Legislative support necessary for organic agri sector growth

BUTUAN CITY, Nov. 6 -- The enactment of the Republic Act 100068 or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 strengthened the organic movement in the country.

This creates awareness among consumers on the benefits of consuming organic products.

In Caraga, the advocacy of the Department of Agriculture  (DA) through the Organic Agriculture Program started only with a hundred organic farming practitioners in early 2000. Today, almost 5,000 farmers equivalent to 100 farmer associations are now involved in the organic way of achieving the principles of health, ecology, fairness, and care. Close to 100,000 hectares are also undergoing conversion from conventional farming to organic farming.

However, the increasing adaptors for sustainable agriculture are still facing various challenges. One of these is the high-cost third party certification with the tag price ranging from P42,000 to P150,000 per scope, valid for only one year.

This is one of the issues raised during the 5th Regional Organic Agriculture Congress (ROAC), an annual gathering of Caraga's organic practitioners and stakeholders held recently in Butuan City.

"Legislative support is needed in organic agriculture to help our small organic farmers attain the organic certification they need to compete for their products in local and global markets. Farmers must not worry since Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture supports the amendments of RA100068," said DA-Caraga regional executive director Abel James I. Monteagudo.

House Bill No. 8314 seeks to address the problem on third party accreditations in the Philippines by institutionalizing the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) that offers a complimentary and low-cost system of quality assurance, with a heavy emphasis on social control and knowledge building.

In the region, there are only two organic products certified by the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP)  and Negros Island Certification (NICERT).  These are the CRV Rice Mill from Alegria, Surigao del Norte for organic rice and the organic fertilizer of the Caraga Agricultural Business Corporation in Butuan City.

"With no third-party certification, it is prohibited by the law to label our products with the term organic. But we are still hopeful that with the support of our legislators the law will be amended. This is essential for the continued growth of the organic agriculture sector," said Nilo B. Acupinpin, chairperson of the Sta. Josefa Integrated Organic Farmers Association from Sta. Josefa, Agusan del Sur.

The amendment of the Organic Law would have a big impact on organic practitioners in the region considering that numerous groups are already certified under the PGS such as in the province of Surigao del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Butuan City through the help of the private sector like the Agro-Eco Philippines.

According to DA Secretary William D. Dar, legislative support is one of the keys to level up Philippine agriculture. “The country's agriculture sector needs the help of both the Senate and the House of Representatives for policy and structural reforms that need to be legislated and institutionalized,” Dar said.

With a responsive policy reform, more farmers will adopt organic agriculture standards and methods.  Likewise, this will motivate farmers to self-organize, which will further help in accessing markets in the local and global arena benefitting the sector as a whole. (Rhea Abao, DA Caraga/PIA Caraga)

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