Baliling: An Exploratory Study of Indigenous Farming in Mountain Province
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55927/eajmr.v5i3.62Keywords:
Baliling, Indigenous Knowledge, Sustainable Agriculture, Mountain Province Community ResilienceAbstract
This study explores the Baliling farming practice in Barangay Bayyo, Bontoc, Mountain Province, highlighting its processes, cultural importance, challenges, and revival efforts. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, data was gathered through participation, informal conversations, and interviews with five key informants, and analyzed thematically. Baliling involves overturning soil after rice harvest to improve drainage and soil health, enabling secondary cropping. It includes cleaning fields, creating raised beds, and shaping them manually or with a shovel. The practice faces decline due to cultural shifts, migration, modernization, labor shortages, and ecological issues. The Baliling Festival aims to revive interest, preserve intergenerational knowledge, and strengthen cultural and ecological resilience. The findings emphasize indigenous practices’ role in sustainable agriculture, community bonding, and adaptation, advocating for their documentation and integration into policies.
References
Abdikafi Hassan Abdi, Abdisalan Aden Mohamed, & Farhia Hassan Mohamed. (2024). Enhancing food security in sub-Saharan Africa: Investigating the role of environmental degradation, food prices, and institutional quality. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 101241–101241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2024.101241
Aguilar, F. J., & Ocampo, A. D. (2019). Indigenous knowledge and local biodiversity: Practices of Baliling in the Mountain Province. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, 9(2), 125–140.
Altieri, M. A., & Nicholls, C. I. (2013). The adaptation and mitigation potential of traditional agriculture in a changing climate. Climatic Change, 140(1), 33–45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-013-0909-y
Barangay Bayyo. (2025–2026). Barangay development plan (2025–2026) [Unpublished manuscript]. Barangay Bayyo Local Government Unit.
Briones, R. M. (2021). Philippine agriculture: Current state, challenges, and ways forward (PIDS Policy Notes No. 2021-12). Philippine Institute for Development Studies. https://pidswebs.pids.gov.ph/CDN/PUBLICATIONS/pidspn2112.pdf
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Camacho, L. D., Gevaña, D. T., Carandang, A. P., & Camacho, S. C. (2015). Indigenous knowledge and practices for the sustainable management of Ifugao forests in Cordillera, Philippines. International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management, 12(1–2), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/21513732.2015.1124453
Camacho, L. D., Combalicer, M. S., Carandang, A. P., Camacho, S. C., de Luna, C. C., Rebugio, L. L., & Youn, Y. C. (2012). Traditional forest conservation knowledge/technologies in the Cordillera, Northern Philippines. Forest Policy and Economics, 22, 3–8.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2010.06.001
Department of Agriculture. (2010). Second Cordillera Highland Agricultural Resource Management Project (CHARMP2) [Unpublished project report].
Del rosario-Afidcaho, N. (2023, August 17). The “Faliling” culture of the i-Bayyo in Bontoc. Facebook. Retrieved October 24, 2024, from https://www.facebook.com/novy.afidchao
Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development. (2025). Mountain Province overview: agriculture and community. Retrieved from https://saad.da.gov.ph/phase-2/mountain-province/
Department of Agriculture – Special Area for Agricultural Development. (2025, October 31). “Binnadang” lives on: Cordillera farmers thrive on tradition of cooperation. Retrieved from https://saad.da.gov.ph/binnadang-lives-on-cordillera-farmers-thrive-on-tradition-of-cooperation/
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2019). The state of the world’s biodiversity for food and agriculture (SoW BFA Report). FAO. https://aims.fao.org/zh/news/state-world%E2%80%99s-biodiversity-food-and-agriculture-fao-2019-based-data AI
File, D. J. M-Buu., & Nhamo, G. (2023). Farmers’ choice for indigenous practices and implications for climate-smart agriculture in northern Ghana. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22162
Folke, C. (2006). Resilience: The emergence of a perspective for social-ecological systems analyses. Global Environmental Change, 16(3), 253–267.
