AMIA Philippines Final

Empowered lives.
Resilient nations.
ADAPTATION AND
MITIGATION INITIATIVES IN
PHILIPPINE
RICE CULTIVATION
United Nations Development Programme
Empowered lives.
Resilient nations.
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sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and
territories, we offer global perspectives and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations..
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UNDP MDG Carbon is an innovative programme that assists developing countries in implementing a host of lowcarbon interventions, spanning multiple technologies, active in all regions of the world, and leveraging significant
amounts in private-sector millions of dollars in independent co-investments.
Technical Oversight and Guidance
Alexandra Soezer, Project Manager, UNDP MDG Carbon
Lead Author
Vladislav Arnaoudov, Senior Consultant, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., Ltd.
Co-authors
Evangeline B. Sibayan, Water Management Specialist and Raymond C. Caguioa, Independent Climate Change
Consultant
Reviewers
Asian Development Bank, Philippine Statistics Authority (Bureau of Agricultural Statistics), Bureau of Soils and Water
Management, Climate Change Commission (Office of the President of the Philippines), Department of Agriculture,
Department of Environment and Natural Resources, International Rice Research Institute, National Irrigation
Administration, Philippine Rice Research Institute, United Nations Development Programme
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Albert Altarejos MAGALANG, Head, Climate Change Office, Philippine DNA for CDM Secretariat
(UNFCCC-Kyoto Protocol), Environmental Management Bureau - Department of Environment and Natural
Resources for his patronage.
Contact Information
Albert Altarejos MAGALANG
albertmgg@emb.gov.ph
Telefax: +632 920 2251 / +632 376 1992
Alexandra Soezer, Ph.D.
Project Manager
UNDP MDG Carbon
alexandra.soezer@undp.org
Editor
Georgina Wilde
Design
Kimberly Koserowski
Photo Credits
PhilRice, Alexandra Soezer and Vladislav Arnaoudov
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Development Programme or its
Executive Board.
FOREWORD
FOREWORD
Rice is one of the major agricultural crops in the Philippines. The agricultural sector contributes 14 per cent of the
countrys gross domestic product and 11 million workers (30 per cent) comprise the labor force.
The proposed Adaptation and Mitigation Initiatives in Agriculture (AMIA) cover an agriculture sector rice
cultivation that is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and commonly associated with
food security. AMIA is a new sector-specific climate change instrument that addresses both the adaptation and
mitigation aspects of agriculture in the Philippines and reflects the policy targets for the sector. The AMIA goes
beyond the scopes of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions or NAMAs, as well as National Adaptation Plans
(NAPs) by combining elements of both in a more holistic and result-oriented framework.
During recent years, adaptation and mitigation actions have become the focus of climate change negotiations
under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process. UNDP believes that
the proposed initiative can provide the essential holistic adaptation and mitigation framework to overhaul an
entire sector within the context of sustainable development, as focusing on sectoral sustainability is essential for
achieving lasting results.
UNDPs MDG-Carbon Programme has supported the development of this AMIA in order to help the Philippines to
deploy climate change resilient rice cultivation schemes and enable the country to reduce the impact of a major
emission source from agricultural activities, and increase agricultural yield and sustainability. The implementation
of the AMIA provides a number of incentives for rice farmers to switch from continuous flooding to Alternative
Wetting and Drying water management practices and thus promotes climate change resilient rice production.
This AMIA builds on a 2014 NAMA Study which was developed out of the inputs from a national multi-sector
working group under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines and in this way
reflects all the comments received from its members to guarantee full ownership of the AMIA.
The proposed AMIA framework is embedded into existing agricultural policies and is developed as a bankable
programme with a clear donor exit strategy that allows it to become self-sufficient after the transformation of the
sector is completed. The overall goal of the work to embed AMIA in existing institutional structures will ensure
strong national coordination and management.
The AMIA provides the country with an accurate and credible information framework by applying a robust but
simple MRV system for GHG emission reductions and sustainable development benefits. The calculation of GHG
emission reductions are based on a CDM Standardized Baseline for the rice sector with country-specific seasonal
ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION INITIATIVES IN PHILIPPINE RICE CULTIVATION
FOREWORD
default values while the MDG Carbon Sustainable Development Evaluation Tool allows to quantify and monitor the
sustainable development benefits.
This AMIA is an exciting encouraging adaptation and mitigation framework that is expected to help the Philippines
to move towards climate resilient rice production and advancing its long-term sustainable development goals.
Marcel Alers
Head, Energy, Infrastructure, Transport & Technology
UNDP - Global Environment Facility
Bureau for Policy and Programme Support

Albert Altarejos Magalang

Head, Climate Change Office
Environmental Management Bureau
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Figures
List of Boxes
Executive Summary
Abbreviations
10
Introduction
12
Chapter 1: AMIA for Rice Cultivation as an Opportunity for the Philippines 14

1.1
GHG Emissions in Rice Cultivation
14
1.2
Alternate Wetting and Drying as a Mitigation Activity
15
1.3
AMIA as an Opportunity for the Agricultural Sector of the Philippines
17
Chapter 2: Country Background 19

2.1
Geography
19
2.2
Climate and the Effects of Climate Change
19
2.3
The Role of Agriculture in the Philippine Economy
20
Chapter 3: The Rice Sector in the Philippines 23

3.1
Organizational Structure of the Rice Sector
23
3.2
Types of Ecosystems and Cultivation Practice
25
3.2.1
Types of Ecosystems
25
3.2.2
Cultivation Practices
25
3.3
Irrigation Systems and Water Management
26
3.4
Funding Sources for Agricultural Activities
28
3.4.1
Government Funding
28
3.4.2
Agricultural Credit
28
Chapter 4: The Policy Environment 31

4.1
Climate Change and Agriculture: The Existing Policy Framework
31
4.2
Climate Change Policy and the AMIA
32
4.3
Gaps and Risk Assessment
33
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 5: AMIA Baseline and Expected Outcomes 35

5.1
Baseline Scenario
35
5.1.1
GHG Baseline
35
5.1.2
Sustainable Development (SD) Baseline
36
5.1.2.1 Selection of SD Indicators
36
5.2
Expected Outcomes of the AMIA
38
Chapter 6: AMIA Interventions 40

6.1
Basic Package
40
6.2 Support Package
42
6.3 Costs of AMIA Implementation
42
6.3.1
Costs of ISF Reduction
43
6.3.2
Costs of Technical Training and Overall AMIA Implementation
44
6.3.3
Costs of Support Package Implementation
50
Chapter 7: AMIA Implementation Structure 51

7.1
Participants in the AMIA Implementation Structure and their Roles
51
7.2
Financial Flows
52
7.3
Technical Assistance Flows
53
7.4
The Project Approval Process under the AMIA
54
Chapter 8: AMIA Measurement, Reporting and Verification 56
8.1
Overview
56
8.2
MRV System for GHG Emissions
56
8.2.1
Baseline Emissions
57
8.2.2
Project Emission Factors and Emission Reduction Factors
58
8.2.3
GHG Monitoring Parameters
59
8.2.4
Monitoring of Farmers Compliance with AWD Practice
60
8.3
Monitoring of Sustainable Development Benefits
61
8.4
Monitoring and Reporting Structure
63
8.5
Verification
64
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 9: AMIA Implementation Plan 65

9.1

Approval of the AMIA and Establishment of the Institutional Structure

for AMIA Implementation
65
9.2
Securing Donor Support and Domestic Funding
65
9.3
Implementation of Technical Assistance
66
References
68
Annex I Sustainable Development Tool 69

Annex II Emission Reduction Calculation and MRV Tool 77
LIST OF TABLES
List of Tables
Table 1. Rice Production by Country, 2012
21
Table 2. Rice Imports by Country, 2012
22
Table 3. Types of Irrigation Ecosystems, 2013
25
Table 4. Irrigation Fees in the Philippines
26
Table 5. Rice Sector AMIA and Existing Climate Change Policies in Agriculture
33
Table 6. SD Indicators
37
Table 7. SD Parameters and Baseline Values
37
Table 8. Expected Outcomes of the AMIA to 2020 and their Verification
38
Table 9. SD Targets
39
Table 10. Cash Flow Analysis of Reduction in the ISF
43
Table 11. Total Budget Requirements for Capacity-Building
45
Table 12. Budget Requirements for Personnel Services
45
Table 13. Budget Requirements for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses
47
Table 14. Budgetary Requirements for Equipment
49
Table 15. Allocation of Funding between Donors and Local Participants
50
Table 16. GHG Baseline Emission Factors
58
Table 17. Emission Reduction Factors (kgCH4/ha/season) 58
Table 18. Monitoring Parameters
59
Table 19. Monitoring SD Indicators
61
LIST OF FIGURES AND BOXES
List of Figures
Figure 1. Use of PVC Tube for AWD
15
Figure 2. Map of the Philippines
19
Figure 3. Observed Annual Mean Temperature Anomalies (1951-2010) in the Philippines 20

Figure 4. Philippine GDP, 2012
21
Figure 5. Organizational Structure of the Rice Sector in the Philippines
24
Figure 6. AMIA Financial Assistance
52
Figure 7. AMIA Technical Assistance
54
Figure 8. AMIA Project Approval Structure
55
Figure 9. Monitoring and Reporting Structure
63
Figure 10. AMIA Implementation Schedule
67
List of Boxes
Box 1. Methane Formation in Rice Fields
14
Box 2. An Example of AWD Implementation
16
Box 3. Priorities and Expected Outcomes of the NCCAP
31
Box 4. Cooperation with the Green Climate Fund
66
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Executive Summary
The Adaptation and Mitigation Initiatives in Agriculture (AMIA) in this report are proposed for a sector rice
cultivation that is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and commonly associated with food
security. However, agriculture also contributes to more than 30 per cent of the GHG emissions in the Philippines
and is the second largest GHG emission source in the country. Although rice cultivation occupies the top position
among the sources of agricultural emissions, this emission source has not been addressed by any major climate
change-related activities up to the present.
As the sector follows a deeply entrenched cultivation practice, involving the continuous flooding of rice fields up to
harvest, a holistic approach, such as a AMIA, emerged as the only possible way to introduce overall transformational
changes and address a wide array of issues in the sector beyond reductions in GHG emissions.
Several activities are considered effective in reducing methane formation in rice production. Among them, the
modification of water management, through allowing for shorter periods of rice field flooding and better soil
aeration (e.g. Alternate Wetting and Drying or AWD), is the one with highest potential for GHG mitigation. Under
AWD water saving conditions, methane emissions are likely to be reduced by more than 50 per cent and nitrous
oxide (N2O) emissions can be kept at levels similar to those of a continuously flooded paddy system by adjusting
the timing of nitrogen fertilizer application and irrigation.
Experience with past pilot projects showed that farmers are willing to follow water management programmes
for the duration of the pilot projects and while they receive continuous guidance with their performance being
monitored. However, in the absence of incentives to support continuous water management after the end of pilot
projects, they tended to revert to continuous flooding. As of 2013, despite the few successful examples, only 8 per
cent of all irrigated rice fields in the Philippines or 140,000 ha applied AWD.
This AMIA will target a total of 750,000 ha of irrigated rice fields, approximately half of the irrigated rice fields
across the whole country. The introduction of AWD in these flooded irrigated rice fields could potentially bring
approximately 12,151 ktCO2e/yr of emission reductions by 2020. This will represent a sizeable mitigation effect,
decreasing GHG emissions from rice cultivation by close to 25 per cent. Once the AMIA is successfully implemented
in its current format, it can be further expanded to cover all irrigated rice fields in the Philippines.
Technical training will be the core of AMIA implementation. As the AMIA aims at changing an established cultural
practice, in addition to the economic incentives, continuous training and guidance for farmers are crucial for the
success of the AMIA and reaching its targets.
To achieve a wider transformational impact, as well as acceptance among farmers, the AMIA will offer a support
package, consisting of an optional course of training to participating farmers in diversifying agricultural production.
Thus, the proposed AMIA will allow not only sizeable reductions of GHG emissions, but also the transformation of
the rice sector by providing more efficient irrigation solutions and increasing productivity.
The baseline scenario for this AMIA consists of two components, a GHG baseline and a Sustainable Development
(SD) baseline that also covers adaptation benefits. Setting the baseline scenario in this way allows the effects of
the Nationally Appropriate Improvements (NAI) to be properly assessed and quantified through the monitoring
activities described in the Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system.
8
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The GHG MRV system for this AMIA is designed based on the approved Standardized Baseline ASB0008
Standardized Baseline for Methane Emissions in Rice Cultivation in the Republic of the Philippines. Furthermore,
in order to determine whether the participating rice fields are correctly applying AWD and can participate in the
emission reduction calculations, an AWD compliance protocol has been designed as part of the AMIA. In addition
to GHG emissions, the MRV system of the AMIA will cover sustainable development benefits.
The costs of AMIA implementation arise from the cost of capacity-building and training of farmers under the basic
package, the delivery of training under the support package, and the need for funding for the additional economic
incentives. Total donor support for the AMIA is estimated to be approximately US$15.7 million over a period of four
years, including a major result-based funding component.
The actual implementation of the AMIA will be supervised by a Rice Sector AMIA Supervisory Board, consisting of
representatives of the Government of the Philippines (the CCC, DENR, DA and others), donors and stakeholders
(such as IRRI and environmental NGOs). The Supervisory Board will provide guidance to the AMIA implementer,
issue rules and procedures for the Rice Sector AMIAs operations and screen its outcomes, including the rate of
adoption of AWD, GHG emission reductions and financial performance. The Supervisory Board will also approve the
inclusion of any new projects in the AMIA.
Towards the end of the AMIA implementation, it is expected that half of the irrigated rice fields will have adopted
AWD as their standard irrigation practice. By that time, the Philippines will have a transformed and more resilient
rice production sector capable of withstanding many of the challenges of climate change, thus guaranteeing the
stable supply of the staple food of Philippine people.
The proposed AMIA is unique as it addresses, through the proposed set of interventions a large number of policy
goals and targets related to climate change, sustainable development and agricultural sector reform, and provides
an overall solution to climate change risk management and the transition to low GHG emission agriculture, and the
empowerment of farmers. It is worth noting that the Philippines has already created under different programmes
most of the enabling policy environment for the implementation of these, but the proposed AMIA is the first
attempt to put the programmes together in a single policy implementation structure.
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
Abbreviations and Acronyms

ACPC
Agricultural Credit and Policy Council
AMIA
Adaptation and Mitigation Initiatives in Agriculture
AWD
Alternate Wetting and Drying
BAS
Bureau of Agricultural Statistics
BSWM
Bureau of Soils and Water Management
CAF
Cancun Adaptation framework
CALF
Comprehensive Agricultural Loan Fund
CARP
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program
CCC
Climate Change Commission
CDA
Cooperative Development Authority
CDM
Clean Development Mechanism
CGI
Credit Guarantee Institution
CH4 Methane
CIS
Communal Irrigation System
cm Centimetre
CO2
Carbon dioxide
COP
Conference of Parties (to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)
CS
Crop Specialist
DA
Department of Agriculture
DENR
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
DEVCO
EuropeAid Development and Cooperation
DNA
Designated National Authority
DS
Dry Season
EE
Executing Entity
FFS
Farmer Field School
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
GEF
Global Environmental Facility
GHG
Greenhouse Gas
ha Hectares
IA
Irrigators Association
INDC
Intended Nationally Determined Contribution
IRRI
International Rice Research Institute
ISF
Irrigation Service Fee
kg Kilogram
km Kilometre
10
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
ktCH4/yr
Kiloton of methane per year
ktCO2e/yr
Kiloton of carbon dioxide equivalent per year
LBP
Land Bank of the Philippines
MDG
Millennium Development Goals
MRV
Measurement, Reporting and Verification
NAI
Nationally Appropriate Improvements
NAMA
Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions
NAMA-WG
AMIA Working Group
NAP
National Adaptation Plan
NCCAP
National Climate Change Action Plan
NFSCC
National Framework Strategy on Climate Change
NGO
Non-governmental Organization
NIE
National Implementing Entity
NIA
National Irrigation Administration
NIS
National Irrigation System
PCIC
Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation
PDP
Philippine Development Plan
Philippine Peso
PSA
Philippine Statistics Authority
PVC
Polyvinyl chloride
PhilRIce
Philippine Rice Research Institute
RSO
Rice Sufficiency Officer
Quedancor
Quedan Rural Credit and Guarantee Corporation
SBC
Small Business Corporation
SD
Sustainable Development
SDG
Sustainable Development Goal
SDC
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
SEC
Securities Exchange Commission
SWISA
Small Water Irrigation System Association
SWOT
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
tCO2e
Tons of carbon dioxide equivalent
UNDP
UNFCCC
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
US$
United States Dollar
VND
Vietnamese Dong
WS
Wet Season
WST
Water Saving Technology
11
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Agriculture is one of the sectors with significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions globally that is
extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that
agriculture contributes to 14 % of global GHG emissions1, while in some countries such as the Philippines, the
emissions from agriculture amount to as much as 29 %2 of total GHG emissions. However, agriculture is unique,
as it is directly related to food security and the livelihood of a large number of farmers, thus calling for a holistic
approach under any climate change-related initiatives.
The complexity of the agricultural sector and the far reaching effects of any interventions there have been strongly
reflected in the climate change and agriculture policy of the Philippines. The government has been aiming for
a long time to go beyond pure adaptation or mitigation solutions for the sector and design holistic approaches
that address, in addition to climate change-related issues, food security, water savings and poverty eradication.
This resulted in the idea for a new climate-change instrument, AMIA or Adaptation and Mitigation Initiatives
in Agriculture, that addresses both climate change adaptation and mitigation and reflects the various policy
targets for the agricultural sector in the Philippines. In this way, the AMIA goes beyond the scopes of Nationally
Appropriate Mitigation Actions as well as National Adaptation Plans by combining elements of both in a more
holistic and result-oriented framework.
The proposed AMIA covers an agriculture sub-sector - rice cultivation - that is commonly associated with food
security. The idea for this AMIA originated in 2013, as part of the development of a standardized baseline for the
rice sector in the Philippines, building on the existing small-scale CDM methodology AMS-III.AU. (UNFCCC, 2012).
Although the methodology had been approved in 2011 and its version 3 has since even provided some global
default emission reduction factors, interviews with various stakeholders and practitioners pointed to the conclusion
that it is extremely difficult to develop adjusted water management projects within the CDM framework.
On one hand, the sector in the Philippines is heavily dominated by individual landowners who manage small
plots of land and follow a deeply entrenched cultivation practice, involving the continuous flooding of rice fields
up to harvest. On the other hand, there are no policies or economic incentives for farmers in the Philippines to
implement new or modified water management systems. Thus, a consensus started to emerge that methane
emissions in the rice sector could be tackled only through a broader approach, such as a NAMA, that introduces
overall transformational changes and addresses a wide array of issues in the sector beyond reductions in GHG
emissions.
In the first half of 2014, a NAMA study was conducted, which provided an outline of the proposed AMIA. The
study was developed with active input from the Rice Sector NAMA Working Group (NAMA-WG) that was
established under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) of the Philippines and included
representatives from various government entities, research institutes and donors.
1
2
12
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html.
http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/phlnc2.pdf
INTRODUCTION
As the NAMA study was well received by stakeholders, the Designated National Authority (DNA) for the CDM of the
Philippines requested the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support the further development
of the study into a full AMIA proposal. However, after more detailed discussions with the Department of Agriculture
(DA) of the Philippines and other stakeholders, it was agreed to expand the scope of the work and incorporate
climate change adaptation, food security and other policy targets into a fully-fledged AMIA for the rice sector.
The AMIA presented to your attention incorporates the existing agricultural policies in the Philippines and is
built on established structures and relations in the rice sector. The design of the AMIA fully reflected the various
comments received from the members of the NAMA-WG and other stakeholders, and allows for full local
ownership of the results of this work. The AMIA is developed as a result-oriented and bankable document with a
clear exit strategy that allows it to become self-sufficient after the initial support from donors is completed.
13
CHAPTER 1: AMIA FOR RICE CULTIVATION AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PHILIPPINES
Chapter 1: AMIA for Rice Cultivation

