From Rice to Vegetable Terraces: Agricultural Transition and Sustainability in Western Ifugao, Philippines

Abstract

In western Ifugao, traditional agricultural land uses, including rice terraces, were sustained for centuries, only to be recently converted into vegetable landscapes. Through a historical landscape analysis supported by ethnographic research methods such as participatory observation and interviews, this paper describes the agricultural transition of the Kalanguya Indigenous Peoples (IPs) occupying Tinoc, in Ifugao Province. Irrigated rice cultivation in this high-altitude part of Ifugao is carried out more for its cultural significance than for food security. As the area gradually opened up and became connected with the mainstream economy, rice was increasingly outsourced and the rice terraces were gradually replaced with temperate vegetable cultivation. The temperate climate made the area marginal land for rice but prime agricultural land for temperate vegetables. Extensive rice terraces and formerly swidden farms and forests were transformed into “vegetable terraces.” Despite its climatic suitability and income potential, the transition to vegetable farming has had negative ecological and sociocultural consequences. Possible pathways to local sustainability are discussed following the concept of ecological intensification.