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surge of interest in natural and organic products is
fast spreading both in the local and global markets.
Consumers are becoming health- and environment-conscious.
Their preferences are shifting toward safe and organically
grown foods. The premium price of organic products is
also attracting producers to invest in its production.
Indeed,
the potential of organic markets in the Philippines
is great. However, there is more to simply producing
organic products. There are requirements to ensuring
the products’ integrity. Marketing strategies
need to be explored. Institutional structures and other
support systems must be in place.
In
this light, PCARRD saw the need to capacitate relevant
agencies in advancing the cause of organic agriculture
(OA). Last June 19–23, PCARRD, the Philippine
Development Assistance Program, Inc. |
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(PDAP),
and the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines
(OCCP) jointly sponsored the “Trainers’
Training Course on Organic Agriculture Development in
the Philippines.”
Twenty-three
individuals, 12 from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
and 11 from the government participated in this week-long
training held at Arisabel Clubhouse in Los Baños,
Laguna.
In
his welcome speech, Dr. Edwin C. Villar, director of
Livestock Research Division of PCARRD emphasized the
importance of addressing all facets of organic agriculture
to make it work for individual farmers and for the economy
as a whole.
He
recognized the initiatives of the NGOs in promoting
the organic movement. Likewise, he underscored PCARRD’s
support to OA, as it as one of its priority concerns.
The trainers’ training is just one of the activities
supportive of this focus.
The
training course was divided into six sessions, with
the first session providing an overview of OA, as presented
by Dr. Digna O. Manzanilla, director of the Council’s
Agricultural Resources Management Research Division.
The
poverty situation in the country and the role of OA
in addressing food insecurity and chronic poverty were
also presented. Mr. Roel R. Ravanera of the Asia-Japan
Partnership Network for Poverty Reduction (AJPN) talked
on the experiences of their project on enhancing the
capacities on sustainable agriculture toward poverty
reduction.
Status
of OA in the Philippines amid the global scenario was
also presented.
“In
Asia, the area under organic management is comparatively
small,” said Jacqueline Alleje of the International
Federation of Organic Movements (IFOAM).
According
to Alleje, the total organic area in Asia is 4.1 million
hectares managed by almost 130,000 farmers. The Asian
market for organic food is valued at about US$750 million.
Moreover,
Alleje said that in the Philippines, the OA industry
is still in its infancy, with very little reliable data
on its domestic market and no reliable estimates of
the total number of enterprises engaged in OA.
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| Certified
organic products include rice, vegetables, sugar, banana,
and coconut. Export organic products include muscovado
sugar, banana chips, coconut cooking oil, virgin coconut
oil, desiccated coconut, and dried banana leaves.
According
to Jerry Pacturan, PDAP’s President, organic market
in the Philippines, though relatively small, is growing
at a significant rate of 10–20% per annum.
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Moreover,
Pacturan said that the organic farming system also favors
small and marginal farmers because it uses processes requiring
less external inputs. While it may be labor-intensive, this
could support rural employment and social justice through
fair trade. The premium price of organic products, usually
by a margin of 20–30%, enables farmers to get higher
income than the conventional farmers.
Meanwhile,
Rogelio Colting, president of the Benguet State University;
Pio Javier of the University of the Philippines Los Baños
(UPLB); and Antonio Santos of OCCP presented some crop production
techniques, principles, elements, and methodologies on soil
management; non-pesticide methods of managing pests; and some
insights on the process of shifting to OA.
While
organic products command higher prices, these require appropriate
market development strategies. Thus, also tackled was the
value chain analysis, as presented by Teresita Oyson of the
Department of Trade and Industry.
The
experiences of Galactic Resources Development Center, as narrated
by its founder Rosalina Tan from the Organic Producers and
Trade Association (OPTA), all the more perked up the discussion.
More marketing strategies and requirements were detailed by
Rene Guarin of Upland Marketing Foundation.
Organic
standards and the requirements for certification were also
discussed by OCCP’s Ms. Lani Limpin. This shed light
on doubts about products in the market if indeed they are
genuinely organically produced.
Research
and development, extension support systems, and extension
approaches under the Philippine context, such as the DA Agri-Kalikasan
Program, were also presented by Dr. Gina Pangga of UPLB and
Mr. Dominciano Ramos of the Bureau of Soils and Water Management.
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