as an Opportunity for the
Philippines
1.1 GHG Emissions in Rice Cultivation
Agriculture contributes to more than 30per cent of the GHG emissions in the Philippines and is the second largest
GHG emission source in the country (UNFCCC, 1998). Among the sources of agricultural emissions, rice cultivation
occupies the top position. There are two main sources of GHG emissions from rice cultivation:
1. Methane from decomposition of organic material in the soil in flooded rice fields; and
2. Methane emissions from anaerobic decomposition of rice straw and rice husk.
Box 1. Methane Formation in Rice Fields

Paddy fields are considered an important anthropogenic source of atmospheric CH4. The main vectors
behind methane emissions from paddy rice fields are methanogenic (methane forming) bacteria (Epule,
2011). The bacteria perform well under anaerobic conditions and are responsible for harvesting organic
carbon and transforming it into methane through the process of methanogenesis (Bloom and Swisher,
2010). Anaerobic conditions are the biochemical pathways of methane production (Epule, 2011).
Methane is vertically transported to the atmosphere through three main pathways. These pathways
include a) diffusion of dissolved methane, b) the emergence of bubbles triggered by soil fauna and crop
management procedures, and c) plant transport by diffusion into the roots and conversion to gaseous
methane in the cortex and aerenchyma, and subsequent release of methane to the atmosphere through
plant micropores (Wassmann, Papen and Rennenburg, 1993).
The emergence of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in the Philippines provided a boost for mitigation
activities in the agricultural sector. However, all of the developed projects relating to the agricultural sector involve
methane emissions avoidance from anaerobic decomposition of agricultural wastes (rice husk and straw) and their
use as an alternative energy source. Methane emissions resulting from the anaerobic decomposition of organic
matter in the rice fields due to flooding practices have received little or no attention, despite the existence of a
CDM-approved methodology (UNFCCC, 2012).
14
1.2 Alternate Wetting and Drying as a Mitigation Activity

Several activities are considered effective in reducing methane formation in rice production. Among them, the
modification of water management, through allowing for shorter periods of rice field flooding and better soil
aeration (e.g. Alternate Wetting and Drying or AWD), is the one with highest potential for GHG mitigation. AWD is a
water management technology that uses a simple tool to guide the farmer in determining the right time to irrigate
and the right amount of water to apply.
Figure 1. Use of PVC Tube for AWD
Source: IRRI.
The simple tool is a perforated 10cm x 25cm polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tube (an observation well) that is inserted
15cm into the ground during the dry season and 20 cm during the wet season. Irrigation water to a depth of 5cm
above the soil surface is applied and allowed to recede. Irrigation water is again applied when there is no more
water inside the PVC tube. The AWD method is implemented at about 20 days after transplanting or sowing for
direct seeded rice. However, during fertilizer application and panicle initiation to flowering, sufficient water must
be available to maintain its level at 3-5cm. When AWD is applied, the number of irrigation events in a season can
range from four to six times only. This method achieves water saving of up to 30per cent without any yield loss and
can result in significant adaptation and sustainability improvements, produced by the change in rice cultivation
practice, as the more efficient use of water resource translates into more irrigated rice fields, and ultimately,
increased rice production and improved food security.
Other benefits of AWD include the promotion of higher zinc availability in soil and rice grains by enabling periodic
aeration of soil, increased lodging resistance due to better root anchorage, reduction in pest infestation, such as
golden apple snails, improved equity, and reduced upstream-downstream conflicts in canal irrigation systems.
15
Box 2. An Example of AWD Implementation

In 2001, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), together with the National Irrigation Administration
(NIA) and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), implemented a project funded by the Swiss
Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) entitled Technology Transfer on Water Saving. It was
implemented in Tarlac, Central Luzon in a GP 125 pump irrigation system with a 32.7 ha per season service
area. The performance of the pump system was recorded as follows: with the same service area and pump
discharge, the pumping hours per hectare per season were reduced from 22-28 without AWD to only
13-16 with AWD and the irrigation time per hectare also was reduced from 6-8 hours without AWD to
only 3-6 hours with AWD. Statistically, there was no significant difference between the yield of the AWD
plots and non-AWD plots. At this time the farmers serviced by the pump irrigation system in the province
adopted AWD and saved water and money, the latter due to reduced use of the electricity or diesel that
fuelled the engine.
Under AWD water saving conditions, methane emissions are likely to be reduced by more than 50 per cent and
nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions can be kept at levels similar to those of a continuously flooded paddy system by
adjusting the timing of nitrogen fertilizer application and irrigation. Generally, AWD is an effective and efficient
technology which not only increases rice production and helps conserve a limited resource, water, but also
mitigates rice paddies contribution to global warming (IRRI 2008).
IRRI (2008) and Lampayan and others (2015) reported that AWD as a water management strategy is widely used in
China, and is rapidly being adopted in Vietnam, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Indonesia. In the Philippines, validation
and promotion of AWD among the national agricultural research and extension systems and their partners started
in 2001, as reported in Box 2.
Since 2005, there have been attempts to spread the technology to gravity irrigation systems. Big national irrigation
systems such as the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System and the Magat River Integrated Irrigation
System, both in Luzon, have started piloting AWD as an irrigation management scheme in selected service areas
of the system. Of the 160,000 farmers getting irrigation water from both gravity irrigation systems in these areas,
20per cent were reported originally to be using AWD technology in 2007.
Demonstration trials were so successful, that the National Rice Program and later the Department of Agriculture
were convinced that they should set up a Technical Working Group to formulate implementing guidelines
for adopting water saving technologies for rice in the Philippines. On 11 September 2009, the Department of
Agriculture issued DA Administrative Order 25 Guidelines on the Adoption of Water Saving Technologies (WST) in
Irrigated Rice Production Systems in the Philippines.3 This is the only existing policy document that supports the
implementation of AWD, but it has never been implemented.
It is important to emphasize that there is no concrete action plan with well-defined steps and a clear management
structure to support the sectors transformation and the adoption of more efficient irrigation practices at present.
Although there is overall understanding among policymakers of the benefits of AWD and a willingness to promote
it, there is no clear vision as to how to do that. Researchers and participants in past pilot projects have generally
16
Available from http://www.da.gov.ph/images/PDFFiles/LawsIssuances/AO/2009AO/ao25.pdf.
emphasized the importance of capacity development; however, the overall assessment of capacity development
projects up to the present shows a strong tendency to revert to continuous flooding after the projects have ended.
Finally, no concrete plans exist for incentivizing farmers to switch to AWD, making promotion of AWD extremely
difficult without any further policy interventions.
Experience with past pilot projects showed that farmers are willing to follow water management programmes
for the duration of the pilot projects and while they receive continuous guidance with their performance being
monitored. However, in the absence of incentives to support continuous water management after the end of pilot
projects, they tended to revert to continuous flooding. This should not come as a surprise, as continuous flooding
has been the traditional practice and is perceived by most farmers to be risk-free. Such behaviour is the most
rational under the current policy framework, because:
1. There are no particular economic gains associated with water management and a switch to AWD, as farmers
pay a fixed irrigation fee determined by the size of the irrigated area rather than the amount of water used. The
only exception is for pumped irrigation systems.
2. Water management and AWD can initially be more labour intensive, as it requires farmers to attend more often
to the fields and to follow strictly an established irrigation calendar up to harvest.
Despite the few successful examples, only 8per cent of all irrigated rice fields in the Philippines or 140,000 ha
applied AWD as of 2013.
1.3 AMIA as an Opportunity for the Agricultural Sector of the Philippines

This AMIA targets farmers in the Philippines who cultivate rice in irrigated rice fields. It aims to design policy and
economic incentives for farmers to switch from continuous flooding to AWD and sustain that practice over the
long run. In order for the AMIA to succeed, it will target the existing structure of the rice irrigation system, which
is explained in detail in Chapter 3, while at the same time providing individual farmers with the required capacitybuilding and knowledge dissemination. Carrying out both sets of interventions simultaneously is a prerequisite for
the AMIA to bring the necessary sectoral transformations.
The AMIA will target a total of 750,000 ha of irrigated rice fields, approximately half of the irrigated rice fields
across the whole country, which are estimated to emit approximately 2,033ktCH4/yr or 50,826ktCO2e/yr. The
introduction of AWD in these flooded irrigated rice fields could potentially bring approximately 12,151 ktCO2e/yr
of emission reductions by 2020, or 23,217 ktCO2e/yr if implemented across the entire country. This will represent a
sizeable mitigation effect, decreasing GHG emissions from rice cultivation by close to 25 per cent. Once the AMIA
is successfully implemented in its current format, it can be further expanded to cover all irrigated rice fields in the
Philippines.
However, the AMIA will also produce adaptation, climate change risk hedging and food security benefits. Although
the Philippines is often perceived as a country with abundant water resources, climate change is expected to bring
more unpredictable weather patterns and droughts. Introducing proper water management will allow water to be
saved and more resilient rice production that is able to withstand these and other climate-change-related risks.
In terms of food security, two aspects should be taken into consideration. First, switching to AWD will allow an
increase in the total irrigated area, as more water will be available for irrigation, especially during the dry season.
17
Research and pilot projects have also demonstrated that AWD does not lead to decreases in yields and can even
increase yields by 5 per cent in many cases. Thus, the introduction of AWD is expected to lead to further increases
in rice production.
Furthermore, the Philippine Rice Research Institute reported on the basis of pilot projects that the introduction
of AWD leads to decreased conflict among farmers. In farming communities, it is often the case that farmers
downstream the irrigation network receive less water than upstream farmers, especially during the dry season.
The introduction of water management practices allows for the more even distribution of irrigated water among
farmers, thus leading to a reduction, if not the total elimination, of conflict.
In order to achieve a wider transformational impact, as well as acceptance among farmers, the AMIA will offer a
support package, consisting of an optional course of training to participating farmers in diversifying agricultural
production. Under this optional scheme, all farmers who participate in the application of AWD under the AMIA will
be provided additional support by the AMIA Implementer for cultivating other crops. This will allow farmers who
are interested to develop new agricultural skills, access new markets and diversify their revenue sources.
Thus, the proposed AMIA will allow not only sizeable reductions of GHG emissions, but also the transformation
of the rice sector by providing more efficient irrigation solutions and increasing productivity. Last but not least,
the AMIA will deliver new income generating activities to farmers and help them move to more sustainable and
diversified agricultural practices.
18
CHAPTER 2: COUNTRY BACKGROUND
Chapter 2: Country Background

2.1
Geography
The Republic of the Philippines is an island nation in South-East Asia located in the western Pacific Ocean with
a total land area of approximately 300,000km2. It is an archipelago of more than 7,100 islands, categorized into
three main geographical regions, namely Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. It is bounded by the South China Sea
in the west, the Philippine Sea and the Pacific Ocean in the east, the Sulu and Celebes Seas in the south, and the
Bashi Channel in the north. The Philippines is approximately 800km from the Asian mainland. Its northernmost
islands are about 240km south of Taiwan and the southernmost islands are about 24km from the coast of Borneo
(Kalimantan). Eleven of its largest islands, namely Luzon, Mindanao, Negros, Samar, Palawan, Panay, Mindoro, Leyte,
Cebu, Bohol and Masbate, contain 94per cent of the total land area, and are characterized by largely mountainous
terrain, interior valleys and plains.
Figure 2. Map of the Philippines
Source: www.google.com/maps.
2.2 Climate and the Effects of Climate Change

The Philippine climate is tropical and maritime with average annual temperature of 26.6oC, high humidity and
abundant rainfall. Distinguished by the amount of rainfall, there are two major seasons, the rainy or wet season
19
(WS) lasting from June to November and the dry season (DS) from December to May. The dry season is further
subdivided into the cool dry season from December to February, and the hot dry season from March to May.
The coolest month is January with a mean temperature of 25.5oC, while the warmest month is May with a mean
temperature of 28.3oC.
The average annual rainfall of the Philippines is in the range of 965-4,064mm and varies regionally depending
on the direction of the moisture-bearing winds and the location of the mountain systems. A great portion of the
rainfall is also influenced by typhoons. Due to the Philippines geographical setting, typhoon occurrences are high
compared with other countries with an annual average occurrence of 20 and the highest recorded number in one
year being 32 in 1993.
Increasing mean temperatures and changes in the amount and intensity of rainfall, as well as the number of
tropical cyclones in recent years, indicate that the Philippines has already been affected by climate change. The
figure below shows a rising temperature pattern in the Philippines by tracking observed mean temperature
anomalies (or departures from 1971-2000 normal values) during the period 1951-2010, indicating an increase of
0.648oC over the whole period or an average of 0.011oC annually.
Figure 3. Observed Annual Mean Temperature Anomalies (1951-2010) in the Philippines
Source: Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, Department of Science and Technology
(PAGASA-DOST).
One of the sectors that will be severely affected by climate change is agriculture, where variations in yields can be
brought about by fluctuations in temperature, rainfall patterns and rainfall regimes. Such changes may also affect
the incidence of pests and outbreaks of diseases. Crops suffer decreases in yields whenever temperatures exceed
threshold values and some, such as rice, may suffer spikelet sterility. Agricultural production will most likely suffer a
decline if timely, effective and efficient interventions are not put in place.
2.3 The Role of Agriculture in the Philippine Economy

Although the Philippine economy has been transitioning to services and manufacturing due to accelerated
industrialization, agriculture still plays a significant role. The Philippines employs about 11 million people in the
agricultural sector out of its total labour force of approximately 40 million people. In 2012, the countrys Gross
20
Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 6.81per cent and the agricultural sector accounted for 11per cent of GDP. The
figure below shows the composition of GDP as of 2012.
Figure 4. Philippine GDP, 2012
Agriculture, Fishery
and Forestry Sector
11%
Industry
Sector
57%
Service
Sector
32%
Rice is considered the most important agricultural crop in the country and is a staple food. The Philippines was the
eighth largest rice producer in the world in 2012, producing about 18 million tons, as shown in the table below.
Table 1. Rice Production by Country, 2012

Country
Rice Production (million tons)
China
206.0
India
153.0
Indonesia
69.0
Viet Nam
43.7
Thailand
37.8
Bangladesh
33.9
Myanmar
33.0
The Philippines
18.0
Brazil
11.5
Japan
10.7
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Statistics Division (http://faostat3.fao.org).
21
In terms of food security, the Philippines still remains extremely vulnerable. With a population of over 92 million
as of 2010, rising at an average rate of more than 2per cent per year, the amount of rice produced relative to
domestic consumption remains insufficient and the gap needs to be filled through imports. In 2010 the country
ranked top in the world among rice importers and it was the fourth largest rice importer in 2012 (see Table 2,
below). Therefore, any future policies in the sector need to aim at increased and sustainable domestic production,
while taking into consideration the possible adverse effects of climate change.
Table 2. Rice Imports by Country, 2012