Hamadani, H., Rashid, S. M., Parrah, J. D., Khan, A. A., Dar, K. A., Ganie, A. A., Gazal, A., Dar, R. A., & Ali, A. (2021). Traditional farming practices and its consequences. In Springer eBooks (pp. 119–128). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61010-4_6
Macandog, D. B., & Ocampo, L. J. M. (2008). Indigenous strategies of sustainable farming systems in the highlands of northern Philippines. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 26(2), 117–138. https://www.ukdr.uplb.edu.ph/journal-articles/6019
Manalo, J. A., IV, & van de Fliert, E. (2013). Push and pull factors in rural Filipino youth’s outmigration from agricultural communities. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development, 10(2), 1–15. https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/phajad/199418.html
Mercado, K. M. P., & Osbahr, H. (2023). Feeding the future: Knowledge and perceptions of the Filipino youth toward agriculture. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development, 20(2), 31–50. https://ajad.searca.org/article?p=2217
Melash, A. A., Bogale, A. A., Migbaru, A. T., Chakilu, G. G., Percze, A., Ábrahám, É. B., & Mengistu, D. K. (2023). Indigenous agricultural knowledge: A neglected human-based resource for sustainable crop protection and production. Heliyon, 9(1), e12978. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e12978
Mijatović, M., et al. (2013). Indigenous agricultural practices and their vulnerability to climate change. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Sustainability, 6(2), 1–13.
Muhie, S. H. (2022). Novel approaches and practices to sustainable agriculture. Journal of Agriculture and Food. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2022.100446
Nelson, R. A., Cramb, R. A., Menz, K. M., & Mamicpic, M. A. (1997). Cost-benefit analysis of alternative forms of hedgerow intercropping in the Philippine uplands. Agroforestry Systems, 39, 241–262.https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005953032133
Ngidlo, R. T. (2013). Impacts of pesticides and fertilizers on soil, tail water and groundwater in three vegetable producing areas in the Cordillera Region, Northern Philippines. Journal of Experimental Agriculture International, 3(4), 780–793. https://doi.org/10.9734/AJEA/2013/4696
Philippine Institute for Development Studies. (2024). PIDS: Agri growth stunted by shrinking farm size, low productivity. Retrieved from https://pids.gov.ph
Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization. (2023, June 16). PH mechanization level increases to 2.679 hp/ha—PHilMech. https://www.philmech.gov.ph/?
Philippine Information Agency. (2024, November 17). Cordilleran culture ‘Ob-obbo’ strengthens community ties in times of disasters. https://pia.gov.ph/news/luzon/cordilleran-culture-ob-obbo-strengthens-community-ties-in-times-of-disasters/
Paing, J. N., van Bussel, L. G. J., Gomez, R. A., & Hein, L. G. (2022). Ecosystem services through the lens of indigenous people in the highlands of Cordillera Region, Northern Philippines. Journal of Environmental Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114597
Provincial Government of Mountain Province. (2019, January 18). Municipalities - Provincial Government of Mountain Province official website. http://mountainprovince.gov.ph/theprovince/municipalities/
Singh, R., & Singh, G. S. (2017). Traditional agriculture: a climate-smart approach for sustainable food production. Energy, Ecology and Environment, 2(5), 296–316. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40974-017-0074-7
Supangco, E. E., Pablo, J. P., Lumbres, R. I. C., Tolentino-Neric, C. M., Daipan, L. E. O., Inciong, G. K., & Gonzales, R. (2022). Climate-resilient agriculture assessment, targeting and prioritization for the adaptation and mitigation initiative in agriculture in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. In T. Ahamed (Ed.), Remote sensing applications in agriculture and environment (pp. 303–336). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0213-0_11
Toker, P., Huseyin Canci, Irfan Turhan, Aslı Isci, Scherzinger, M., Mojtaba Kordrostami, & Engin Yol. (2024). The advantages of intercropping to improve productivity in food and forage production – a review. Plant Production Science, 27(3), 155–169. https://doi.org/10.1080/1343943x.2024.2372878
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Wylleth Praise Gaston Sacyaten
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
