Celebrating the life of Fr. Mark Ventura

Human rights, indigenous rights and environmental integrity were the advocacies of Fr. Mark Ventura, a Catholic priest who was shot dead earlier this month while blessing children after Sunday mass. His death’s investigation is still pending, yet his activism against mining interests are a likely reason vested interests would want to off him.

I accompanied the contingency of Episcopal priests who traveled to Tuguegaerao to attend the ecumenical service the following Sunday. Speakers praised Fr. Ventura’s life work of attending to the most marginalized communities in the Cagayan Valley and advocating for their rights and wellbeing in the face of mining companies.

Fr. Ventura’s murder fits into a larger picture of targeting environmental and human rights activists. Four months prior, another activist Catholic priest was assassinated. Last year, a vocal bishop was detained as a political prisoner. The government released a list of 600 names of ‘suspected terrorists’ including NGO workers and even UN special rapporteur and human rights advocate, Vicki Tauli-Corpuz. On top of that, the number of extra-judicial killings under the Duterte administration has reached 14,000.

“This administration has gone on for too long allowing extra-judicial killings in the name of anti-drug and anti-terrorist activities,” one priest emphatically pronounced.

Referring to Fr. Ventura’s enemies, another clergy leader raised a good point: “if these people will kill an ordained servant in Christ’s church, then we can be certain they will not hesitate to disregard the rights of the most marginalized among us.”

Inspiring the packed room of family, friends and supporters of Fr. Ventura’s cause, Bishop Wandag of the Episcopal Diocese of Santiago remarked that although Fr. Mark Ventura was killed, his life’s work will not die. The people will not be deterred by intimidation and continue to advocate for community rights and wellbeing.

On the other hand, President Duterte, attempting to discredit the belief that this assassination is related to Fr. Ventura’s activism, has accused the priest of being a womanizer. He even presented a matrix of women he’s accusing the Catholic priest of sleeping with, although previous matrices of his have been found incorrect.

The community is still seeking justice for their beloved priest. Meanwhile, NGOs and communities are still organizing to continue Fr. Mark Ventura’s legacy, championing indigenous rights, sustaining creation and the wellbeing of communities over pollution-related profits.

Why farm sustainably?

Last August before returning to the US, three of us from the E-CARE office in Santiago traveled to San Mateo, Isabela to attend the Phillipine Rice Research Institute’s (PhilRice) Farmer Training School, and to present on how rice cultivation contributes to climate change.

The week prior, we had dropped by PhilRice’s local office to share with them our project idea and talk about alternate wetting and drying (AWD), a sustainable irrigation technique. They were supportive of our initiative and praised AWD for its water-savings benefits and invited us to present on the reciprocal relationship between rice farming and climate change.

Controlled Irrigation: Promotes the right timing of field irrigation, lessens water usage, reduces methane emissions

So we arrived yesterday morning to the open warehouse-type space at PhilRice’s demo farm where 30 farmers were gathered to learn the best practices on land preparation, fertilizer management and greenhouse gas mitigation. During our presentation, I shared with the farmers a brief overview of the mechanics of climate change, the methane cycles in dry vs. flooded fields, and the UN’s approved methodology for calculating emission reductions.

But why is sustainable rice farming so important?

For one, rice is a daily staple for 3.5 billion people (19% of global dietary energy) and a livelihood for 1 billion. As the world’s population increases, so must rice production to meet food security needs. But not without an impact on climate change. Looking back in the past 50 years, GHG emissions from agriculture have doubled.

Rice farming accounts for 10% of the world’s emissions from methane, which is 25x more potent than CO2 in trapping heat in the atmosphere. In Philippines alone, rice farming accounts for 13% of GHG emissions, and all agriculture is responsible for 30% of emissions here. Thankfully the country is working towards meeting its commitment to reduce emissions by 70% by 2030.

AWD is a part of that effort. One hectare of flooded rice fields emits more than 30 tonnes CO2e per year. But by using AWD, field emissions are reduced by nearly 50%.