Country
Rice Import (million tons)
Nigeria
2.7
China
2.4
Iran
1.7
The Philippines
1.5
Iraq
1.45
Saudi Arabia
1.225
Ivory Coast
1.115
Malaysia
1.105
Senegal
1.0
South Africa
0.95
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Statistics Division (http://faostat3.fao.org).
22
CHAPTER 3: THE RICE SECTOR IN THE PHILIPPINES
Chapter 3: The Rice Sector

in the Philippines
3.1 Organizational Structure of the Rice Sector
Rice cultivation in the Philippines is under the authority of the Department of Agriculture (DA),4 an executive department5
of the Government of the Philippines responsible for the promotion of agricultural and fisheries development and growth.
Programmes promoting rice production have been implemented by DA with a view to increasing yields and attaining rice
self-sufficiency. However, the goal of self-sufficiency has been receding due to the decreasing area planted with rice brought
about by urbanization and land conversions, as well as the limited availability of irrigation water during the dry season.
Most of the land producing rice is owned by individual farmers, who gained ownership as a result of the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) adopted by the Government of the Philippines in 1988. Under this programme, tracts
of land or haciendas were distributed to farmers. The programme limited land ownership to a maximum of 3ha per
individual for irrigated and 7ha for rain-fed farms. Currently, the average landholding stands at about 1.2ha per farmer in
irrigated ecosystems. CARP is implemented by the Department of Agrarian Reform,6 a separate department within the
Philippine Government.
Under previous land reform programmes from the 1970s, farmers were organized into agricultural cooperatives.
These cooperatives were registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).7 Cooperatives received
capacity-building interventions and training to enable them to operate as small farming enterprises and to master
new rice and other crop production technologies. The cooperatives were provided with agricultural production
loans by government-owned banks at minimal interest rates. However, most of them defaulted on their loan
repayments and, at present, very few of them still exist.
As an alternative to the cooperatives, farmers in the irrigated ecosystems, national irrigation systems (NIS) and
communal irrigations systems (CIS), are currently organized into water users associations or Irrigators Associations
(IAs). To date, there are about 5,320 IAs in the country, representing farmers from the irrigated ecosystems, both
national (2,460) and communal (2,860).
This organizational structure was originally envisaged as empowering farmers and transforming the IAs into independent
bodies, so that in the future, they could manage a portion of the irrigation system and perform the delivery and allocation
of irrigation water within the boundaries of laterals or sub-laterals. The IAs are registered with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC)8 and enter into maintenance contracts with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA),9 an agency under
the Office of the President that manages the national irrigation systems, or the Bureau of Soils and Water Management
(BSWM)10 under the DA.
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
http://www.da.gov.ph/.
Departments in the Philippines are equivalent to ministries in many other countries.
http://www.dar.gov.ph/.
http://www.cda.gov.ph/.
http://www.sec.gov.ph/.
www.nia.gov.ph.
http://www.bswm.da.gov.ph/.
23
Most of the data related to agricultural activities in the Philippines are collected by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics11
(BAS), which is part of the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA)12 established in 2013. The PSA-BAS is the central
information source for statistics on agriculture, fisheries and related fields. For the rice sector, several types of statistical
information are publicly available, including ones on rice production, the area harvested to rice, and irrigated area.
The Philippines is in the advantageous position of being host to two major rice research institutes on its territory,
the International Rice Research Institute13 (IRRI) and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).14 IRRI was
established in 1959 and is the global knowledge hub for rice cultivation. The institute has been promoting
improved water management as a component of adaptation and mitigation strategies in rice cultivation for many
years, and has been pioneering research in this area. PhilRice is a national research and development institute
established under the DA in 1986 for the purpose of supporting sustainable rice production in the Philippines. The
institute has been collaborating with IRRI on issues related to water management and irrigation, and is one of the
strongest advocates of the introduction of improved irrigation practices across the Philippines.
Figure 5. Organizational Structure of the Rice Sector in the Philippines
Government of the Philippines
Department of
Agrarian Reform
O ce of the President
of the Philippines
Department of
Agriculture
Policy Setting
Cooperative
Development
Authority
Philippine
Statistics
Authority
National Irrigation
Administration
Bureau of Soils and Water

Management
Philippine Rice
Research Institute
Irrigation Systems Management
Bureau of
Agricultural
Statistics
Research and
Development
Cooperatives
IA
IA
IA
IA
IA
IA
IA
IA
IA
Farmers Organizations
24
IA
IA
IA
11
12
13
14
International Rice
Research Institute
http://www.bas.gov.ph/.
http://www.psa.gov.ph/.
http://irri.org/.
http://www.philrice.gov.ph/.
IA
IA
IA
3.2 Types of Ecosystems and Cultivation Practice

3.2.1 Types of Ecosystems
The types of rice ecosystems in the Philippines and their shares of total irrigated and harvested areas are
summarized below. In 2013 the area harvested was 658,591ha more during the WS or 32.2 per cent higher than in
the DS of the same year. The lower harvested area during the DS can be attributed to decreased or limited irrigation
water during the first and second quarters of the year.
Table 3. Types of Irrigation Ecosystems, 2013

Types of Irrigation Ecosystems
Area (ha)
Irrigable Area
3,019,609
Irrigated Area (average of dry and wet season totals)
1,675,595
National Irrigation System (NIS)
740,214
Communal Irrigation System (CIS)
573,419
Private Irrigation Systems
361,962
Total Harvested Area

Dry Season
2,043,746
Irrigated
1,526,057
Rain-fed
517,689
Wet Season
2,702,337
Irrigated
1,710,280
Rain-fed
992,057
Source: PhilRice.
3.2.2 Cultivation Practices

Rice cultivation in the Philippines follows the practices of irrigated lowland culture. The soil is soaked to make
it workable for ploughing and subsequently for harrowing. Five to seven day intervals between ploughing, first
harrowing and second harrowing are observed to allow weeds and rice stubbles to be incorporated into the soil
and to decompose. Final harrowing and leveling is done one day before transplanting. In some areas, direct dry
seeding is also practiced and dryland preparation is common there.
In an attempt to introduce new technologies to the rice sector, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice)
published a handbook in 2007 entitled PalayCheck System for Irrigated Lowland Rice, which was patterned on
the RiceCheck system in Australia. The handbook aims to disseminate information on new cultivation practices
including water management, and the system was subsequently adopted by the Department of Agriculture (DA) in
its national rice programmes. However, due to the lack of additional incentives and training for farmers, it is still not
widely applied, leaving continuous flooding the predominant cultivation practice.
25
3.3 Irrigation Systems and Water Management

Irrigation plays a central role in rice production and the proper operation of the irrigation systems is the main
responsibility of the NIA. The viability of the national irrigation system (NIS) is dependent on the ability of the NIA to
collect Irrigation Service Fees (ISF) from the farmers it serves. These are currently levied based on irrigated area, not on
the amount of water used, and vary depending on the type of irrigation system (e.g. pumps, reservoir, diversion). The ISF
range from 2 to 22 cavan (50 kg bags)15 of palay (rice) per hectare per cropping season (see Table 4, below). Thus, the way
the ISF are currently set provides no economic incentives to farmers to introduce water saving technologies.
The only exception, as of now, are privately owned shallow-well pumps. In that case, reduction in water input for
rice production directly translates to savings in operational costs (i.e. reduction in fuel and maintenance costs) and
may provide incentives for adopting water saving technologies.
Table 4. Irrigation Fees in the Philippines

Irrigation Service Fee for Diversion, Reservoir and Irrigation Systems
Scheme/Crop
Wet Season
Dry Season
Third Crop
Cavans per ha
Diversion
Rice
A.
2.0
3.0
Other Crops
60 per cent of the rate for rice
Annual Crops
7.5
Fishponds
3.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
Mariis
3.0
3.0
3.0
Upriis
2.5
2.5
3.5
Reservoir/Storage
B.
Other Crops
Annual Crops
7.5
Fishponds
6.0
6.0
6.0
Pumps
Rice
C.
Other Crops
Annual Crops
7.5
Fishponds
15
26
5.0 - 10.0
15.0
At 50 kg per bag and a support price of 17.00/kg.
15.0
15.0
Irrigation Service Fee For National Pump Irrigation Systems

Pump Irrigation
System (PIS)
Region
ISF Rate
National Irrigation System (NIS)
Wet Season
Dry Season
Cavans per ha
Bonga Pump No. 1
Ilocos Norte Irrigation System (INIS)
12
Bonga Pump No. 2
INIS
12
Bonga Pump No. 3
INIS
12
Iguig-Alcala-Amulung
Iguig-Alcala-Amulung PIS
Solana
Solana PIS
Magapit
Magapit PIS
3.75
3.75
MRIIS Pump No. 1
Magat River Integrated Irrigation

Systems
3.5
MRIIS Pump No. 2 & 3
MRIIS
3.5
Turbine Pump
AMRIS
3,000/ha
3,500/ha
Bunay
AMRIS
1,800/ha
5,000/ha
Kapatiran
AMRIS
1,500/ha
3,200/ha
Tibagan
AMRIS
2.5
3.5
Bustos-Pandi
AMRIS
2.5
2.75
Buenavista
AMRIS
Penaranda
Upper Pampanga River Integrated

System
10
Nueva Ecija
Nueva Ecija PIS
Cabuyao East
Laguna Friar Lands Irrigation System
Dambu
Sta. Maria-Mayor River Irrigation

System
No pump
operation
10
Libmanan-Cabusao
Libmanan-Cabusao PIS
13
Lower Agusan
Lower Agusan River PIS
2.75
2.75
Source: NIA, 2013.
The willingness of farmers to pay the ISF is largely dependent on how much yield they get from their farm and the
degree of satisfaction they receive from the irrigation service provided to them. With inequitable distribution of
irrigation water within the system (national and communal) and even within the Irrigators Associations, raising ISF
collection rates looks unattainable.
The establishment of Irrigators Associations was expected to result in the more even distribution of irrigation water
among farmers and the provision of better irrigation services in general. Farmers were expected to agree among
themselves on how to allocate irrigation water equitably so that every Irrigation Association member would be
27
served. However, the situation did not improve, i.e. the tendency is still for too much water to be concentrated on
farms upstream and too little or no water at all to reach the tail-end, leading to persistent conflicts among farmers.
Several programmes have been designed to allow downstream farmers to be served first, but this practice proved
to be unsustainable since upstream farmers still tended to draw water at their own convenience.
Another approach implemented on an experimental basis in some pump systems in Cagayan Valley in Luzon and
on Bohol Island in the Visayas was volumetric pricing. Under this scheme, water diverted from the canal is measured
and a corresponding cost per unit volume was determined. However, implementation of this scheme is inappropriate
nationwide since most of the canals at the secondary and tertiary levels are unlined and dilapidated or without control
structures. Alternative schemes emerged from research and development efforts aimed at producing more with less
water. One such example is AWD, which accounts for about 8per cent of total irrigated area, as already stated above.
3.4 Funding Sources for Agricultural Activities

Implementation of any policies and measures in the agricultural sector depends also on the availability of funding.
Funding can be broadly divided into government funding or subsidies, and agricultural credit from a variety of sources.
3.4.1 Government Funding

Currently, the Government of the Philippines generally channels its financial assistance to farmers through the
Irrigators Associations. The main types of government support in the past ten years are summarized below:
a. Provision or facilitating of access to high quality seeds (certified inbred seeds or hybrid seeds);
b. The fertilizer subsidy (provision of one bag of urea per hectare);
c.
Provision of soft loans for agricultural machinery at heavily subsidized rates (e.g. the Makina-Saka Programme
where farmer organizations have to pay only 15per cent of the cost for equipment such as threshers, combine
harvesters and tractors);
d. Rehabilitation and repair of irrigation facilities, including the provision of shallow tube wells for irrigation; and
e. Access to new technologies for rice production through training provided by Farmers Field Schools and other
institutions.
However, there is no assistance currently provided to support of the introduction of AWD and improved water
management.
3.4.2 Agricultural Credit

Agricultural credit has an important role in the development of the agriculture sector. However, agricultural sectors
use of formal credit is much lower than that of the non-agricultural sector. The bulk of agricultural loans supplied
by the banking systems were absorbed by commercial agriculture. Small-scale agriculture sourced loans mostly
from informal lenders. As the Asian Development Bank (1990) reports, the volume of institutional credit to the
agricultural sector is considered inadequate and the sector has received a much smaller share of formal credit than
the non-agricultural sector (Llanto, 1993).
28
In the 1970s and 1980s, macroeconomic policies tended to promote formal institutions as sources of credit. For
instance, the abolition of share tenancy by the land reform of 1970s reduced the role of landlords as the main
source of credit (Llanto, 2005). Then, the expansion of rural banks in the 1980s made formal financial institutions
more accessible to rural borrowers. The early 1990s, however, were generally characterized by recourse to informal
lenders, as banks limited their exposure to farms. Thus the current lending system is not fully prepared to supply
the large and targeted credits needed for the transformation of the rice sector.
3.4.2.1
Formal Lenders
The formal lenders comprise commercial banks, thrift and development banks, the rural banks and the credit
guarantee institutions. Commercial agriculture, consisting of medium and large-scale individual and corporate
borrowers, is served by all types of lenders in the formal sector.
The government banks involved in agricultural and rural credit are the Land Bank of the Philippines16 and the
Development Bank of the Philippines17. The credit supply of the Land Bank of the Philippines in the countryside
increased 26-fold from 105.06 million in 1987 to 2.8 billion in 1990 (Llanto, 1993). The Land Bank achieved its
phenomenal growth in agricultural lending (mainly to small agrarian reform beneficiaries) by using cooperatives
as conduits for its loans. The bank worked with private groups to help organize the cooperatives which, according
to its latest report, totalled some 5,000 during that time. By the end of 1990, the Land Bank had delivered credit to
305,156 farmers through 2,879 cooperatives. However, the number of cooperatives has since declined enormously,
most becoming non-operational with loans outstanding to the Land Bank. At present, Irrigators Associations are
replacing the cooperatives as borrowers from the bank.
A recent addition to the formal lending system is the credit guarantee institution (CGI). The following CGIs are
currently operating:
1. The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC),18 which is used by the Comprehensive Agricultural Loan
Fund (CALF) to guarantee the production credit of small farmers;
2. The Quedan Rural Credit and Guarantee Corporation (Quedancor),19 which provides guarantee cover for
inventory financing; and
3. The Small Business Corporation (SBC),20 which provides credit guarantees to small and medium-sized firms/
enterprises.
The CALF is managed by the Agricultural Credit and Policy Council (ACPC) of the DA, which oversees the credit
guarantee operations of these three institutions and pays the guarantee calls submitted by the banks through the
PCIC, Quedancor and SBC. The credit guarantee covers up to 85per cent of the total amount of a loan (Llanto, 1993).
16
17
18
19
20
https://www.landbank.com/.
https://www.devbnkphl.com/.
http://pcic.gov.ph/.
http://www.quedancor.gov.ph/.
http://www.sbgfc.org.ph/.
29
3.4.2.2
Informal Lenders
The second source of agricultural credit is the informal sector. The informal sector comprises the informal money
lenders (such as traders, millers, large farmers, friends, relatives, landowners and, recently, overseas contract
workers), credit unions and credit cooperatives, and rotating savings and loans associations. The informal lenders
usually serve the financing requirements of small-scale and subsistence agriculture and the majority of small rural
borrowers.
It was reported by Llanto (1993) that despite the recent growth of formal credit to agriculture, the informal sector
continues to be a critical feature of rural credit markets. The majority of rural borrowers in the Philippines, as in
many developing countries, have always depended on informal lenders. Unfortunately, there are no organized and
systematic data on informal lenders to help us assess their relative importance to the agricultural sector. Anecdotal
evidence and several local surveys, however, point to their ability to operate in areas and for a specific clientele that
banks fail to serve.
30
CHAPTER 4: THE POLICY ENVIRONMENT
Chapter 4: The Policy Environment

The proposed AMIA is unique as it addresses, through the proposed set of interventions described in detail in
Chapter 6, a large number of policy goals and targets related to climate change, sustainable development and
agricultural sector reform, and provides a holistic solution to climate change risk management and the transition
to low GHG emission agriculture, and the empowerment of farmers. It is worth noting that the Philippines has
already created under different programmes most of the enabling policy environment for the implementation
of these interventions and for reaching the targets under this AMIA, but this AMIA is the first attempt to put the
programmes together in a single policy implementation structure.
4.1 Climate Change and Agriculture: The Existing Policy Framework

Climate change has been recognized as an issue of national importance in the Philippines. In recognition of the
urgent need for action, Republic Act 9729, also known as the Climate Change Act of 2009, was passed. The Act
mandates the mainstreaming of climate change in policy formulation, so that policies and measures that address
climate change are integrated into development planning and sectoral decision-making.
Under the Climate Change Act, the Climate Change Commission (CCC) was established in 2009. The Commission
is the lead policy-making body tasked to coordinate, monitor and evaluate programmes and plans to deal with
climate change. It is mandated to formulate the National Framework Strategy on Climate Change (NFSCC) and the
National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP).
The NFSCC is the countrys roadmap for creating a climate-resilient Philippines. The NCCAP is an achievable
programme of action for integrated climate change adaptation and mitigation, while calling for a policy on public
financing that gives priority to adaptation and a policy environment that encourages private sector investment.
The NCCAP provides for the conduct of vulnerability assessments, demonstration of the "eco-town approaches,
research and development that supports renewable energy, as well as the promotion of sustainable transport
(DENR, 2012). It outlines the agenda for adaptation and mitigation for 2011-2028. Within the two long-term
objectives of adaptation and mitigation, the NCCAP pursues seven strategic priorities as outlined in Box 3 below.
Box 3. Priorities and Expected Outcomes of the NCCAP

