If you are looking for something to stop soil erosion, then look no further. The answer is right in a grass called vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides).

“Vetiver grass is known to offer a green and cost-effective way to slope protection, soil erosion, rehabilitation of degraded land, restoring soil health and preserving water,” said Allan B. Ampoloquio, a business administration graduate who loves farming.

This is the reason why he is suggesting to farmers in barangay Balutakay in Bansalan, Davao del Sur, to plant vetiver grass in their farms. Most farmers in the area plant high value crops like cabbage, carrots, radish, sweet pepper, tomato, and green onions.

In the past, most farmers were planting coffee. In fact, Balutakay — located at the rolling foothills of Mount Apo — is now known for its world-class award-winning coffee. Which is why some farmers are now planting coffee again.

Ampoloquio believed that by embedding vetiver grass in coffee farms, the soil — which has been exposed for several years and now heavily compacted due to the absence of organic matter — can be restored.

“The benefits of companion planting, mulching and integrated pest management is projected to provide farmers with better harvest, profitability and sustainability,” Ampoloquio said.

Erosion control

Vetiver grass is not new in the country. In fact, it is being employed mainly for slope protection in civil works and projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Locally called rimoras or moras, the grass is easy to grow with minimal maintenance. If allowed to grow further for a long period of time, vetiver grass can live up to 10 years. Once established, it is not easily killed by cogon grass. It can be planted as a hedgerow (planted in a row) across the sloping contour of a farm. It forms a dense barrier that slows down and spreads rainfall runoff.

Vetiver grass contributes much to the control of topsoil erosion, according to a study conducted by the Visayas State University. The transported soil is accumulated along the vetiver hedgerows where it is trapped.

Moreover, vetiver grass has an expanded/dense base which can serve as a physical barrier preventing soil and water from passing through.

Great loss

“For over a year now, I have started vetiver grass mini-nurseries,” he said. “Lately, I partnered with local farmers for faster multiplication of this kind of grass. Together with fellow advocates, we have formed the Mount Apo Regenerative Farming Network (MARFN).”

The MARFN will not only address the problem which Mount Apo is facing but also the Davao River Basin. “(Both) are in the center of the onslaught of both man-made and natural forces,” he observed.

“These two distinct and separate systems are blessed with diverse and rich natural resources but share the same plight and environmental concerns,” Ampoloquio pointed out.

“Mount Apo, most particularly in the side of Davao del Sur, is a major watershed system in a supposedly protected area inside a national park,” Ampoloquio said, adding that “vast areas of forest” located in the park are “being cleared for agriculture.”

“A Google Earth satellite overview of Mount Apo will readily show this alarming state,” he deplored.

Topsoil in these slopes is being eroded at an alarming rate. Soil is the single most important resource on farmland. According to most experts, it can take up to 1,000 years to produce two to three centimeters of soil.

On average, farmlands lose 2.5 centimeters of topsoil every 16 years, or 17 times faster than it can be replaced. Unfortunately, it seems no one pays attention to this great loss. The government, for one, is more alarmed when there is not enough rice for the people than the loss of topsoil.

Harold R. Watson, recipient of the 1985 Ramon Magsaysay Award for peace and international understanding, described soil erosion as “a slow creeping enemy that soon possesses the land.”

“In the pursuit of food sustainability and economic development, the practice of conventional agriculture has exposed the precious topsoil,” Ampoloquio said. “The absence of trees and forest cover has presented not only problems of soil sheet erosion and soil degeneration but unprecedented flooding in the lowlands.”

As such, Ampoloquio is batting for vetiver grass as a possible solution.

“It might not be the ultimate solution or remedy and may need other programs or systems to work, but vetiver as a living plant, a vegetative hedge against soil erosion as well as soil and water conservation, is a documented success,” he said.