For reasons of ecology and culture, our smallholder agriculture is dominated by two crops rice in the fertile valleys and alluvial plains and coconut in the uplands and slopes.
For reasons of ecology and culture, our smallholder agriculture is dominated by two crops rice in the fertile valleys and alluvial plains and coconut in the uplands and slopes.
Rice is our staple food which we share culturally with most of our Asian neighbors in the humid tropics and subtropics. We grow rice because during the wet monsoon season, the valleys and plains are partially flooded and will only support semi-aquatic plants like rice.
For the hills and slope lands, deep-rooted perennial trees like coconut are ideal to make up for lack of water during the dry season and for soil and water conservation. The slope lands are prone to soil erosion and it is best that the soil is protected from erosive rain drops by a permanent canopy.
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