THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is stepping up its provision of support to organic farmers in the country, particularly in Negros Occidental, amid the rapid global industry growth, its official said.
Agriculture Undersecretary for Administration and Finance Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, who heads the National Organic Agriculture Board, said the DA is looking for more markets for organically produced products.
Puyat was the keynote speaker at the 1st Negros Island Region (NIR) Organic Agriculture Summit at the SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City yesterday.
She said that one of the major instructions of Secretary Emmanuel Piñol is to continue creating more markets for local organic products like the emerging heirloom rice, which he will promote in Canada this November.
“As long as there are more markets, more farmers will produce organic products,” Puyat said, stressing that “having the agriculture secretary promoting organic products is a good sign that this is the way to go in terms of farming.”
In her speech, Puyat said that organically grown products are showing an increase in the global trade, which plays around US$100 billion as cited by the International Federation for Organic Agriculture Movement (Ifoam).
The rapid growth trend can be attributed to the growing awareness and demand of consumers for safe food, Puyat said, adding that organic farming or system is viewed as viable alternative for conventional farming.
“It is predicted that the global market for organic products will continue to show significant growth with the increasing number of organic producers, practitioners, and adopters,” she said.
With the rapid growth in the organic agriculture industry, the government has recognized the need to further support farmers, producers and stakeholders.
In terms of budget, the DA has increased the funding from P500 million to P800 million in 2017 to help more organic producers in the country.
The agency is also currently undergoing a nationwide consultation for the amendment of the Republic Act 10068, or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010.
This includes implementing participatory guarantee system (PGS) which is the alternative to the third party certification.
“A lot of our farmers have been complaining of the high cost of certification thus, with PGS we hope that more farmers will be covered since it will obviously lower the cost of certification,” Puyat said.
“This will be more responsive to the needs of our small organic farmers as it enables direct participation of producers, consumers, and other stakeholders,” she pointed out.
Aside from providing assistance in production, training and support services, the agency has also vowed to strengthen local organic products through participation in both local and international trade fairs, which will highlight those of small farmers.
For his part, Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. said the provincial government along with the Negros Island Negros Island Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (Nisard) will continue to push for group certification to assist more farmers in the region.
“Our dream is becoming a reality, our dream that this island will become the organic island not only in the Philippines but also in the entire Pacific,” Marañon said.
For Negros Oriental, Governor Roel Degamo, through his representative Belinda Villahermosa, called on everyone concerned with organic produce to recognize that the continued growth of the sector will depend on maintaining high standards no matter how great the demand is.
“We must all be vigilant to protect what has been started,” Degamo said.
Themed “Organic Agriculture, Small Farmers and You,” the one-day activity initiated by the Province of Negros Occidental and Nisard highlighted the need for organic agriculture production in the region to scale up.
The event gathered more than 500 small organic farmers, representatives of local government units, academe and business sector as well as industry experts and other stakeholders.*