Food Security - The objective of the national strategic priority on food security is to ensure the
availability, stability, accessibility, and affordability of safe and healthy food amidst climate change.
Water Sufficiency - In light of climate change, however, a comprehensive review and subsequent
restructuring of the entire water sector governance is required. It is important as well to assess the
resilience of major water resources and infrastructures, manage supply and demand, manage water
quality, and promote conservation.
Ecological and Environmental Stability - Ecosystem resilience and environmental stability during the
plan period is focused on achieving one immediate outcome: the protection and rehabilitation of
critical ecosystems, and the restoration of ecological services.
Human Security - The objective of the human security agenda is to reduce the vulnerability of women
and men to climate change and disasters.
31
Climate-Friendly Industries and Services - NCCAP prioritizes the creation of green and eco-jobs and
sustainable consumption and production. It also focuses on the development of sustainable cities and
municipalities.
Sustainable Energy - NCCAP prioritizes the promotion and expansion of energy efficiency and
conservation; the development of sustainable and renewable energy; environmentally sustainable
transport; and climate-proofing and rehabilitation of energy systems infrastructures.
Knowledge and Capacity Development - The priorities of the NCCAP on knowledge and capacity
development are:
Enhanced knowledge on the science of climate change;
Enhanced capacity for climate change adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk reduction at the local
and community level; and
Established gendered climate change knowledge management accessible to all sectors at the
national and local levels.
One of the agencies which came up with a programme addressing climate change in agriculture is the
Department of Agriculture (DA). On 25 January 2013, the Secretary of Agriculture issued a Memorandum entitled
Mainstreaming Climate Change in the DA Programs, Plans and Budget enumeratingfour strategic objectivesto
make the Departments plans and programmes climate change compliant or climate proof. The document
contains the following strategic objectives:
a. To increase the adaptive capacity and productivity potential of agriculture and fisheries livelihoods by
modifying commodity combinations to better meet weather issues and natural resource endowments;
b. To redefine or remap the Strategic Agriculture and Fisheries Development Zones (SAFDZ) by including climate
change vulnerabilities as part of mapping variables;
c.
To redefine the agriculture development planning framework as a basis of agricultural development planning
by including key factors/variables associated with climate change; and
d. To develop a new framework and plan for the provision of new government agriculture services for the
accelerated development of climate smart agriculture and fisheries industries.
The memorandum included seven DA systems-wide programmes on climate change, which cut across
department policy instruments and agencies. These core systems-wide programmes allow the Department to
better address climate change vulnerabilities and risks in creating and implementing the countrys agriculture and
fisheries modernization programmes. The Financial Management Service of the DA was instructed to allocate the
necessary resources for the successful implementation of these programmes.
4.2 Climate Change Policy and the AMIA

The proposed AMIA responds entirely to the requirements of Republic Act 9729 by integrating climate change
adaptation and mitigation measures into the AMIA design. The adoption of this AMIA will allow rice sector
adaptation policies to be implemented by introducing climate change resilient irrigation practices. At the same
32
time, it will also create a mechanism for the reduction of GHG emissions resulting from rice production, which can
be easily subjected to an MRV framework, is described in Chapter 8.
Furthermore, the AMIA addresses all the seven strategic priorities of the National Climate Change Action Plan
(NCCAP), as described below.
Table 5. Rice Sector AMIA and Existing Climate Change Policies in Agriculture
Food Security
Implementation of the AMIA is expected to lead to increased rice production by up

to 5per cent per hectare as well as an increase in the irrigable land area because of
increased irrigation water availability and improved irrigation services, especially during
the dry season. This will result in an overall increase of rice production and allow the
Philippines to meet its national target of attaining 100per cent rice self-sufficiency.
Water Sufficiency
The implementation of the AMIA will result in savings in irrigation water and its more
efficient use, thus allowing improved water sufficiency in agriculture.
Ecological and
Environmental
Stability
The proposed AMIA will create a more resilient and less drought-prone rice production
ecosystem.
Human Security
Currently a large share of the population of the Philippines is engaged in agriculture,

mainly rice production. The proposed AMIA will improve human security in two
directions. First, it will transform the rice sector by making it a more climate resilient
one that can sustain extended droughts caused by climate change. Second, the AMIA,
through its optional component, will allow farmers to diversify agricultural production
and thus possess the knowledge and skill base to overcome any adverse effects on rice
production caused by climate change events, while at the same time widening their
base for generating income.
Climate-Friendly
Industries and
Services
This AMIA transforms rice production into a climate change resilient and climate change
smart mode. The reduced use of irrigation water, reduced fuel consumption in pumpirrigation systems, and reduced GHG emissions because of the introduction of AWD
reduce the overall carbon footprint of rice production.
Sustainable
Energy
The AMIA will have a particularly strong effect on pumped irrigation systems where the
introduction of the AMIA will lead to the reduction of fuel consumption and energy
savings.
Knowledge
and Capacity
Development
The implementation of the AMIA will promote the countrywide dissemination of AWD
practices, as well as knowledge about the cultivation of other agricultural products by
farmers (the Palayamanan concept). In this way the AMIA will contribute significantly to
knowledge and capacity development in the agricultural sector.
4.3 Gaps and Risk Assessment

As seen in Chapter 2, the rice sector in the Philippines represents a large share of the countrys economy and has a wellestablished organizational structure that can be used for carrying out any potential interventions. It also has ready access
to the established knowledge base within IRRI and PhilRice, which allows it to stay abreast with the most recent scientific
advances in rice cultivation.
33
On the other hand, the sector does not produce sufficient amounts of rice to satisfy the domestic consumption demands.
This deficit will be further aggravated by the advance of climate change, especially through changing weather patterns and
water shortages. Improved irrigation practices can be one potential solution for overcoming the sectors weaknesses and
improving its management, as proposed in this AMIA.
A World Bank report entitled Getting a Grip on Climate Change in the Philippines contains observations on overall climate
change policy in the Philippines, and identifies some major policy gaps that are highly relevant to this AMIA (World Bank,
2013, particularly Part III: Public Expenditure and Financial Management Review) .
The first major observation is that in spite the fact the Philippines has a comprehensive climate change policy there is a lack
of coordination between different departments (ministries) of the government when it comes to implementation. Although
the CCC that was created under the Office of the President of the Philippines has the mandate to coordinate national
climate change policy, in practice policy fragmentation across sectors makes prioritization among sectors very difficult.
This observation is relevant to this AMIA. As seen in the section on AMIA governance in Chapter 7, a number of agencies
need to interact if the implementation of the AMIA is to be successful. Although PhilRice is under the DA, the NIA and
the BAS are under the Office of the President of the Philippines. Additionally, the Department of the Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR), which will play an important role in the MRV of the AMIA, is a separate government entity. The
smooth operation of this AMIA will require the establishment of a clear regulatory framework defining the tasks of various
government agencies involved in the process.
Finally, it is worth noticing that some of the activities that are covered under this AMIA are already envisaged under existing
DA policies. For example, AWD has been already prioritized in Administrative Order 25 of 2009, though the order has
never been carried out. AWD is the main technology in the project Accelerating the development and dissemination of
associated technologies on rice production that are resource-use efficient funded by DAs Bureau of Agricultural Research
Food Staples Sufficiency Program.21 The DA also has its own programme to help farmers diversify crop production and
gain access to markets. Finally, the Sikat Saka programme offers direct lending to farmers through the Land Bank of the
Philippines for their agricultural activities. The implementation of the AMIA will allow coordination of all related initiatives that
are in place within the DA and other agencies, and mainstreaming them for the achievement of the AMIAs goals.
21
34
Personal communication from Ruben Lampayan of IRRI submitted by e-mail on 26 February 2015.
CHAPTER 5: AMIA BASELINE AND AMIA TARGETS
Chapter 5: AMIA Baseline

and Expected Outcomes
5.1
Baseline Scenario
The baseline scenario of the AMIA is the hypothetical scenario describing what will happen in the absence of the
proposed AMIA interventions. As policies to stimulate the introduction of AWD have not yet been implemented,
the baseline scenario assumes the continuation of the current practice in rice cultivation, the continuous flooding
of rice fields up to two weeks before harvest and the effects associated with that.
The baseline scenario consists of two components, a GHG baseline and a Sustainable Development (SD) baseline.
Setting the baseline scenario in this way allows the effects of the Nationally Appropriate Improvements (NAI) to be
properly assessed and quantified through the monitoring activities described in the Measurement, Reporting and
Verification (MRV) system.
5.1.1 GHG Baseline

The GHG baseline assumes the continuation of current rice cultivation practices in irrigated rice fields in the
Philippines, i.e. the continuous flooding of rice fields up to two weeks before harvest. These cover the emissions
from the existing irrigated rice fields during the dry and wet seasons where both single and double cropping is
practiced. The details of the GHG baseline estimation are provided in Annex II.
Analyzing the data for rice cultivation in 2013, it can be concluded that for most of the irrigated land in the Philippines
double cropping is practiced for rice production. Thus, taking into account the 140,000ha area of irrigated rice fields
where AWD has already been introduced, it can be assumed that the approximately 1,386,057 ha of land used for
double cropping in the wet and dry seasons, and the 184,223 ha used for single cropping during the wet season are still
practicing continuous flooding. Following the formula described below and default baseline emission factors introduced
in Chapter 8, it is estimated that the actual baseline emissions from rice cultivation are approximately 50,826ktCO2e/year.
G
BEs = EFBL,s,g * As,g *10 3 *GWPCH 4

g=1
(1)
Where:
BEs
Baseline emissions from project fields in seasons (tCO2e)
EFBL,s,g
Baseline emission factor of group g in seasons (kgCH4/ha per season, use default
values)
As,g
Area of project fields of groupg in seasons (ha)
35
GWPCH4
Global warming potential of CH4 (tCO2e/tCH4, use value of 25)
Group g, covers all project fields with the same cultivation pattern (G = total number
of groups)
5.1.2 Sustainable Development (SD) Baseline

The SD baseline is the continuation of non-resilient rice production, characterized by unsustainable water and land
usage, a sub-optimal rice yield and use of rice production technology that does not apply state-of-the-art agricultural
techniques. The SD baseline is characterized by various indicators related to the environment, social, growth and
development, and economic domains. Wherever possible, the parameters are quantified, otherwise qualitative
description will be provided. The indicators for each domain and the baseline values are provided in the tables below.
Details are provided in the Sustainable Development Tool (SD Tool) devised for this AMIA (see Annex 1).
5.1.2.1 Selection of SD Indicators

The SD indicators were selected in line with the countrys Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as reflected in
the seven pillars of the Philippine National Climate Change Action Plan (see Chapter 4), namely:

Food Security
Water Sufficiency
Ecological and Environmental Stability
Human Security
Climate-Friendly Industries and Services
Sustainable Energy
Knowledge and Capacity Development.
The AMIA ensures environmental sustainability through improved soil quality, therefore, soil quality was selected
as an indicator in the environmental domain. The AMIA also contributes to the eradication of extreme poverty
and hunger, by supporting farming communities in producing more rice, implementing sustainable cultivation
and irrigation methods, and widening the income source base through diversification of agricultural production.
Therefore, three indicators were selected in the social domain: livelihood of poor, poverty alleviation, peace, food
security and provides vulnerable groups access to local resources and services.
The AMIA supports technology and know-how transfer which can contribute to more sustainable growth in the
agricultural sector. Therefore, the following two indicators were selected in the growth and development domain:
access to sustainable technology and capacity-building.
Finally, the AMIA creates new opportunities for farmers to generate income, as well as for trainers and qualified
personnel involved in AMIA management and implementation. Therefore, job creation and income generation
were selected as indicators in the economic domain.
36
The results are provided in the table below.
Table 6. SD Indicators
*The SD Tool is provided in Annex 1.
Table 7. SD Parameters and Baseline Values

Baseline
Parameter
Unit
Rice Production
tons/year
Harvested Land Area
ha/year
Additional Services
ha
Trainings
Persons
ISF cost
/ha/season
ISF collection percentage
Percentage
Area over which alternative crop is practiced
ha
Value applied
Baseline Value
18,032,525
4,690,061
2,000
70
0
37
5.2 Expected Outcomes of the AMIA

The AMIA targets are developed in line with the seven pillars of the NCCAP of the Philippines (see Chapter 4) and will be
achieved through the implementation of nationally appropriate interventions. As described in Chapter 6, this will include
the creation of economic incentives for the introduction of AWD, execution of training and capacity support programmes
for IAs and farmers, as well as additional optional training in the diversification of agricultural production by rice farmers. The
expected outcomes of the AMIA up to 2020 and the means of their verification are summarized in the table below.
Table 8. Expected Outcomes of the AMIA to 2020 and their Verification

Expected Outcomes
Values
Indicator/ Unit
Means of Verification
GHG Emission Reductions in Rice

Cultivation in 2020
12,151,688
tCO2/yr
Through the MRV system described in

Chapter 8
Total Emission Reduction during

the AMIA Lifetime (2015-2020)
36,455,063
tCO2
Through the MRV System described in

Chapter 8
Annual Rice Production in the

Philippines in 2020
20,382,000
tons/year
Data from the Bureau of Agricultural

Statistics, Philippine Statistics Authority
Total Increase in Rice Production

During the AMIA Lifetime
(2015-2020)
2,009,472
tons

Harvested Land Area
4,915,061
ha/year

150
persons
Reports by AMIA Implementer
ha
Reports by AMIA Implementer
Trained Irrigation Officers

Trained Farmers/ IAs (in land area
managed)
ISF Collection Rate
750,000
100
per cent
Data from NIA
The introduction of AWD is expected to significantly reduce GHG emission levels. If the Philippine rice sector
manages to adopt AWD as a standard cultivation practice on the targeted 750,000 ha, it is estimated that
approximately 12,151,688tCO2e/year of emission reductions can be achieved, which represents a significant
reduction in the carbon footprint of rice cultivation of slightly less than 25per cent from the baseline level.
Following the implementation plan described in Chapter 9, over the five years of AMIA implementation, total
emission reductions are expected to reach 36,455,063 tCO2. This is a significant reduction, which will also be
achieved in a cost- efficient manner at an average cost of CO2 emission reductions of less than US$1/tCO2.
The expected outcomes for SD Indicators are presented in the table below. The expected outcomes reflect the
overall AMIA goal for adopting AWD on 750,000 ha of irrigated rice fields across the Philippines and the sustainable
development improvements associated with that process. The targets for food security take into consideration
two facts, namely the increase in yields per hectare as a result of AWD implementation and the increase in overall
irrigable land due to the increased availability of irrigation water. The targets also assume that the ISF collection rate
will reach 100 per cent in the areas where AWD is adopted, which will be sufficient to compensate for a 20 per cent
reduction in the level of ISF for farmers participating in the AMIA. The Nationally Appropriate Improvements (NIA)
for each of the SD domains have been calculated as per the UNDP NAMA Sustainable Development Tool and are
reported in Table 8. The high values of the NIA show an high level of ambition of the AMIA implementer and the
significant contribution of the AMIA to the sustainable development of the Philippines.
38
Table 9. SD Targets
*The SD Tool is provided in Annex I.
39
CHAPTER 6: AMIA INTERVENTIONS
Chapter 6: AMIA Interventions

The AMIA interventions are the set of measures proposed for the sustainable transformation of cultivation practices
in the rice sector that will lead to overall GHG emission reductions and the other AMIA targets described in the
preceding section, including climate change risk reduction, improved food security and strengthened climate
change adaptation capacity, being met. As a result of the AMIA interventions, approximately 750,000 ha of irrigated
area are expected to adopt AWD. The exact implementation structure and implementation plan are described in
Chapter 7 and Chapter 9.
The AMIA interventions can be classified into two main packages: basic package and support package. The
basic package will require the creation of policy and economic incentives and the delivery of training/education
to farmers. The support package is a set of optional training sessions for participating farmers to diversify their
production through gaining knowledge and experience in growing other crops (products) such as vegetables.
6.1
Basic Package
It is proposed that the basic AMIA package should consist of two main components: a national level incentives
scheme and capacity-building for farmers and IAs.
It was already emphasized in the preceding sections that AWD has been well received in demonstration projects.
At the same time, farmers tended to revert to the old practice, continuous flooding, once the demonstration
projects were over. An important exception were the pump irrigation systems where the introduction of AWD led
to reduced use of fuel, thereby reducing the cost of operating the irrigation pumps.
The general conclusion from these experiences is that the benefits which AWD offers under the rice sectors current
structure are not sufficient to outweigh the perceived risks of changing the established cultivation practice, unless
there are additional economic incentives. In other words, the main lesson of this experience is that an efficient
intervention must be the one that offers a win-win solution for all the stakeholders involved, which in the case of
rice cultivation, are the government agencies that supply irrigation water and the farmers who use it.
The introduction of AWD is a means of providing farmers with improved and reliable irrigation services.
Additionally, AWD is expected to bring increased yields and, possibly, an increase in the cultivated area due to the
water being saved being made available to additional farmers, particularly to the downstream of each system.
On the side of the government agencies, the stakeholders that will directly benefit from the introduction of AWD
are the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM). For
NIA and BSWM, stable ISF collection is the main incentive for the introduction of any new measure and policy.
The introduction of AWD has the potential to increase the ISF collection rate as more farmers will get access to
irrigation water and improved irrigation services, which is expected to increase their willingness to pay. Moreover,
if AWD leads to an increase in the area cultivated, it will also translate into increased revenue for NIA, which is an
additional incentive for the agency to support the measures under the AMIA.
In view of the above, the first intervention proposed under the AMIA is a complete overhaul of the ISF system, so
that farmers adopting AWD can be eligible to pay a reduced ISF. As previously discussed, interviews with NIA staff
40
and IAs confirmed that the ISF collection rate varies between 50 per cent and 70 per cent, mainly due to provision
of unsatisfactory irrigation services to tail-end farmers. At the same time, the introduction of AWD is expected
to improve the overall supply of irrigation water so that it can reach even remote downstream farmers. Thus, it is
expected that the irrigation service fee collection rate among AWD-adopting farmers will increase to reach close to
100 per cent soon after implementation of the AMIA22.
A decrease in the size of the ISF payment involves a lot of uncertainty for NIA. In order to facilitate the decision to
reform the ISF system, it is proposed that the difference in payment between the current level and discounted level
for AWD-adopting farmers will be covered by international donors. Donors will cover 100 per cent of the difference
for the first two years and their contribution will gradually decrease thereafter, so that donor support can be fully
retired by 2020. Later on, the decrease in the ISF is expected to be offset by the increased ISF collection rate and
increased payments from the additional harvested land, which can guarantee that NIAs revenue does not decrease
from its current level.
The ISF reform is a key measure for the financial sustainability of this AMIA and its successful implementation
depends on building a strong consensus among all concerned agencies, such as the DA and NIA, as well as within
the Government of the Philippines.
The second intervention under the basic AMIA package will require sufficient capacity-building that the
AMIA implementer reaches each and every farmer. The AMIA implementer will play a pivotal role in delivering
information dissemination campaigns and introducing AWD as the new and appropriate way of irrigating the rice
crop or managing irrigation water in farmers fields. As the AMIA aims to have countrywide dissemination and to
cover up to 750,000 ha by 2020, the AMIA implementer will train 150 field officers for the NIA and the BSWM. These
officers will be AMIAs executors on the ground in tandem with the existing Crop Specialists (CSs)/Rice Sufficiency
Officers (RSOs), and will work actively with the IAs and individual farmers. At the same time, the AMIA implementer
will actively supervise the delivery of training to the IAs in the first few years of the AMIA operation, and will retain a
consultation role in the ensuing years.
The AMIA implementer will design the training programme, in consultation with rice irrigation experts and
researchers, as well as with NIA and BSWM representatives. A special training manual will be produced and distributed
to NIA/BSWM field officers to streamline the execution of the AMIA and guarantee its continuity over time.
All 150 field officers will receive initial training at the start of the AMIA, following the prescriptions contained in the
training manual. Training will be delivered by the AMIA implementer. Additionally, knowledge updating (brushup) seminars will be delivered by the AMIA implementer to field officers at regular intervals, but at least once every
six months. Finally, it is expected that NIA and BSWM will take over responsibility for carrying out training within
two to three years from the start of the AMIA.
The AMIA Implementer will also establish a hotline service to provide field officers and farmers with constant support for
the correct implementation of the AWD. The hotline will provide guidance on AWD implementation and allow farmers
to raise any concerns that they may have regarding the new irrigation practice. The hotline service will also keep a
database of all issues encountered by farmers and field officers to support the smooth implementation of the AMIA and
its improvement.
22
A penalty can be imposed on farmers who do not pay the ISF by excluding them from the AMIA and denying them access to the support
package and any other training.
41
Finally, in order to provide even further incentives for farmers and mitigate the potential risks associated with the
implementation of AWD, a guarantee fund will be established. The fund will evolve over time into an AWD insurance
product which is expected to be integrated eventually in the existing crop insurance system, already described in Chapter 3.
The guarantee fund is proposed to be established following the examples of previous pilot projects, implemented by
PhilRice. Under the guarantee fund, any yield reduction that may result from the shift from continuous flooding to AWD will
be covered by the fund. For example, the guarantee per hectare can be equivalent to 4,250.00 or 5 cavans (50 kg bags)
of rice. The concrete mechanics of the guarantee fund is currently discussed among the relevant Philippine government
entities and stakeholders..
During the implementation of the AMIA, additional donor funding will be provided to develop a crop insurance product.
The product will reflect the results of the actual AMIA implementation and the issues encountered in the process. At the
end of the AMIA implementation period, an AWD insurance product will be launched to replace the guarantee fund.
6.2 Support Package