GHG mitigation isn’t the only benefit, but water conservation is significant as well. While rice occupies 30% of the world’s agricultural land, it uses 40% of irrigation. So using AWD to conserve water by 30% can make water available for household use, industry or more agriculture.

Sharing the same presentation mentioned above to a farmer group at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Batal, Santiago, Isabela.

Rice for the World

Last post, we learned about rice cultivation's environmental impact. But there is hope for a solution! Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) -- it’s an irrigation technique which reduces methane emissions by 50% and water usage by 30%.

In traditional rice cultivation, the fields remain continuously flooded during growing season. The organic matter in the soil (straw, manure, etc) decomposes anaerobically (without air) and releases as a byproduct, methane, a greenhouse gas 25x more potent in greenhouse warming effect than carbon dioxide (CO2).

Transplanting rice in a flooded field -- hard work!

In AWD, the water level is allowed to drop to 6 inches below the top of the soil before irrigating again to 2 inches above soil level. This process of drying the soil and irrigating continues until harvest. Since the soil is allowed to dry periodically, the organic matter decomposes with the help of oxygen, preventing methane from being produced.

This practice has proven to have no negative impact on yield; in fact, in some cases, yields increased. Farmers have also reported that the roots have better anchorage (making them typhoon-resistant). Grains also have a good shape and size, with lower trace amounts of arsenic that naturally occurs in rice.

Moreover, AWD practice reduces methane emissions by 50% on average and decreases water use by 30%. It’s a win-win situation for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Not only are farmers reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, but they are also adopting a climate-smart technique which will better prepare them for water scarcity which climate change may bring.

With decreased water usage, farmers save money in cases where they use diesel-pumped irrigation systems. AWD also decreases conflict between farmers since there is less likelihood of experiencing a water shortage.

The main challenge to implementing AWD will be to break farmers’ deeply entrenched belief that rice is an aquatic plant that needs to be continuously flooded. No easy task where almost all the rice fields are cultivated by smallholder farmers with 1.2 hectares each on average and have been growing rice for generations.

However, AWD has been gaining ground. It’s being adopted in China, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia. In the U.S., too! In fact, the world’s first carbon credits from AWD in rice cultivation were generated just last month by farmers in Mississippi, Arkansas and California. 

The 5th Mark of Mission of the Anglican Communion guides us in our calling “to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.” We can live into this mission wherever we are and in whatever we do, whether we are farmers or office workers. For farmers, this means cultivating the land in the best way possible. For an office worker, it may mean shutting down computers to save electricity, turning off lights, reducing waste and recycling and composting at work. Everyday, we have the opportunity to show thanks to God for the beauty and resources He gives us by being good stewards of His creation. Let’s show it!

I've moved!

I am now based in Santiago City, Isabela Province!

At the beginning of June, I transferred here to The Episcopal Diocese of Santiago to work on a low-greenhouse gas emission rice farming project. Santiago City, located in the Cagayan Valley, is nestled between the Cordillera Mountains (where I was living) to the West, and the Sierra Madre Mountains to the East. 

A snapshot from the early morning drive from Manila to Santiago:

Although this is a lowland region, many of the E-CARE partner communities are Igorot (from the mountains) who transferred here for greener pastures in the 1970s. The livelihood of most of the E-CARE partner communities here is rice farming. In fact, this region is known second-largest rice-producing area in the Philippines!

The traditional rice cultivation method is to keep the fields continuously flooded throughout the growing period. This creates methane emissions, since the rice straw left on the field doesn't come into contact with the air, so it decomposes anaerobically, emitting methane as a byproduct. 

However, if the fields are allowed to drain enough to dry the top of the soil, methane emissions can be reduced by 50%. This method, known as Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), also saves water by about 30%, may increase yields, and promotes food security.

The trick is in outreach to the farmers to break the long-held belief that rice is an aquatic plant. (It is a semi-aquatic plant).

Stay tuned for more updates on the project!