The rice terraces once stretched northeast to Cagayan and as far south as
Quezon. However they are now slowly being abandoned and showing signs of
deterioration. A severe 1990 earthquake damaged some of the terraces'
irrigation systems, while El Niño triggered droughts that led giant earthworms
to erode the terraces' soil. Furthermore, the rice variety most suited to the
area's cool climate is not a high-yielding crop; because it takes so long to
mature, some Ifugao families have abandoned their land in the rice terraces in
favor of land that reaps faster rewards.
An Ifugao Terraces Commission was created in 1994