The proposed AMIA includes an additional support package that will allow farmers who participate in the AMIA
to receive additional training in the diversification of their production. This support package, although designed
as an incentive, serves several purposes. It is aimed at supporting farmers in widening the base of their income
sources and gaining access to different agricultural markets. In this way, it will assist a very vulnerable part of
Philippine society, rice farmers, to raise their living standards by providing them with more opportunities. The
additional training is also expected to make the AMIA more attractive to farmers and make the adoption of AWD, a
fundamental change in existing agricultural practice, easier to accept and implement.
The training will be provided by the AMIA implementer and will include several modules, giving the farmers a
choice of which to participate in (among modules, e.g., on production of mushrooms, vegetables or other crops).
In each training module, farmers will receive a series of lectures on growing a particular agricultural product.
Following that, they will start the actual growing process in close cooperation with and with support from the
AMIA implementer. The AMIA implementer will work closely with farmers at least for the first two seasons, while
continuing to provide them with support after that. PhilRice already has prepared such training modules and is
delivering them on a pilot basis; therefore, their integration into the AMIA is not expected to face many hurdles.
For the success of this package and for it to have a real impact on the agricultural sector of the Philippines, it is
crucial that farmers gain access to markets for the products that they grow. With that in mind, it is proposed that
this component of the AMIA is also supported by the Department of Agriculture through its existing programmes
for diversification of agricultural production and for giving farmers easier market access.
Although the support package is not the main focus of the AMIA, it targets one of the main issues of Philippine
agriculturemonoculture growingand provides farmers with access to an additional revenue stream from the
production and sale of new agricultural products.
6.3 Costs of AMIA Implementation

The AMIA is expected to transform irrigation practice in a total of 750,000 ha of rice fields in the Philippines over
a five-year period up to 2020. It is envisaged that, following the successful implementation of the AMIA, the
Government of the Philippines will continue to expand the area of AWD application; however, donor funding will
be needed to kick-start the entire process.
42
The costs of AMIA implementation are detailed in the section below. They arise from the cost of capacity-building and
training of farmers under the basic package, the delivery of training under the support package, and the need for funding
to offset the reduced ISF paid by participating farmers. All costs are based on assumptions provided by PhilRice.
6.3.1 Costs of ISF Reduction

The effects of the reduction of the ISF are not easy to estimate as the fee varies among regions. Therefore, an average
value of 4,250/ha/season or 5 bags of rice (50 kg per bag at a supported price of 17.00/kg) was used in the analysis23.
Table 10. Cash Flow Analysis of Reduction in the ISF
Value
Unit
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Total
IA Covered
IA
1,200
2,400
3,600
4,800
6,000
6,000
Area
Converted
ha
150,000
300,000
450,000
600,000
750,000
750,000
637,500,000
1,275,000,000
1,912,500,000
2,550,000,000
3,187,500,000
9,562,500,000
1,338,750,000 1,785,000,000
2,231,250,000
6,693,750,000
ISF Due
without the
AMIA
4,250
/season
ISF
Collected
without the
AMIA
446,2250,000
892,500,000
ISF
Collected
under the
AMIA
510,000,000
1,020,000,000
1,530,000,000
2,040,000,000
2,550,000,000
7,650,000,000
Increase
Revenue for
NIA under
the AMIA
63,750,000
127,500,000
191,250,000
255,000,000
318,750,000
956,250,000
US$
1,482,558
2,965,116
4,447,674
5,930,233
7,412,791
22,238,372
Difference
between ISF
Due without
the AMIA
and ISF
Collected
under the
AMIA
127,500,000
255,000,000
382,500,000
510,000,000
637,500,000
1,912,500,000
US$
2,965,116
5,930,233
8,895,349
11,860,465
14,825,581
44,476,744
Payment by
Donors
per cent
100
100
50
20
127,500,000
255,000,000
191,250,000
102,000,000
675,750,000
US$
2,965,116
5,930,233
4,447,674
2,372,093
15,715,116
43
/US$
Exchange
Rate
23
This is the average irrigation fee for gravity irrigation systems where no direct fuel savings are expected to occur as a result of AWD introduction.
43
As the ISF collection rate is reported to be between 50 per cent and 70 per cent, the higher end value is applied
here. Thus, in the absence of the AMIA, NIA will collect only 446.25 million, instead of the 637.5 million
scheduled for the first 150,000 ha targeted in the starting year of the AMIA. In other words, the NIA is losing
191.25 million for that year from the targeted rice fields.
If the ISF is reduced by 20 per cent or to 3,400/ha/season for the farmers adopting AWD, NIA can achieve a 100
per cent collection rate from these fields. (The exact governance mechanism to support this assumption will be
discussed in the next chapter). Thus, for the same year and from the targeted 150,000 ha of irrigated rice fields, NIA
will raise revenue of 510 million, or approximately 63.75 million (US$1.48 million) more than it would receive
without the fee reduction. This already makes a good enough case for reducing the ISF for farmers adopting AWD.
To assure the revenue stream to NIA, it is proposed that the difference in the ISF for target farmers will be covered
by donors. The most pragmatic option is for donors to cover fully the difference between the actual and reduced
ISF for participating farmers during the first two years. In the third year the coverage ratio will be reduced to 50 per
cent, and to 20 per cent in the fourth year, before falling to zero in the fifth year. Total donor support is estimated to
be approximately US$15.7 million over a period of four years.
The limited timespan for donor support under this component is considered to be sufficient to create a
functioning system of ISF discounts for AWD farmers that can be fully borne by NIA from the fifth year onwards
through increased ISF collection rates.
6.3.2 Costs of Technical Training and Overall AMIA Implementation

Technical training will be the core of AMIA implementation. As the AMIA aims at changing an established cultural
practice, in addition to the economic incentives, continuous training and guidance for farmers are crucial for the
success of the AMIA and reaching its targets. The costs of training and AMIA management are estimated over a
period of five years, including the preparations before the start of the AMIA.
The costs consist of personnel services, which account for more than half of all expenses, maintenance and
operating expenses, equipment expenses, and administrative costs.
44
Table 11. Total Budget Requirements for Capacity-Building

( unless otherwise stated)
Particulars
Year 0
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Total
I. Personnel Services (PS)

A. Service Payment
(Permanent Staff )
1,377,600
1,377,600
1,377,600
1,377,600
1,377,600
6,888,000
B. Salaries of Personnel
to be Hired
50,653,860
50,653,860
50,653,860
50,653,860
50,653,860
253,269,300
C. Training Allowance of
AEWs/IDOs/SWRFTs
27,000,000
27,000,000
27,000,000
27,000,000
27,000,000
27,000,000
79,031,460
79,031,460
79,031,460
79,031,460
79,031,460
395,157,300
Sub-Total for PS
II.Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE)

A. Travel
3,780,000
3,780,000
3,780,000
3,780,000
3,780,000
18,900,000
B. Communications
252,000
252,000
252,000
252,000
252,000
1,260,000
C. Supplies
1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
5,000,000
81,577,000
23,044,000
23,044,000
23,044,000
23,044,000
23,044,000
196,797,000
Sub-Total for MOOE
81,577,000
28,076,000
28,076,000
28,076,000
28,076,000
28,076,000
221,957,000
III. Equipment Outlay

(EO)
4,865,000
4,865,000
IV. Administrative
Cost
8,157,700
10,710,746
10,710,746
10,710,746
10,710,746
10,710,746
61,711,430
94,599,700
117,818,206
117,818,206
117,818,206
117,818,206
117,818,206
683,690,730
2,199,993
2,739,958
2,739,958
2,739,958
2,739,958
2,739,958
15,899,784
94,599,700
117,818,206
118,996,388
118,996,388
118,996,388
118,996,388
688,403,458
2,199,993
2,739,958
2,767,358
2,767,358
2,767,358
2,767,358
16,009,383
D. Training and
Updating of FFS
Manual
F. Other MOOE
TOTAL
Total (US$)
TOTAL + 1% Inflation
Starting at Year 2
Total Cost of AMIA
Training and
Management (US$)
Table 12. Budget Requirements for Personnel Services

/unit
Particulars
Quantity
I. Personnel
Complement/
Project Staff
(PhilRice)
a. Service Payment of
Permanent Staff
12
AMIA
Implementation
Leader
15,000
No. of
Months
Year 0
Year 1
TOTAL
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
180,000
180,000
180,000
180,000
180,000
45
Table 12. Budget Requirements for Personnel Services (continued)

Particulars
/unit
No. of
Months
Year 0
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Assistant
Implementation
Leader
12,000
12
144,000
144,000
144,000
144,000
144,000
Leader/ FFS-Training
8,800
12
105,600
105,600
105,600
105,600
105,600
Leader/Water
Management
8,800
12
105,600
105,600
105,600
105,600
105,600
Senior Water
Management
Specialist
6,400
12
76,800
76,800
76,800
76,800
76,800
Senior Training
Specialist
6,400
12
76,800
76,800
76,800
76,800
76,800
Sub-Total
688,800
688,800
688,800
688,800
688,800
b. Salaries of Personnel
to be Hired
Senior Training
Specialist
45,000
12
540,000
540,000
540,000
540,000
540,000
Senior Water
Management
Specialist
45,000
12
540,000
540,000
540,000
540,000
540,000
Junior Training
Specialist
30,000
12
720,000
720,000
720,000
720,000
720,000
Junior Water
Management
Specialist
30,000
12
720,000
720,000
720,000
720,000
720,000
Crop Specialist (Rice

Sufficiency Officers)
150
25,723
12
46,301,400
46,301,400
46,301,400
46,301,400
46,301,400
Monitoring and
Evaluation Specialist
25,723
12
308,676
308,676
308,676
308,676
308,676
Report Officer
25,723
12
308,676
308,676
308,676
308,676
308,676
Database Manager
22,259
12
267,108
267,108
267,108
267,108
267,108
Clerk III
17,000
12
408,000
408,000
408,000
408,000
408,000
Driver
15,000
12
540,000
540,000
540,000
540,000
540,000
Sub-Total
50,653,860
50,653,860
50,653,860
50,653,860
50,653,860
II. Personnel
Complement/
Project Staff (NIA/
BSWM)
a. Service Payment of
Permanent Staff
AMIA
Implementation
Leader
15,000
12
180,000
180,000
180,000
180,000
180,000
Assistant
Implementation
Leader
12,000
12
144,000
144,000
144,000
144,000
144,000
8,800
12
105,600
105,600
105,600
105,600
105,600
Leader/ FFS-Training
46
Quantity
Table 12. Budget Requirements for Personnel Services (continued)

Particulars
/unit
Quantity
No. of
Months
Year 0
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Leader/Water
Management
8,800
12
105,600
105,600
105,600
105,600
105,600
Senior Water
Management
Specialist
6,400
12
76,800
76,800
76,800
76,800
76,800
Senior Training
Specialist
6,400
12
76,800
76,800
76,800
76,800
76,800
Sub-Total
688,800
688,800
688,800
688,800
688,800
b. Training and
Communication
Allowance
IDO/SWRFT
150
7,500
12
13,500,000
13,500,000
13,500,000
13,500,000
13,500,000
Agriculture
Extension Worker
(AEW) from LGUs
150
7,500
12
13,500,000
13,500,000
13,500,000
13,500,000
13,500,000
Sub-Total (Training
Allowance)
27,000,000
27,000,000
27,000,000
27,000,000
27,000,000
Sub-Total (a+b)
27,688,800
27,688,800
27,688,800
27,688,800
27,688,800
TOTAL (I + II)
79,031,460
79,031,460
79,031,460
79,031,460
79,031,460
Table 13. Budget Requirements for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses
Particulars
Quantity
/
unit
No. of
months/
days/
A. Travel
Fuel and Oil (3

vehicles x 12
months a year;
10 trips per
month)
Per Diema
15
Sub-Total
B. Communication
21
C. Office Supplies
for Project
Management
Staff (Various)
D. Training
Year 0
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
30,000
12
1,080,000
1,080,000
1,080,000
1,080,000
1,080,000
1,500
120
2,700,000
2,700,000
2,700,000
2,700,000
2,700,000
3,780,000
3,780,000
3,780,000
3,780,000
3,780,000
12
252,000
252,000
252,000
252,000
252,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
D.1. Writeshop
(Training
Manual)
Service Payment
(Resource
Persons)
14
6,500
273,000
Service Payment
(Support Staff)
6,500
97,500
1,000
47
Table 13. Budget Requirements for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (continued)
Particulars
/
unit
No. of
months/
days/
Year 0
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Office Supplies
(various)
50,000
Editing and
Layout of Manual
75,000
200
75,000
570,500
160
450
144,000
144,000
144,000
144,000
144,000
Long Sleeve
Shirts
8,000
150
1,200,000
1,200,000
1,200,000
1,200,000
1,200,000
T-shirts with
Collar
8,000
200
1,600,000
1,600,000
1,600,000
1,600,000
1,600,000
Training
Materials for
Farmers
8,000
200
8,000,000
8,000,000
8,000,000
8,000,000
8,000,000
Observation
Wells
8,000
100
800,000
800,000
800,000
800,000
800,000
Snacks (2
Cropping
Seasons)
8,000
50
3,200,000
3,200,000
3,200,000
3,200,000
3,200,000
40,000
6,000,000
6,000,000
6,000,000
6,000,000
6,000,000
20,944,000
20,944,000
20,944,000
20,944,000
20,944,000
D.3. Staff Training
D.3.1 Training of
Rice Sufficency
Officers (RSO)
Service Payment
(Resource
Speakers)
12
1,400
1,760
29,568,000
Meals
210
500
60
6,300,000
Lodging
150
300
60
2,700,000
110
1,650,000
Printing of
Manual
Miscellaneous
(15 per cent of
the total cost)
Sub-Total
D. 2. Farmers
Field School
Registered Seeds
(160/IA)b
Field Day (2
Cropping
Seasons)
Sub-Total
48
Quantity
500
150
Use of Training
Facilities
3,000
D.3.2 Training
of NIA Staff
(SWRFT) and
LGU Extension
Workers
Table 13. Budget Requirements for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (continued)
Particulars
Service Payment
(Resource
Speakers)
Quantity
/
unit
No. of
months/
days/
Year 0
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
1,760
29,568,000
12
1,400
Meals
210
500
60
6,300,000
Lodging
150
300
60
2,700,000
3,000
110
1,650,000
81,006,500
E. 4 Project
Management
and
Implementers
Meeting
Attendance at
Conferences,
Meetings and
Seminars
End-Season
Review and
Planning
Workshop (2
Times a Year)
300
2,500
1,500,000
1,500,000
1,500,000
1,500,000
1,500,000
Monthly Meeting
for Progress
Monitoring
and Reporting
(4 Months
per Season; 2
Seasons a Year)
300
250
600,000
600,000
600,000
600,000
600,000
Use of Training
Facilities
Sub-Total
Sub-total
2,100,000
2,100,000
2,100,000
2,100,000
2,100,000
D. Other MOOE (i.e

Utilities)
Electricity and
Water
12
Office Space rental
12
Sub-Total
GRAND TOTAL
81,577,000
28,076,000
28,076,000
28,076,000
28,076,000
28,076,000
Notes:
a. Per diem based on prevailing rate. At least 3 times a week field work x 22 days/month x 10 months/year x 21 pax
(18 tech staff + 5 drivers).
b. Irrigators Association (IA)
49
Table 14. Budgetary Requirements for Equipment

