Mining decreases rice produce

HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina Dizon

BONTOC, Mountain Province -- Mining here in Barangay Mainit here is not sensitive to neighbors. Mining operations led to contamination of waters and decrease of crop harvest in downstream Guinaang.

                Cristina  Tamog-ong, 46, a  resident and  rice  farmer  of  barangay  Guinaang located downstream Mainit  said her parcel of land which earlier produced  5 ‘iting’ or  25 bundles of rice  has  been reduced to only  two to three ‘iting ‘  or  only 10 to15 bundles of rice.

                Mother to six children, Cristina said her rice harvest for three months has been reduced to only two months a year the previous three years.  She buys commercial rice in Bontoc to augment her family’s rice harvest.

                Guinaang’s 376 household’s farm 49 hectares devoted for palay production from irrigated and rain fed areas with an estimate of 0.14 hectares per household. Rice production for the whole year is 2,521 cavans of rice produced in one cropping a year good for seven months. Insufficient rice production is due to limited farm size, pest and diseases, and inadequate irrigation. 

                Due to decrease in rice production to feed the population, at least P2, 000 sacks of NFA rice was bought by Guinaang households from one NFA dealer July 2009 to July 2010. Guinaang’s population need at least  4,226  cavans  the whole year  as noted from  the community profile by  Charlot  Camfili, community mobilization officer of  the Cordillera Highland Agricultural Resource Management Project (CHARMP)-Montanosa Research and Development  Center (MRDC).

                Guinaang has been traditionally growing rice in two croppings a year.  Christina attributes the contamination of water from mining operations upstream Mainit led farmers to grow rice only once a year.  Christina noted that soil has turned yellow the past years which could be an indication of chemicals used upstream Mainit in their mining operations.

                It’s not only rice harvest that was affected.  Guinaang barangay Kagawad Hilary Charongen said camote has decreased in size since mining wastes from upland Mainit flowed downstream.

                Cristina said  the Department of  Environment and  Natural  Resources has not visited their  fields and  creeks despite  reports that Mainit has been  doing  mining operations  with mine wastes  flowing down Chawer  Creek to their irrigation canals. Mainit has been into small scale mining the previous years.

                For the past four months though, Mainit has moved to open pit coupled with underground mining of at least eight mine portals.  These summer months has noted  muck water from  Chawer  Creek  flow down  to the rice  fields of  Wangwang and  Chachawis  of  Guinaang.  Muck water as a result of mud washed from the mined gold ore restrains the growth of rice plants.  

                Mainit barangay chairman Jose Kedawan said the barangay officials of Guinaang and Mainit shall be conducting a joint meeting soon to resolve the problem of muck water flowing downstream.

                It is also our concern as some of our rice supply is sourced from Guinaang rice fields, Kedawan said.  

                Guinaang Barangay captain Ninian Lang-agan welcomes Kedawan’s statement. He said the officials of Mainit and Guinaang shall meet and pressure the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) to act on the matter.

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                Under the management of local manager-land owners, mined gold ore is reportedly bought by a Bangladeshi named Melon Hossain who also finances mining operations. Reportedly, another Korean buys gold ore sold by local miners under the management of a local member of a clan who co-owns the land being mined. The financer-buyers transport the gold ore to Baguio and Benguet for milling and processing and selling the fine gold. One of the local managers process the gold ore himself and sells the processed gold directly to buyers.

                Clan members manage and manage their own clan lands, a native of Mainit who stays in Bontoc said. And this includes the approval and management of  mining operations going on now at Mainit.

                Almost all the households and men of Mainit are involved in the mining operations, their labor paid at a day’s equivalent. The financer- managers  pay P1,000- P1,500  each per day  to those who dig  nava (gold ore)  on a 15  day arrangement to one month depending on the hauling  of the gold ore to Baguio, it was learned.

                ‘Komboy’ (manual hauling) fees are paid on a per kilo basis.  One load weighs as much as 50 to 60 kilograms with one load costing at least 500 to 600 pesos. The hired komboy carries his load a kilometer from the mining site at Abu-us uphill to the road.

                Gold mining here is an attractive source of  income so other  young men from neighboring upland barangays of  Dalikan and Guinaang  work as  ‘komboys’  and miners in the mining site.

                Although, the  monetary value of  the mined gold remains  a question much as  the  buyers  purchase the  gold ore  on a  per kilo basis  and the local miners paid on a per day  basis.

                “This arrangement is not fair to the local miners”, Marcelo Daweg, Chairperson of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance- Mountain Province Chapter said.  “Compared to the small scale mining done at  Fidelisan, Sagada, the Fidelisan miners  know the cost of  their production  and equally share in the monetary returns of the gold sold”, Daweg added.      

                It is another question how the gold ore is being hauled to Baguio and Benguet with no charges pressed on violators of transporting gold ore without having ore transport permits.

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                Open pit mining with the use of two back hoes coupled with underground mining is being used at the mines in Mainit.  “This ain’t no small scale mining anymore”, as claimed by observers.  

                Mainit barangay kagawad Andrew Chagyowen said the safety of the miners is a major concern.  With the employ of both open pit and underground mining, there is a need for the DENR and the PMRB to urgently act on the matter, Chagyowen said.

                Observers note  experiences of  mining communities  including  the deathly landslide at Surigao, Mindanao is enough incident  for  miners  to take heed of; and for authorities to  place safety measures on the mining going on now at Mainit immediately.