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Indigenous seed selection

By DAISY AKYAOAN, GUEST COLUMNIST

QUIRINO, Ilocos Sur – Lamag village of this highland municipality is populated by 586 people or 106 households. Almost all of them are farmers.

With its land area of 4,905.7161 hectares, 4,282.668 hectares or 87 percent is forest land, both communal and clan owned while 235.5518 hectares or 5 percent is classified as agricultural land. The other remaining hectares are for other land use.

The land is very fertile supplied by the continuous waters from the mighty Balas-iyan River, which originates from Besao, Mountain Province. The river is still fresh and unpolluted unlike the nearby Abra River, which is already polluted with the mine wastes dumped upstream.

Rice and fruits are the common products in these areas. In fact Lamag is considered one of the rice producers in the Ilocos province. Lamag’s rice production includes indigenous rice varieties.

In their rice production, the Ilamag people utilize two planting seasons in their rice fields in Tabbac, also in Quirino town. The first season is from January to June while the second season is August to December. During these seasons, the people plant both indigenous and non-indigenous rice varieties.

Among the indigenous rice varieties planted are the ngarabngab, baay, and ingtan. The ngarabngab is among the remaining rice varieties presently produced. I witnessed that due to its delicious taste, ngarabngab can be eaten even without any viand.

There are newly introduced “high yielding varieties” (HYV) which include the C-4. These varieties need commercial inputs for a better yield, residents claim.

The villagers also have legumes, mostly indigenous varieties, in their agricultural lands.

The Ilamags are proud of their indigenous rice and legume varieties. A farming village since their ancestors established their village, Lamag has systems of indigenous seed selection – whether on rice or legumes. People are sensitive and can determine quality seeds.

The villagers interviewed claim that the person involved in seed selection goes to the fields in the morning. There, they identify and choose the seeds that may be taken and kept for future planting. The seeds should be clean and robust.

Villagers identify plants attacked by pests and exclude these from seeds that may be planted in the future. They claim that there are seeds that appear good but in fact are empty when pressed. These are usually discarded during seed selection.

Among the villagers I interviewed, they said that it is usually the women who are involved or tasked in seed selection. They said that men are busy with other labor-intensive jobs like fixing the kabiti or stonewalls, and tilling the land among others.

The Ilamags have a system of seed preservation. The selected seeds are sun dried regularly in order to protect them against moist that will lead to the decay. During rainy season, the women hang the seeds over their cooking area where the heat of the fire will ensure dryness. If these are fully dried, they are kept well either in a container or sack and are stored in an elevated dry place like their granaries or ceiling.

The interviewed women claim, however, that there are seeds that are by nature needing immediate sowing. This they must do else the seeds will be destroyed and might lead to the loss of the variety.

The Ilamag people still practice seed selection, preservation, and storage. They admit however that some of their varieties have already been lost due to the introduction of HYV. They are careful in adopting these commercial varieties due to the effects of the inputs on the land. This is one way of nurturing their still fertile land. This sustainable development concept ensures the nutrients for the next tiller of the land. #

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