Particulars
/unit
Quantity
Year 1
Total
Vehicle
Pick-up Double Cab
1,200,000
2,400,000
Van - 10 Seater
1,500,000
1,500,000
Computers
Desktop
50,000
300,000
Laptop
50,000
200,000
Tablet with GPS
35,000
175,000
Printer Copier
50,000
50,000
LCD Projector
40,000
80,000
Camera (SLR)
60,000
60,000
Portable Sound System with Lapel Accessories
100,000
100,000
SUB-TOTAL
4,865,000
The total costs of this component are estimated to be approximately US$16 million. It is proposed that the costs in the
preparatory year (Year 0) and the first year of AMIA implementation will be covered completely by donors, with local coverage
increasing to 50 per cent in the second year and 70 per cent in the third year. From the fourth year, the training costs will be
completely covered from local sources, namely from the Philippine Government budget. On this basis, it is expected that total
donor support for this component up to 2020 will be approximately US$7.153 million, against US$8.855 million of local funds.
The total costs for both components are summarized below.
Table 15. Allocation of Funding between Donors and Local Participants

Particulars
Year 0
Total Cost of AMIA Training and

Management (US$)
2,199,993
2,739,958
2,767,358
2,767,358
2,199,993
2,739,958
1,383,679
Donor Coverage (US$)

Local Coverage (US$)
Donor Payment for Reduction in
the Irrigation Service Fee (US$)
Total
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
Total
2,767,358
2,767,358
16,009,383
830,207
7,153,838
1,383,679
1,937,151
2,767,358
2,767,358
8,855,545
2,965,116
5,930,233
4,447,674
2,372,093
15,715,116
2,199,993
2,739,958
5,732,474
8,697,591
7,215,032
5,139,451
31,724,499
The payments for reduction in the ISF are assumed to be made with one year delay following the verification of the results of the AMIA
implementation.
6.3.3 Costs of Support Package Implementation

It is planned that the cost of the support package will be borne by an additional budget to be allocated to the
AMIA implementer for organizing special training. Most of the funding is expected to be sourced through the
Department of Agriculture and no donor support is currently required. As the support package is voluntary, its
scale is difficult to estimate, but the target is to cover at least half of the farmers in the participating IAs.
50
CHAPTER 7: AMIA IMPLEMENTATION STRUCTURE
Chapter 7: AMIA Implementation

Structure
7.1 Participants in the AMIA Implementation Structure and their Roles
Under the current institutional structure in the Philippines, AMIA implementation is supervised by the Climate
Change Commission of the Philippines (CCC).24 The CCC will be the focal point for negotiations with potential
AMIA investors and will also monitor the congruence between AMIA implementation and the Philippines national
sustainable development goals of the Philippines. The current AMIA can therefore become a AMIA only after
approval by the CCC.
The actual implementation of the AMIA will be supervised by a Rice Sector AMIA Supervisory Board, consisting of
representatives of the Government of the Philippines (the CCC, DENR, DA and others), donors and stakeholders
(such as IRRI and environmental NGOs). The Supervisory Board will provide guidance to the AMIA implementer,
issue rules and procedures for the Rice Sector AMIAs operations and screen its outcomes, including the rate of
adoption of AWD, GHG emission reductions and financial performance. The Supervisory Board will also approve the
inclusion of any new projects in the AMIA.
Actual AMIA implementation will be carried out by the AMIA implementer. The AMIA implementer should possess
the up-to-date technical knowledge of AWD and have experience in the implementation of government and
donor funded programmes and projects.
The AMIA implementer will be in charge of the day-to-day management of the AMIA, the training of field officers,
supervision of AWD implementation and the execution of the MRV for the AMIA. The AMIA implementer will also
deliver the training under the AMIA support package.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) will play several roles in AMIA implementation. Although it will not be
involved in the direct execution of the AMIA, the DA will provide funds for the implementation of the AMIA
capacity-building component, AMIA management and the implementation of the AMIA support package through
existing and new budget lines. The DA will also provide advice to the AMIA implementer, PhilRice, on overall AMIA
execution with a view to achieving synergies and guaranteeing that the activities are in line with the overall policy
for the agricultural sector development.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) will play a central role in the execution of the AMIA on the ground
and in channeling funds for AMIA implementation. NIA will co-fund the local portion of the AMIA through its
climate change budget. Furthermore, NIA will provide field officers to PhilRice for training in the implementation
of the AMIA. In this way, NIA will become the engine for the dissemination of AWD, as most of the 150 trained field
officers who will work directly with the IAs will be its employees.
24
http://climate.gov.ph. Ms. Joyceline Goco of the CCC is the designated AMIA approver as of March 1, 2015. See, http://unfccc.int/files/cooperation_support/AMIA/application/pdf/AMIA-approver.pdf.
51
The Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) will also participate in AMIA implementation and will provide
some field officers for areas that are under its jurisdiction.
The Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) will play a pivotal role in channeling donor money to the AMIA through the
establishment of a trust fund. The bank is a specialized government-owned bank for the support of agricultural
activities and with extensive experience in trust fund operations. Box 4 in Chapter 9 raises the possibility of the
Land Bank of the Philippines being accredited under the Green Climate Fund.
7.2 Financial Flows

The management of the financial assistance under the proposed AMIA is presented in the figure below.
Figure 6. AMIA Financial Assistance

80 per cent
20 per cent
Government of the Philippines
Department of
Agriculture
Rice Programme
Budget Co-Funding
(e.g. Sikat Saka)
Ex-ante Stream
International Donors
NIA
Field O cers
Trust Fund
Ex-post Stream
ISF Incentive
Irrigators
Associations
AMIA
Implementer
Training,
Implementation,
Voluntary Support
Management of Donor Funds

(e.g. Land Bank)
Execution of Individual Activities

Donor Funds
Domestic Funds
Total Funds
MRV
As discussed in the preceding chapter, the financial flows will consist of an ex-ante stream which will be provided
to the AMIA implementer for capacity-building services and management and an ex-post stream which will be
provided to the IAs based on the actual irrigated area that has switched to AWD.
The ex-ante stream will be financed by international donors and the Government of the Philippines through its
existing programmes and channels. The national funds will be channeled through the Department of Agriculture
and the National Irrigation Administration and will be combined with the funds from international donors to
support the capacity-building services provided by the AMIA implementer. The funds will be disbursed based on
52
an annual AMIA management and capacity-building plan, which will be prepared by PhilRice and presented to
donors every year up to the end of the third year of the AMIA implementation after which the donor funding for
this component is expected to stop. Any subsequent capacity-building needs for increasing the scale of the AMIA
beyond the currently projected 750,000 ha of irrigated rice fields will be funded from domestic sources.
The ex-post stream will be based on a payment against delivery principle. PhilRice and IAs will constantly monitor
and collect data on the areas that have been converted to AWD under the AMIA, following the prescriptions of
the MRV methodology. The monitored data will be supplied to the donors who will evaluate it. Once the data
have been approved by the donors, they will issue instructions to the AMIA trust fund to disburse payments
to the participating IAs equivalent to the value of the ISF discount. IAs will collect only the discounted ISF from
participating farmers, and will pay the full ISF to NIA using donor funds. In the first two years, donor payments will
be sufficient to cover completely the ISF discount. After that donor payments will decrease gradually and will be
withdrawn completely after the fourth year of the operation of the AMIA.
There are several options for dealing with the ISF discount after donor support is reduced and eventually
withdrawn. One option is to make regulatory changes and incorporate the ISF discount into the ISF system. Such
a change in the regulatory system will be justified once an increase in the ISF collection rate from participating
farmers has materialized.
Another option is to keep the ISF at the current level, but to have the ISF discount for farmers adopting AWD
subsidized internally. The discount can be funded internally through increased ISF collection, but will require
special internal regulations within NIA allowing for such a mechanism.
In any case, the withdrawal of donor support is expected to become a stimulus for the swift and efficient
implementation of AWD and ISF reform, so that sufficient local funds will come available towards 2020.
7.3 Technical Assistance Flows

Technical assistance will be provided by PhilRice, the AMIA implementer. The content of the technical assistance
will be agreed with the Rice Sector AMIA Supervisory Board and will be fine-tuned in regular consultations with the
DA.
The AMIA implementer will develop an AWD Manual and will train approximately 150 field officers for the National
Irrigation Administration and the Bureau of Soils and Water Management. The manual will be prepared at a special
Writeshop (a manual writing workshop), where experts from PhilRice, IRRI and other entities will be invited to
participate.
Once the field officers have finished their training, they will begin a series of training sessions and field schools
for Irrigators Associations and farmers together with the AMIA implementer. The training will be conducted in
groups of up to 50 participants. During the training, irrigation calendars will be developed for each IA, and farmers
will learn how to control the level of water in their fields. During the cropping season, field officers will work with
farmers every day and provide on-the-spot support and practical guidance on adopting AWD. The overall structure
of the technical assistance flow is described in the figure below.
53
Figure 7. AMIA Technical Assistance

Supervisory Board
(Government, Donors and Stakeholders)
AMIA Implementer
(AMIA Implementation, Training and
Coordination
Monitoring Office
Training
Training
National Irrigation
Administration
Bureau of Soils and Water

Management
Department of
Agriculture
7.4 The Project Approval Process under the AMIA

As already discussed, the AMIA will be implemented in every IA. The activities of each IA under the AMIA will be
considered a separate AMIA project.
At the beginning of every year, the AMIA implementer will discuss with DA and NIA the annual budget for AMIA
implementation and the number of new IAs to be included in the AMIA during the year. Once the budget is
agreed, the AMIA implementer will begin collecting proposals from IAs to join the AMIA.
Before an IA can launch its project within the AMIA, it has to prepare a Project Information Note and submit it to
the AMIA implementer. The note should include the following data:

Name of the IA
Copy of the IA registration certificate
List of the farmers who have confirmed their participation in the project
Irrigated area by each participating farmer
Confirmation that AWD is currently not practiced by the farmers participating in the project
Confirmation that the IA fully understands its responsibilities under the AMIA and is willing to cooperate with
the AMIA implementer in introducing AWD.
The information in the Project Information Note will be entered into the AMIA database and will be used for the
MRV of the emission reductions as well as for the distribution of the ISF subsidy.
54
PhilRice will review the Project Information Note for each project and, having established that the project
documents are complete, will add the project to the AMIA database. Following that, the AMIA implementer will
assign a field officer to take charge of the project, provide an indicative date for the AMIA operation to begin, and
start discussing the structure of training for the particular IA.
In case the AMIA implementer receives more applications in a particular year than can be approved under the
available budget, it can either delay the project implementation for a particular IA to the next year or request
additional funds from the DA and NIA.
The AMIA project approval structure is presented in the figure below.
Figure 8. AMIA Project Approval Structure
Supervisory Board
AMIA Implementer
Budget Approval
Application
IA
IA
IA
55
CHAPTER 8: AMIA MEASUREMENT, REPORTING AND VERIFICATION
Chapter 8: AMIA Measurement,

Reporting and Verification
8.1
Overview
A credible and transparent MRV framework is essential if the impact of this AMIA on the nationally appropriate
improvements (NAI), greenhouse gas emissions and SD co-benefits is to be assessed effectively. It would provide
the country with an accurate and credible information framework that can serve as a basis for understanding
the impact of such holistic mitigation actions and for identifying areas needing more targeted effort. On the
international level, a strong MRV framework would help the country receive due recognition for its contributions to
GHG emission reduction and the transformation to low-emission sustainable agriculture, while also increasing the
likelihood of its accessing international financial support.
The basic MRV concepts are explained below. Annex 2 contains a copy of the MRV tool for GHG emission
reductions, developed in MS Excel format, which should be consulted when reading this chapter.
8.2 MRV System for GHG Emissions

The MRV system for this AMIA is designed based on the approved Standardized Baseline ASB0008 Standardized
Baseline for Methane Emissions in Rice Cultivation in the Republic of the Philippines.25 The SB was developed by
the Philippine Designated National Authority for CDM (DNA) in cooperation with the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities (MUMSS).
The SB developed Philippines-specific seasonal default values derived from the results of Global Environment
Facility (GEF) funded research on greenhouse gas emissions from rice cultivation executed by the International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) during the period 1994-1999. The
default emission factors provide the value of emissions per area per season (kgCH4/ha/season), allowing emission
reductions to be estimated only from the area of the rice fields on which AWD has been adopted.
25 https://cdm.unfccc.int/sunsetcms/storage/contents/stored-file-20150226173410083/G%3A%5CSDM%5CClean%20Development%20
Mechanism%20%28CDM%29%5CCDM02-Methodology%5CStandardized%20baseline%5CApproved%20Standardized%20Baselines%20
-ASBs%5CASB0008%5CASB0008.pdf.
56
8.2.1 Baseline Emissions

Baseline emissions are calculated on a seasonal basis using the following formula:
BEy = BEs
(2)

g=1
(3)
Where:
BEy
Baseline emissions in yeary (tCO2e)
BEs
EFBL,s,g
values)
As,g
GWPCH 4
of groups)
The baseline emission factors are calculated using the following formula adapted from IPCC (2006):
EFBLs,g = EFc x SFp x SFw x SFo
(3)
Where:
EFBL,s,g
Baseline Emission Factor
EFc
Baseline emission factor for continuously flooded fields without organic amendments
in the Philippines
SFp
Scaling factor to account for the differences in water regime in the pre-season before
the cultivation period
SFw
Scaling factor to account for the differences in the water regime during the
cultivation period
SFo
Scaling factor to account for the organic amendments
57
The baseline emission factors for continuously flooded rice fields for the dry and wet seasons are determined as follows:
Table 16. GHG Baseline Emission Factors

(kgCH4/ha/season)
Baseline
Dry Season
EFc
SFBL,w
SFBL,p
SFBL,o
Emission Factor
(EFBL)
For regions where double cropping is

practised
171.40
1.00
1.00
2.88
493.63
For regions where single cropping is practised
171.40
1.00
0.68
1.70
198.14
Wet Season
EFc
Baseline
SFBL,w
SFBL,p
SFBL,o
Emission Factor
(EFBL)
For regions where double cropping is

practised
297.42
1.00
1.00
2.88
856.56
For regions where single cropping is practised
297.42
1.00
0.68
1.70
343.81
8.2.2 Project Emission Factors and Emission Reduction Factors

Using the same approach as the calculation of baseline emissions and determination of baseline emission factors,
the project emission factors and emission reduction factors are determined as shown in the following table.
Table 17. Emission Reduction Factors (kgCH4/ha/season)

Baseline
Dry
Season
For regions
where
double
cropping is
practiced
For regions
where
single
cropping is
practiced
58
EFc
171.40
171.40
SFBL,w
1.00
1.00
SFBL,p
1.00
0.68
Project
SFBL,o
Emission
Factor
(EFBL)
2.88
493.63
1.70
198.14
Project Scenarios
SFP,w
SFP,p
SFP,o
Emission
Factor
(EFP)
Emission
Reduction
Factor (EFER)
Scenario 1: change
the water regime from
continuously to intermittent
flooded conditions (single
aeration)
0.60
1.00
2.88
296.18
197.45
Scenario 2: change
flooded conditions (multiple
aeration)
0.52
1.00
2.88
256.69
236.94
Scenario 1: change
flooded conditions (single
aeration)
0.60
0.68
1.70
118.88
79.26
Scenario 2: change
flooded conditions (multiple
aeration)
0.52
0.68
1.70
103.03
95.11
Baseline
Wet
Season
For regions
where
double
cropping is
practiced
For regions
where
single
cropping is
practiced
EFc
SFBL,w
297.42
297.42
1.00
1.00
SFBL,p
Project
Emission
Factor
(EFBL)
SFBL,o
1.00
0.68
2.88
856.56
1.70
343.81
Project Scenarios
SFP,w
SFP,p
SFP,o
Emission
Factor
(EFP)
Emission
Reduction
Factor
(EFER)
Scenario 1: change
the water regime
from continuously to
intermittent flooded
conditions (single aeration)
0.60
1.00
2.88
513.94
342.62
Scenario 2: change
the water regime
conditions (multiple
aeration)
0.52
1.00
2.88
445.41
411.15
Scenario 1: change
the water regime
conditions (single
aeration)
0.60
0.68
1.70
206.29
137.53
Scenario 2: change
the water regime
aeration)
0.52
0.68
1.70
178.78
165.03
8.3.3 GHG Monitoring Parameters

Based on the approach described above, the required monitoring parameters for the calculation of actual
GHG emission reductions are reduced to only onearea where AWD is applied. A summary of the monitoring
parameters is provided in the table below.
Table 18: Monitoring Parameters

Parameter
Description
Unit
Measuring methods and procedures
EFBL, s, g
kgCH4/ha per
season
As per Standardized Baseline emission

factors.
EFP, s, g
Project Emission Factor
kgCH4/ha per
season
As per Standardized Baseline emission

factors.
As. g
Aggregated project area

in a given season. Only
compliant farms are
considered.
ha
To be determined by collecting the project

field sizes in a project database. The size of
project fields shall be determined by GPS
or satellite data. Should such technologies
not be available, established field size
measurement approaches shall be used
provided that uncertainties are taken into
account in a conservative manner.
59
8.2.4 Monitoring of Farmers Compliance with AWD Practice

In order to determine whether the participating rice fields are correctly applying AWD and can participate in the
emission reduction calculations, the following protocol is proposed.

