For decades, many rice farmers in Quezon relied on experience, tradition, or advice from fellow farmers when deciding how and when to apply fertilizer. Despite their hard work, many struggled to maximize yields while keeping fertilizer costs under control.
“We would often apply fertilizer 15 days after planting and use only one kind excessively, like urea,” said Elena M. Bautista, 68-year-old farmer from Tiaong, Quezon.
Like many farmers in the province, Bautista relied on traditional fertilizer practices that often led to inefficient nutrient management. Four years ago, PhilRice assessments confirmed the need to strengthen nutrient management support, highlighting the importance of complementing existing flagship programs, such as the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), with science-based interventions.
“RCEF has significantly supported farmers through seeds, machinery, training, and credit assistance. But we found the need to also strengthen technical guidance on nutrient management to help farming communities maximize productivity and sustainability,” PhilRice Los Baños Branch Director Rhemilyn Z. Relado-Sevilla said.
Turning evidence to policy
The team’s work naturally centered on Quezon, where assessments had revealed significant nutrient management challenges among rice farmers. The province’s vast rice area—28,389 ha, the largest in Calabarzon—also made it an ideal place to demonstrate how sciencebased interventions could improve productivity at scale.
Over the next four years, PhilRice Los Baños researchers worked with farmers across nine major riceproducing municipalities to scale integrated nutrient management (INM) practices and generate evidence on their effectiveness under local farming conditions.
By February 2025, the team had gathered enough evidence to move the conversation beyond the field. They presented the cumulative results to DA-Calabarzon and the Provincial Agriculturist, together with a proposed policy resolution supporting the wider adoption of INM across the province.
“We had the data and evidence from years on the ground, so we pushed for policy because we finally had something to stand on,” Relado-Sevilla said.
Rather than simply expressing support, the proposed resolution outlined concrete legislative actions, including banning rice straw burning and requiring nutrient assessments before fertilizer distribution.
Project lead Imelda DG. Olvida said translating science into policy required patience.
“It’s not a one-season or twoseason thing. It goes into the Annual Investment Plan. So the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) was very careful. But once SB members saw the project’s benefit to farmers, they came on board,” she said.
Four municipalities lead the way
According to Dr. Michelle C. Quimbo, component lead, five municipalities have approved the resolution, with four—General Nakar, Infanta, Mauban, and Real—committing explicit budget allocations for INM scaling activities in their 2026 annual budgets.
“Of the remaining four, some have already begun implementing INM practices informally or even without a formal resolution in place. The legislative endorsement is expected to follow as engagement continues,” she said.
At the heart of the INM strategy are decision-support tools that help farmers apply the right nutrients at the right time and in the right amount. These include the Rice Crop Manager, Leaf Color Chart, Minus-One-Element Technique, and Abonong Swak Fertilizer Guides.
From 2021 to 2023, the project established 12 technology demonstration sites that reached 824 farmers. It also achieved a 23.7% technology adoption rate, with farmers adopting at least one INM decision-support tool. Average yield gains ranged from 0.3 to 3 t/ha demonstrating the potential of science-based nutrient management to improve productivity.
Genuine partnerships drive lasting change
Recognizing that each municipality started from different conditions, the project tailored its implementation strategies to local needs rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach.
Beyond technology promotion, the initiative focused on building strong partnerships among local government units, DA-attached agencies, and farm schools. To date, the project has forged nearly 20 collaborations that support the adoption and institutionalization of INM practices.
“We’re not just working with farmers. We’re building policy support from within our areas. We’re engaging local governments to use their own resources in support of sciencebased implementation,” Relado-Sevilla said.
The Quezon experience demonstrates that improving farmers’ nutrient management requires more than providing farm inputs. By combining scientific evidence, farmer engagement, and strong local government support, science-based nutrient management has become more than a research intervention—it is steadily becoming part of local governance, ensuring that farmers receive sustained technical and financial support to produce more rice efficiently and sustainably.
