and Responsibilities of all the operating bodies/units.
2. Policies and guidelines on workers hiring including job specification and compensation package.
3. Formulation of MOA among the stakeholders involve in the decisive implementation of SWM Project.
4. Formulation of the SWM Project Operation Manual – detailed
5. Institutionalization of local ordinances relative to SWM operation including the definition of offenses and the corresponding penalties, fine and rewards scheme.

FINANCE, LOGISTICS, TECHNICAL AND PERSONNEL SUPPORT

1. Mobilization of the available and allocated resources from the LGUs and Line Agencies concerned.
2. Tapping and mobilizing the technical expertise from the different GLAs.
3. Tapping the personnel and technical support of the NGOs operating in the area.
4. Mobilization of resources from the households and the different establishments operating in the area.
5. Maximization of the finance generated out of the proceeds from recovered and processed wastes.
6. Collection fees may be collected from the wastes generators at all levels
7. Ensure collection of fines to all generators that committed violations.
   

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION AND OPEARATION PROCESS

In achieving common goal and objectives, full support and cooperation among the community constituents concern is a must. However, constituents support and cooperation could only be possible, provided, the Stakeholdership Spirit is cultivated and developed among them. People give so much concern and value on the things that they themselves own. In this case, the people of Ormoc City should be claiming that the Integrated Ecological Solid Waste Management Project to be implemented is THEIR’S.

Following this premise, to ensure people’s participation and commitment, it is highly suggested that the project shall be implemented in a process-keen and participatory approach. This will be done in the entire project cycle such as the components identified below:

1. Planning process – this generally involves steps on Situation Analysis and Problems identification, Goal Setting and Action Projects Identification and Strategy/Approach Formulation. This will be done through the community processes.
2. Implementation process – this is putting into motion the defined and unified goals and action projects/activities in the Planning process. All activities will be done deliberately and voluntarily by the stakeholders of the project.
3. Monitoring and Troubleshooting – this is to provide periodic and timely guidance and supervision on the project and immediately resolve problems that will be encountered in the implementation process. Monitoring and feed backing mechanism will be put in place down to the community level.
4. Evaluation and Review Planning Sessions – this is to determine the level of accomplishments attained by the project and identify limitations of the project and define what needs to be done in the next operation period. This can be done semi-annually and at the end of the year. The processing shall commence from the community level.

Short-term and long-term plans can be formulated and be divided into sub-time frame with focus outputs distributed into implementation phases.

To work on these processes cited in this paper, a Tactical Technical Working Group can be formed and functions until the required working mechanisms are put in place. MORE POWER TO EVERYONE! ! !

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The Story of Creation

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