A cultivation logbook shall be used and maintained, and at least the following shall be documented:
Total area planted (in ha);
Sowing or transplanting (date);
Fertilizer, organic amendments, rice straw management and crop protection application (date, quantity
and active ingredients);
Water regime on the field and in the rootzone (e.g. dry/moist/flooded) and dates where the water regime
is changed from one status to another through the use of an observation well (see Section 1.2 above);
Total number of irrigation events
Yield.
Farmers should make a statement that they have followed fertilization recommendations provided by rice crop
manager.
It should be established that only those farms that actually comply with the project cultivation practice are
considered.
A database should be set up which holds data and information that allow the unambiguous identification of
participating rice farms, including the name and address of the rice farmer, size of the field and, if applicable,
additional farm-specific information.
The database and the compliance system will be set up by the AMIA implementer. The Irrigators Associations will
collect the data from their members and forward it to the AMIA implementer on a monthly basis. Government
entities, such as DA and BAS, will publish the compliance data in the national statistics and provide additional
support for this component of the MRV, if needed.
60
8.3 Monitoring of Sustainable Development Benefits

In addition to GHG emissions, the MRV system of the AMIA will cover sustainable development benefits. The
monitoring parameters are summarized in the table below.
Table 19. Monitoring SD Indicators*
61
*An SD Tool is provided in Annex I.
62
8.4 Monitoring and Reporting Structure

The proposed monitoring and reporting structure for the AMIA is presented in Figure 9 below.
Figure 9. Monitoring and Reporting Structure

Department of Agriculture (DA) Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) National
Irrigation Administration (NIA)
Role: Provision of statistical data, inclusion of the results of the
AMIA data in national statistics
AMIA Implementer
Role: Data collection and aggregation, supervision of the overall MRV process
Irrigators Association (IA)

Farmers
Farmers
Role: Monitoring
andAssociation
data collection
Farmers
Irrigators
(IA)
Irrigators
Association
(IA)
Role: Monitoring
Farmers and data collection
Farmers
Role: Monitoring and data collection
Role: Monitoring and data

collection

Farmers
Farmers
Role: Monitoring
andAssociation
data collection
Farmers
Irrigators
(IA)
Irrigators
Association
(IA)
Role: Monitoring
Farmers

collection

Farmers
Farmers
Role: Monitoring
andAssociation
data collection
Farmers
Irrigators
(IA)
Irrigators
Association
(IA)
Role: Monitoring
Farmers
Role: Monitoring and
data collection

collection
Data collection starts from the individual rice farmers who adopt AWD as their water management practice. With
the assistance of CSs/RSOs, a Farmer Monitoring Sheet is filled in by the farmer during each rice planting season,
recording information necessary to determine the area where AWD is being applied, as well as a data sheet where
information on water status in the field is recorded in order to confirm the farmers compliance with the AMIA
implementation requirements. During the end of every cropping season, the completed Farmer Monitoring Sheet
will be collected by the farmers Irrigators Association (IA) and submitted to the CS/RSO. The CS/RSO collates
the individual data collected from their member farmers and enters it on the Irrigators Association Monitoring
Sheet. This information is forwarded to the AMIA implementer for data processing, aggregation and archiving. The
reporting forms for each level, i.e. individual farmers, Irrigators Associations and the AMIA implementer (PhilRice/
NIA/BSWM), has been prepared on a separate worksheet and can serve as template forms during implementation.
It is also possible to consider the integration and addition of monitoring parameters to the existing database
system of the government, for example, the PSA-BAS database. This has to be done in coordination between DA,
PSA and NIA.
For SD parameters all other data can be accessed through the national statistical databases managed by the BAS
and NIA. Therefore, the existing data collection system of the government may continue to be used as a data
63
source in the MRV framework for the AMIA. If the monitoring of some parameters requires additional information,
new entries can be added to the existing statistical and data-collection forms.
8.5
Verification
Verification rules for NAMAs are usually based on the requirements of the NAMA funding agencies, as well as
host country requirements. Same rules are expected to apply for AMIAs. Before developing domestic capacity for
verification, it is recommended to use some of the existing CDM auditors26 or ISO 1400027 certification bodies with
experience in the agricultural sector and a good understanding of local conditions in the Philippines, but NAMA or
AMIA-specific verification rules should be developed in the future.
Below is a summary of the possible scope of AMIA verification, based on the NAMA verification approach adopted
by Social Carbon28:
64
Selection of Methods for Verification
Document Review
Interviews or Focus Group Discussions
Site Visits
Avoidance of Double Counting
Adherence to the MRV approach
Assessment of GHG emission reductions
Assessment of SD Benefit Improvement against the SD benchmarks
Non-Permanence Risk Analysis
26
27
28
Available from http://cdm.unfccc.int/DOE/list/index.html.

Available from http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/management-standards/iso14000.htm.
See http://www.socialcarbon.org.
CHAPTER 9: AMIA IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
Chapter 9: AMIA Implementation

Plan
It is planned that the AMIA will be implemented over five years, during which 750,000 ha of irrigated rice fields will
be converted from continuous flooding to AWD. The first steps will include the preparation of an AWD Manual and
the training of 150 Extension Workers and Rice Sufficiency Officers. Once that is done, the extension workers will be
dispatched to the IAs and will start to train the farmers. The details of the implementation plan are described below.
9.1 Approval of the AMIA and Establishment of the Institutional

Structure for AMIA Implementation
Once approval of the AMIA is granted, the institutional set-up for AMIA implementation should commence. The
first step will be the creation of the inter-agency Rice Sector AMIA Supervisory Board by September 2015. The
Supervisory Board will formalize the rules for the AMIA implementation, nominate the AMIA implementer and
establish a framework for inter-agency cooperation, as well as for cooperation with donors on technical and
financial aspects of the AMIA. The AMIA implementation structure is expected to follow the outline described in
this proposal, but will be fine-tuned based on the consultations among the members of the Supervisory Board.
9.2 Securing Donor Support and Domestic Funding

Early stage consultations with donors are essential for securing sufficient donor funding. Awareness of the
development of the AMIA already exists among donors, especially after webinars and publications on the
standardized baseline and the AMIA study in 2014. Therefore, formal approaches to donors should start as soon as
the AMIA is approved, while informal distribution of the AMIA proposal can begin once it is finalized.
Potential donors who already actively fund NAMAs and NAPs, and respectively AMIAs, are the German and British
Governments through the NAMA support facility,29 the Global Environmental Facility (GEF)30 through its executing
agencies, the Green Climate Fund (GCF)31 (see Box 4, below), EU Governments, and the Japanese Government
through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).32
Regarding domestic funding, PhilRice, DA and NIA, as the agencies that will most actively participate in AMIA
implementation, should start discussing the budget for the AMIA once the proposal is finalized. A secured budget for
the domestically funded component of the project will provide a strong signal to potential donors of commitment to
AMIA implementation. Discussions to date have shown that budget resources are available for some of the activities
targeted under the AMIA, thus securing domestic funding is expected to be a question of budget reallocation rather
than of securing new funds.
29
30
31
32
See http://www.AMIA-facility.org/start.html.
See http://www.thegef.org/gef/.
See http://news.gcfund.org/ .
See http://www.jica.go.jp/english/index.html.
65
Box 4. Cooperation with the Green Climate Fund

The GCF is a newly established international facility for funding climate change projects related to adaptation
and mitigation. For channeling funds from the GCF, each country has to establish a National Designated
Authority (NDA), while National Implementing Entities (NIEs) need to receive accreditation from the GCF. In
the context of this AMIA, as well as to facilitate access to climate change financing generally, the Land Bank
of the Philippines should be considered as a potential candidate for the role of National Implementing Entity.
A summary of the national structure required by the GCF is provided below.
1. National Designated Authority
The NDA is the coordinating entity in the recipient government. The NDA serves as the central contact
point for the GCF Secretariat. The NDA helps ensure that GCF projects/programmes are consistent with
national plans; this consistency is ensured through a transparent no-objection procedure. In addition to
granting a letter of no-objection for proposed projects/programmes, the NDA also issues letters of noobjection for entities applying to be NIEs. The decision on the government institution in which the NDA is
to be located is left to the discretion of the national government.
2. National Implementing Entity
The GCF offers the possibility of direct access through NIEs in recipient countries, as well as through
regional and international implementing entities (IEs). NIEs must be accredited by the GCF Board. There
is no limit to the number of NIEs which may be accredited in a recipient country. NIEs receive funds from
the GCF and then often transfer the funds to Executing Entities (EEs). NIEs are held accountable to the GCF
Board on the basis of the GCF Results Management Framework.
The GCF Board decided that entities accredited by the GEF, the Adaptation Fund, and or the European
Union (EU) Development and Cooperation (DEVCO) that meet the prerequisites may be eligible for the
fast-track accreditation process.
3. Executing Entity
Executing Entities (EEs) are entities which conduct the operational implementation of activities under GCF
projects/programmes. EEs are held accountable to the NIE/IE, which provides the EEs with support.
9.3 Implementation of Technical Assistance

Once the AMIA implementer is formally assigned, the actual implementation of the AMIA can begin. The first step
will be the development of a AMIA training manual that will be used for training the first 150 rice field officers.
The manual will be prepared as part of a four-day workshop with the participation of renowned Philippine and
international experts in the field of rice cultivation and irrigation. Five hundred copies of the manual will be printed
and distributed to the CSs/RSOs as trainers, to serve as their guide and reference. The manual may also be provided
to participating Irrigators Associations.
The training of the officers should start immediately after the completion of the training manual. The training can
take place at the training facilities of PhilRice in Nueva Ecija or other appropriate locations. The field officers can be
drawn from field officers already working for NIA/BSWM or can be new recruits hired specifically for the AMIA. The
training will continue for two months and will include theoretical preparation and practical training.
66
Before implementation begins, PhilRice and the DA will conduct an information campaign among IAs and farmers about
the AMIA and its benefits. IAs and the field officers can start preparing project proposals for AMIA implementation after
that. As the AMIA is expected to start in 2016, the first batch of proposals should be collected by the end of November
2015. Based on the proposals received, the AMIA implementer will prepare a concrete annual technical assistance plan;
engage, assign and dispatch field officers; and start discussions with the individual IAs.
Currently each field officer is expected to cover approximately four IAs per season for two cultivation seasons
annually. This will allow 150,000 ha of rice fields to adopt AWD each year.
At the end of every year IA will collect data on the operation of the AMIA, including the area where AWD has been
adopted, farmers compliance and so on. Most of the data have already been described in the MRV section, although
further data may be required, for example, by donors making payments to cover the ISF payments discount.
Towards the end of the fifth year of AMIA implementation, it is expected that 750,000 ha of rice fields will have
adopted AWD as their standard irrigation practice. The donor funds will have been completely retired and the
AMIA will be implemented entirely with domestic funding and support, chiefly from the annual budgets of the DA
and NIA. There will be a reduction in emissions of approximately 12 million tCO2e annually, significantly mitigating
the impact of the rice sector on climate change. Additionally, there will be improvement in the efficiency of
the national and communal irrigation systems, increase in the rice yield across the areas adopting AWD and an
increasing number of rice farmers planting alternative crops.
Furthermore, by 2020, the Philippines will have a more resilient rice production sector capable of withstanding
many of the challenges of climate change.
Figure 10. AMIA Implementation Schedule

Intervention
Specific deliverables
Requirement
Year
0
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
1. Provision of
FFS Manual
on Water
Management
Updating of FFS
Manual to highlight
AWD implementation
(measurement and
monitoring of water
level or moisture
adequacy, possible
effects on pests and
diseases, nutrient
management,
mechanization, micro
climates, etc.)
14 subject
matter
specialists
and 4
support/
writeshop
staff
Writeshop for 4 Q1-4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

days; allocation
for lodging,
meals and
honaria; cost of
5
layouting and working
days
proofreading of
the final draft;
cost of printing
of 500 copies of
the manual
2. Training
of 150 Field
Officers
150 persons trained

for work in the field for
five years
Trainers/
resource
persons,
training
facilities
Training for
two months
44
to incorporate
AWD principles working
days
with respect to
the PalayCheck
system
3. Conduct of
Fieldwork
Fieldwork conducted
for one year for each IA
Each RSO/
AEW to
handle
four IAs per
season
To cover all the

IAs under the
NIS, IS (under
NIA) and SWISA
(under BSWM)
(150 field
officers x 4 IAs
per year x 250
ha per IA x 5
years = 750,000
ha)
Batch 1
Batch 2
Batch 3
Batch 4
Batch 5
67
References
Bloom, A. and M. Swisher (2010). Emissions from Rice Production. In The Encyclopedia of Earth, Cutler J. Cleveland, ed.
Available from http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/160598/.
Department of Agriculture (1990). A Review of the Agricultural Credit Situation and Outlook in the Philippines: A Staff
Consultants Report to the Asian Development Bank. Manila.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Office of Climate Change (DENR) (2012). Climate Change Adaptation:
Best Practices in the Philippines. Manila. Available from climatechange.denr.gov.ph/.
Epule, Terence E. (2011). Methane Emissions from Paddy Rice Fields: Strategies towards Achieving A Win-Win Sustainability
Scenario between Rice Production and Methane Emission Reduction. Journal of Sustainable Development, vol. 4, No. 6, pp.
188-196.
International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2006). 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, vol. 4,
Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use. Available from www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol4.html.
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) (2009). Annual Report 2008. Available from http://irri.org/resources/publications/
annual-reports/annual-report-2008.
Lampayan R.M., R.M. Rejesus, G.R. Singleton and B.A.M. Bouman (2015). Adoption and economics of alternate wetting and
drying water management for irrigated lowland rice. Field Crops Research, No. 170, pp. 95-108.
Llanto G.M. (1993). Agricultural Credit and Banking in the Philippines: Efficiency and Access Issues. Working Paper Series No.
93-02. Makati City: Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
Llanto G.M. (2005). Rural Finance in the Philippines Issues and Policy Challenges. Manila: Agricultural Credit Policy Council and
Philippine Institute for Development Studies. Available from serp-p.pids.gov.ph/serp-p/download.php?d=3724.
National Irrigation Administration (NIA) 2013. Irrigation Delivery, December. Available from
http://www.nia.gov.ph/services.php#irrigation_delivery.
Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) (2007). PalayCheck System for Lowland Irrigated Rice. Nueva Ecija and Rome:
PhilRice and FAO.
UNFCCC (1998). The Philippines Initial Communication on Climate Change. Available from
http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/phinc1.pdf.
UNFCCC (2012). Clean Development Mechanism: Small-scale MethodologyMethane emission reduction by adjusted
water management practice in rice cultivation, AMS.III.AU, Version 3. 20 July. Available from
http://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/DB/D6MRRHNNU5RUHJXWKHN87IUXW5F5N0.
Wassman, R., H. Papen and H. Rennenberg (1993). Methane Emission from Rice Paddies and Possible Mitigation Strategies,
Chemosphere, vol.26, Nos.1-4, pp.201-217.
World Bank (2013). Getting a Grip on Climate Change in the Philippines: Executive Report.
Available from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/06/17917169/getting-grip-climate-change-philippinesexecutive-report.
68
Social
Environment
Domain
Yes
Yes
Goal 6, Target 6.6

Goal 11, Target 11.6
Goal 2, Target 2.4
Goal 14, All targets
Goal 15, All targets
Goal 3, All Targets
Goal 1, All targets

Goal 2, Target 2.1
Goal 7, Targets 7.1
Goal 6, Tagets 6.1, 6.2,

6.4, 6.5
Water pollution/quality
Soil pollution/quality
Others (Noise/visibility)
Biodiversity and
Ecosystem balance
Health
Livelihood of poor,
poverty alleviation,
peace
Affordability of electricity
Access to sanitation and

clean drinking water
Yes
Air pollution/quality
Selected
(Yes/No)
Relevance to SDGs
and targets
Indicator
Table A1-1: SD Indicators
Provides
livelihood for
poor/poverty
alleviation;
Decrease
conflicts among
farmers
Improves soil
quality
Increased water
savings
Identified
impacts
Water savings from the implementation of AWD results in increased total

irrigated land area. As a result, more farmers and farm helpers are required,
providing additional livelihood for the poor farming communities;
Because of the availability of more irrigation water for downstream farmers
due to AWD, irrigation conflicts between upstream-downstream farming
communities are decreased.
AWD involves periodic aeration of the soil which results in higher zinc
availability, as well as increased plant root anchorage and lodging resistance.
AWD leads to sognificant water savings as a result of improved irrigation
Explanation of chosen indicator
Annex I: Sustainable Development Tool
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive
Effect on
Indicator
No
No
No
Yes
Monitoring
done (Yes/
No)
ANNEX I: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT TOOL
69
70
Growth and
Development
Social
Domain
Yes
Yes
Goal 8, Targets 8.2, 8.3,

8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8
Goal 1
Goal 8, Target 8.6

6.6, 6.a, 6.b
Goal 7, Targets 7.1,

7.2, 7.3
Goal 4, All targets
Goal 4, Targets 4.3, 4.6

Goal 5, All targets
Goal 4, Target 4.3

Goal 7, Targets 7a, 7b
Goal 9, Target 9b
Goal 7, Target 7.1,

7.2, 7.3
Goal 4, Target 4.3, 4.5
Goal 6, Target 6.a

4.3, 4.7
Goal 5, All targets
Quality of employment
Time savings/time
availability due to
project
No child labour
Provides vulnerable
groups access to local
resources and services
Access to clean and

sustainable energy
Education
Empowerment of
women
Access to sustainable
technology
Energy security
Capacity-building
Equality (quality of jobs

given, job conditions for
men/women)
Yes
Yes
Goal 2, All Targets

Food security (Access

to land and sustainable
agriculture)
Selected
(Yes/No)
Relevance to SDGs
and targets
Indicator
Knowhow
transfer
Access to
sustainable
technology
Positive
The AMIA implementer will provide proper training and knowhow transfer
of AWD implementation to the irrigation officers, irrigators associations and
individual farmers.
Positive
The AMIA implementer will be providing the required capacity-building for the
implementation of the AWD nationwide through direct interaction with the farmers
and IAs. Being the countrys authority on rice research, participating farmers and IAs
will have the opprotunity to access other available sustainable technologies from
PhilRice, such as variety development, pest and nutrient management, devising
decision support tools, water harvesting and conservation, diversified/integrated
farming, area mapping, and vulnerability studies.
Positive
The AMIA will allow a large number of farmers to gain the necessary skills for
growing alternative crops and practice alternative cropping.
Increased
capacity for
growing
alternative crops
Positive
AWD is a water management practice in rice cultivation promoting the efficient

use of water resources. This provides vulnerable groups access to water
resources and services which were not previously available to them, resulting in
increased total irrigated land area.
Positive
Effect on
Indicator
Increase access to
water resources

irrigated land area. Proportionately, increase in total number of rice fields results
in the increase in rice yield.
Increase in rice
production;
Increase in
irrigated land
Identified
impacts
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Monitoring
done (Yes/
No)
Goal 8, All targets
Job Creation (number

of men and women
employed)
Environment
Domain
Soil pollution/quality
Others (noise/visibility)
Biodiversity and
Ecosystem balance
Water pollution/quality
Air pollution/quality
Indicator
Number of
parameters
selected per
indicator
Goal 7, Targets 7a, 7b

