DA Observes Farmer’s Negative Reaction Against Organic Farming

The negative response of the majority of Filipino farmers to adopt the organic method of farming was due to the lousy attitude of the Philippine legislators to implement strictly organic laws.

“We can not somehow blame the farmers’ slow response to the program, but some observers pointed out to our legislators’ lousy attitude to observe the development of organic farming in mostly developed countries”, said Joy Pilapil, staff of Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division (AMAD) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional office 7, in Estancia, Mandaue City, Cebu.

Pilapil said, the late implementation of the Republic Act 10068, known as the Organic Agriculture Act of of 2010, is an apparent proof that only this time of the century that the government proves the importance of organic agriculture.

But in the United States of America, Israel, and all other developed countries in the world “organic farming was served already as the lifeblood circulating the body of all wealthy farmers in those areas”, Pilapil said.

The Executive Summary of the book entitled “The National Organic Agriculture Program” 2012-2016, provided to this reporter by Pilapil’s office, it says that the signing of RA 10068 on April 6, 2010 by Philippine Congress was a landmark legislation, a culmination of long years development efforts and experimentations made by the government’s technical people on organic farming.

The said book which was approved by the National Organic Agrciculture Board (NOAB) also pointed out that the Philippine agriculture contributes 17 percent to the country’s gross domestic product, employing 33 percent of the country’s labor force.

The book also admitted that the Philippine adoption of organic agriculture is still in its formative years in comparison with that of many Asian countries which already practiced organic farming many centuries ago.

According to Pilapil, the DA sector of the Philippines is now exerting efforts to prepare the consiquencies once the national economic integration is implemented next year.

Pilapil said most of the Asian organic foods and agricultural products will be displayed in the Philippine shelves on affordable prices next year, “how about our own display in some parts of the Asian markets, may we can compete regionally or globally against our Asian competitors both on quality and prices”, said Pilapil.

Pilapil also stressed that in the Philippines there are at least more than 10 percent of Filipino farmers who are already adopted the organic agriculture, ” as shown by the Negros Oriental local government unit (LGU) describing the whole province food plantations and backyard animals as organic technically”, she said.

Organic farming is also adopted by some farmers in Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor, and later on “once the organic agriculture will become institution in the Philippines, it means that 70 to 80 per cent among the farmers population in the country already adopt the system 30-50 years from now”, Pilapil pointed out.

Meanhile retired Regional Crop Protection Center (RCPC) staff Jean Macasero told that organic farming is easy to adopt for farmers who are interested to do so.

Macasero who described herself as the one who is practicing the system said she attested and proved her organic farm products to her fellow farmers in Bohol and at the same time she is also trying to educate some of her neighbors regarding organic farming , she said.

Graduated in an agricultural school in Cebu City, Macasero stated that organic farming means lesser labor cost, and healthy products ideal for human consumption, which is attainable, she said.

Macasero also said that by adopting the organic way of farming means “we are trying to enrich the fertility of the soil, increase farm productivity, reduce pollution and destruction of environment, and most importantly protect the health of farmers”, she added.

Macasero said all farmers who are now practicing non-organic farming means they are displaying themselves to greater health risks especially when using the chemical pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

Meanwhile the DA7 is now joining the whole world in the celebration of Consumers Welfare Month and World Food Day, by implementing a two-day “Tabo” or a congregation of farmers and their food products which are purely organic, displayed at the ground of DA7 compound in Estancia, Mandaue City from October 16 and 17, 2014.

Pilapil said most of the vendors are farmers from the provinces of Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Cebu.

Pilapil also said that farmers in the hinterlands of Cebu City and province are displaying there vegetables, fruits, root crops and others, while the Bohol farmers are also selling their KOICA rice, native bags for the womens’ organization , while the fishermen sector have also their preserved fishes already in bottle and other marine products.

The Tabo activities showcasing mostly organic food products with affordable prices.