Goal 9, All targets
Goal 17
Asset accumulation and

investments
Other
Parameters
Parameter
name
Parameter Selection
Yes
Yes

8.3, 8.4
Income generation/
expenditure reduction/
Balance of payments
Selected
(Yes/No)
Relevance to SDGs
and targets
Indicator
Table A1-2: SD Targets
Economic
Domain
Effect
Measurement
type
Baseline
Value
Target
value
estimated
(ex-ante)
Intervention
Value
monitored
(ex-post)

irrigated land area. As a result, more farmers and farm helpers are required,
providing more jobs.
Measurement
value
New jobs created
Unit
No
Yes
NAIs
monitored
(ex-post)
Monitoring
done (Yes/
No)
NAIs
estimated
(ex-ante)
Positive
Positive
Increased income for the farmers as a result of the lower rice production cost
(ISF);
Increased income for the NIA and IAs as a result of increased collection rate of
the ISF. It is expected that more farmers would be willing to pay the ISF because
of better satisfaction with irrigation services.
Increase income
for farmers;
Increase
collection of ISF
Effect on
Indicator
Identified
impacts
Evaluation
of Project
Success
71
72
Growth and
Development
Social
Domain
Empowerment of
women
Education
Access to clean and

sustainable energy
Provides vulnerable
groups access to local
resources and services
Time savings/time
availability due to project
Access to Sanitation and

clean drinking water
Quality of employment
Affordability of electricity
Livelihood of poor,
poverty alleviation, peace
Food security (Access

to land and sustainable
agriculture)
Health
Indicator
Number of
parameters
selected per
indicator
Farmers who
have Received
training on
Alternative
Cropping and
Practice it
Harvested
Land Area
Rice
Production
Harvested
Land Area
Other
Parameters
Parameter
name
Parameter Selection
Effect
Area over which

alternative
cropping is
practiced
National values
National values
National values
Measurement
value
Direct
Indirect
Indirect
Indirect
Measurement
type
4,690,061
4,690,061
18,032,525
Baseline
Value
750,000
4,915,061
4,915,061
18,702,349
Target
value
estimated
(ex-ante)
750,000
4,915,061
4,915,061
ha/yr
ha/yr
tons
Unit
ha
Domain Average
18,702,349
Intervention
Value
monitored
(ex-post)
100%
4%
5%
5%
4%
NAIs
estimated
(ex-ante)
NAIs
monitored
(ex-post)
Evaluation
of Project
Success
Economic
Growth and
Development
Domain
ISF
Job Creation (number

of men and women
employed)
Asset accumulation and

investments
ISF collection
percentage
Income generation/
expenditure reduction/
Balance of payments
Trainings
Equality (quality of jobs

given, job condition for
men/women)
Additional
Services
Energy security
Other
Parameters
Parameter
name
Parameter Selection
Capacity building
Access to sustainable
technology, Capacity
development
Indicator
Number of
parameters
selected per
indicator
Effect
Percentage of ISF
collection
ISF per ha
Number of
irrigation officers
who have been
trained
Area over which

alternative
cropping is
practiced
Measurement
value
Direct
Direct
Direct
Direct
Measurement
type
70
4,250
Baseline
Value
100
3,400
150
750,000
Target
value
estimated
(ex-ante)
100
3,400
150
750,000
TOTAL
AVERAGE
Domain Average
45%
31%
43%
20%
Percentage
100%
100%
100%
NAIs
estimated
(ex-ante)
/ha/
season
Persons
ha
Unit
Domain Average
Intervention
Value
monitored
(ex-post)
NAIs
monitored
(ex-post)
Evaluation
of Project
Success
73
MRV Intervention
74
Serial number
Indicator Name
Food security (Access to land and sustainable agriculture)
Domain
Social
Parameter Name
Rice Production
Baseline Value
18,032,525
Unit
tons
Way of Monitoring
How
Obtained from national rice statistics values
Frequency
3 years
By whom
AMIA Implementer
Project Value
18,702,349
QA/QC Procedures
QC check done
AMIA Implementer
Serial number
Indicator Name
Food security (Access to land and sustainable agriculture)
Domain
Social
Parameter Name
Harvested Land Area
Baseline Value
4,690,061
Unit
ha/yr
Way of Monitoring
How
Frequency
3 years
By whom
AMIA Implementer
Project Value
975,000
QA/QC Procedures
QC check done
AMIA Implementer
Serial number
Indicator Name
Provides vulnerable groups access to local resources and services
Domain
Social
Parameter Name
Harvested Land Area
Baseline Value
4,915,061
Unit
ha/yr
Way of Monitoring
How
Frequency
3 years
By whom
AMIA Implementer
Project Value
4,915,061
QA/QC Procedures
QC check done
AMIA Implementer
Serial number
Indicator Name
Access to sustainable technology
Domain
Growth and Development
Parameter Name
Additional Services
Baseline Value
Unit
Persons
Way of Monitoring
How
Frequency
3 years
By whom
AMIA Implementer
Project Value
750,000
QA/QC Procedures
QC check done
AMIA Implementer
Serial number
Indicator Name
Capacity building
Domain
Parameter Name
Number of irrigation officers who have been trained
Baseline Value
Unit
Persons
Way of Monitoring
How
AMIA Implementer
Frequency
3 years
By whom
AMIA Implementer
Project Value
150
QA/QC Procedures
QC check done
AMIA Implementer
Serial number
Indicator Name
Education
Domain
Parameter Name
Farmers who have Received Training on Alternative Cropping and Practice it
Baseline Value
Unit
Persons
Way of monitoring
How
AMIA Implementer
Frequency
Annual
By whom
AMIA Implementer
Project Value
750,000
QA/QC prodecure
QC check done
AMIA Implementer
75
Serial number
Indicator Name
Income generation/expenditure reduction/Balance of payments
Domain
Economic
Parameter Name
ISF per ha
Baseline Value
4,250
Unit
/ha/season
Way of Monitoring
How
NIA ISF approved/published values
Frequency
3 years
By whom
AMIA Implementer
Project Value
3,400
QA/QC Procedures
QC check done
AMIA Implementer
Serial number
Indicator Name
Income generation/expenditure reduction/Balance of payments
Domain
Economic
Parameter Name
Percentage of ISF collection
Baseline Value
70
Unit
Way of monitoring
How
NIA Statistics
Frequency
3 years
By whom
NIA
Project Value
100
QA/QC procedures
QC check done
AMIA Implementer
Calculations & Monitoring
76
Parameter
Unit
Baseline
Rice Production
tons/yr
18,032,525
Harvest Land Area
ha/yr
Additional Services
ha
Trainings
Value
applied
Project
Baseline
value
Value
applied
Year
1
Value
applied
Year
2
Value
applied
4,690,061
Persons
ISF
/hectare/
season
4,250
ISF collection percentage
Percentage
70
Area over which

alternative cropping is
practiced
ha
Year
3
ANNEX II: EMISSION REDUCTION CALCULATION AND MRV TOOL
Annex II: Emission Reduction

Calculation and MRV Tool
Formulas
Baseline Emissions
BEy = BEs
s

g=1
Where:
BEy
Baseline emissions in yeary (tCO2e)
BEs
EFBL,s,g
values)
As,g
GWPCH 4
of groups)
EFBLs,g = EFc x SFp x SFw x SFo

Where:
EFBL,s,g
EFc
Baseline emission factor for continuously flooded fields without organic amendments
in the Philippines
SFp
Scaling factor to account for the differences in water regime in the pre-season before
the cultivation period
77
SFw
Scaling factor to account for the differences in the water regime during the
cultivation period
SFo
Scaling factor to account for the organic amendments
Project Emissions
PEy = PEs
s
PEs = EFP,s,g * As,g *10 3 *GWPCH 4

g=1
Where:
78
PEy
Project emissions in yeary (tCO2e)
PEs
Project emissions from project fields in seasons (tCO2e)
EFBL,s,g
Project emission factor of group g in seasons (kgCH4/ha per season, use default
values)
As,g
GWPCH 4
of groups)
Standardized Baseline - Methane Emissions from Rice Cultivation in the

Republic of the Philippines
Table A2-1. Specific Emission Factors for Baseline, Project and Emission Reductions (kgCH4/ha/
season) for Dry Season
Baseline
Dry
Season
For regions
where
double
cropping is
practiced
For regions
where
single
cropping is
practiced
EFc
171.40
171.40
Project
SFBL,w
SFBL,p
SFBL,o
Emission
Factor
(EFBL)
1.00
1.00
2.88
493.63
1.00
0.68
1.70
198.14
Project Scenarios
Emission
Reduction
Factor (EFER)
SFP,w
SFP,p
SFP,o
Emission
Factor
(EFP)
Scenario 1: change
the water regime
0.60
1.00
2.88
296.18
197.45
Scenario 2: change
the water regime
aeration)
0.52
1.00
2.88
256.69
236.94
Scenario 1: change
the water regime
0.60
0.68
1.70
118.88
79.26
Scenario 2: change
the water regime
aeration)
0.52
0.68
1.70
103.03
95.11
Table A2-2. Specific Emission Factors for Baseline, Project and Emission Reductions (kgCH4/ha/
season) for Wet Season
Baseline
Wet
Season
For regions
where
double
cropping is
practiced
For regions
where
single
cropping is
practiced
EFc
297.42
297.42
Project
SFBL,w
SFBL,p
SFBL,o
Emission
Factor
(EFBL)
1.00
1.00
2.88
856.56
1.00
0.68
1.70
343.81
Project Scenarios
Emission
Reduction
Factor (EFER)
SFP,w
SFP,p
SFP,o
Emission
Factor
(EFP)
Scenario 1: change
the water regime
0.60
1.00
2.88
513.94
342.62
Scenario 2: change
the water regime
aeration)
0.52
1.00
2.88
445.41
411.15
Scenario 1: change
the water regime
0.60
0.68
1.70
206.29
137.53
Scenario 2: change
the water regime
aeration)
0.52
0.68
1.70
178.78
165.03
79
Table A2-3. Emission Reduction Estimates based on 2013 Data

2013 Data
1,526,057
ha
Total irrigated area harvested during DRY season (double-crop)
140,000
ha
Total irrigated area practicing AWD
1,386,057
ha
Total irrigated area harvested in DRY season without AWD (double-crop)
1,710,280
ha
Total irrigated area harvested during WET season
1,570,280
ha
Total irrigated area harvested in WET season without AWD
1,386,057
ha
double-crop, wet season, without AWD
184,223
ha
single-crop, wet season, without AWD
Emission Reduction
8,210,309
tCO2e
Dry season
14,246,933
tCO2e
Wet season, double-crop
760,058
tCO2e
Wet season, single-crop
23,217,300
tCO2e
Total emission reduction for the year 2013
Baseline Emission
18,003,398
tCO2e
Dry season
31,239,960
tCO2e
1,583,443
tCO2e
50,826,800
tCO2e
Total baseline emission for the year 2013
Project Emission
80
9,793,089
tCO2e
Dry season
16,993,026
tCO2e
823,385
tCO2e
27,609,500
tCO2e
Total project emission for the year 2013
Table A2-4. GHG Monitoring Summary Sheet

No.
Parameter / Description
Unit
Baseline
Year 1
Total irrigated area harvested during DRY

season
ha
1,526,057
1,526,057
1,526,057
1,526,057
1,526,057
1,526,057

during DRY season
ha
140,000
290,000
440,000
590,000
740,000
890,000
Total irrigated area harvested during WET

season
ha
1,710,280
1,710,280
1,710,280
1,710,280
1,710,280
1,710,280

during WET season
ha
140,000
290,000
440,000
590,000
740,000
890,000
Emissions during DRY season
tCO2e
18,003,398
17,114,873
16,226,348
15,337,823
14,449,298
13,560,773
Emissions during WET season
tCO2e
32,823,402
31,281,590
29,739,777
28,197,965
26,656,152
25,114,340
Total emissions for the year
tCO2e
50,826,800
48,396,463
45,966,125
43,535,788
41,105,450
38,675,113
Baseline Emission
tCO2e
50,826,800
50,826,800
50,826,800
50,826,800
50,826,800
Project Emission
tCO2e
48,396,463
45,966,125
43,535,788
41,105,450
38,675,113
Emission Reduction
tCO2e
2,430,337
4,860,675
7,291,012
9,721,350
12,151,688
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
81
Farmer Monitoring Sheet / Lagdaan ng Magsasaka

Name / Pangalan : ________________________________________________
Address / Tirahan : _______________________________________________
Size of ricefield / Sukat ng palayan : _________________(hectares / ektarya)
Irrigation type / Uri ng patubig : ____ pump/de-bomba ____ gravity/agos
Sowing date / Petsa ng pagtanim : __________________________________
Yield / Ani : ______________(kilograms / kilos)
Irrigation information / Impormasiyon tungkol sa patubig :
Date / Petsa
Remarks (wet, dry, water added, etc.)
Fertilizer, organic amendments, and crop protection / Pataba (natural at kimikal), at pesticides :
Date / Petsa
Description / Paglalarawan
Amount / Dami
Statement / Pahayag :
This is to certify that all provided information in this form are true and correct, and that fertilization recommendations
provided have been followed.
Ito ay patunay na lahat ng impormasiyong inihayag dito ay totoo at tama, at ang mga tagubilin sa paggamit ng
fertilizer ay sinunod.
Signature over printed name / Pangalan at lagda
Date / Petsa
82
Irrigators Association Monitoring Sheet

Year: _______________________________
Cropping season: _____________________
Irrigators Association: ________________________________________________
City/Town: __________________________________________________________
Province: ___________________________________________________________
No.
Name
Farm size
(hectares)
Yield
(kg)
Compliance
(Yes/No)
10
TOTAL
Compiled by:
Signature over printed name / Date
Approved by:
Signature over printed name / Date
83
AMIA Implementer Monitoring Sheet

Year: _______________________________
Cropping season: _____________________
No.
Irrigators Association
Land area adopting

AWD
(hectares)
Yield
(kg)
10
TOTAL
Compiled by:
Signature over printed name
/ Date
Approved by:
Signature over printed name
/ Date
84
CHAPTER HEADING
CHAPTER HEADING
Empowered lives.
Resilient nations.
Empowered lives.
United
Nations Development Programme
Resilient nations.
304 E 45th Street

New York, NY 10017, USA
304 E. 45th Street
www.mdgcarbon.org
New York, NY 10017
USA
www.undp.org
This AMIA Design Document was made possible due the generous contribution provided by AusAID.
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Empowered lives.

ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION INITIATIVES IN PHILIPPINE RICE CULTIVATION

Albert Altarejos Magalang

ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION INITIATIVES IN PHILIPPINE RICE CULTIVATION

Chapter 1: AMIA for Rice Cultivation as an Opportunity for the Philippines 14

GHG Emissions in Rice Cultivation

Alternate Wetting and Drying as a Mitigation Activity

AMIA as an Opportunity for the Agricultural Sector of the Philippines

Chapter 2: Country Background 19

Climate and the Effects of Climate Change

The Role of Agriculture in the Philippine Economy

Chapter 3: The Rice Sector in the Philippines 23

Organizational Structure of the Rice Sector

Types of Ecosystems and Cultivation Practice

Irrigation Systems and Water Management

Funding Sources for Agricultural Activities

Chapter 4: The Policy Environment 31

Climate Change and Agriculture: The Existing Policy Framework

Climate Change Policy and the AMIA

Gaps and Risk Assessment

ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION INITIATIVES IN PHILIPPINE RICE CULTIVATION

Chapter 5: AMIA Baseline and Expected Outcomes 35

Sustainable Development (SD) Baseline

5.1.2.1 Selection of SD Indicators

Expected Outcomes of the AMIA

Chapter 6: AMIA Interventions 40

6.2 Support Package

6.3 Costs of AMIA Implementation

Costs of ISF Reduction

Costs of Technical Training and Overall AMIA Implementation

Costs of Support Package Implementation

Chapter 7: AMIA Implementation Structure 51

Participants in the AMIA Implementation Structure and their Roles

Technical Assistance Flows

The Project Approval Process under the AMIA

Chapter 8: AMIA Measurement, Reporting and Verification 56

MRV System for GHG Emissions

Project Emission Factors and Emission Reduction Factors

GHG Monitoring Parameters

Monitoring of Farmers Compliance with AWD Practice

Monitoring of Sustainable Development Benefits

Monitoring and Reporting Structure

ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION INITIATIVES IN PHILIPPINE RICE CULTIVATION

Chapter 9: AMIA Implementation Plan 65

Approval of the AMIA and Establishment of the Institutional Structure

Securing Donor Support and Domestic Funding

Implementation of Technical Assistance

Annex I Sustainable Development Tool 69

ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION INITIATIVES IN PHILIPPINE RICE CULTIVATION

Table 2. Rice Imports by Country, 2012

Table 3. Types of Irrigation Ecosystems, 2013

Table 4. Irrigation Fees in the Philippines

Table 7. SD Parameters and Baseline Values

Table 8. Expected Outcomes of the AMIA to 2020 and their Verification

Table 10. Cash Flow Analysis of Reduction in the ISF

Table 11. Total Budget Requirements for Capacity-Building

Table 12. Budget Requirements for Personnel Services

Table 14. Budgetary Requirements for Equipment

Table 15. Allocation of Funding between Donors and Local Participants