Organic is the way to go

Last Nov. 9, 2011, an Inquirer headline read: “Organic farming is the way to go, says Aquino on food security.”

In addition, President Aquino said the world market for organic produce in 2011 was worth as much as $70 billion.

Both P-Noy and Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala supported this organic emphasis with an unprecedented P900 million in the Department of Agriculture (DA) budget for 2011 and 2012. The challenge is how to spend the money wisely.

Background

In 2010, Congress passed the National Agriculture Act into law. Subsequently, a National Organic Agriculture Board (NOAB) was convened with 14 members from government, academe, agribusiness and farmers.

They have since drawn up a program for certified organic agriculture to grow from its current 0.12 percent (or 14,140 hectares) to 5 percent (or 589,160 hectares) of arable land by 2016. This is a tall order. It means a 42-fold increase in four years.

Though there is such a program, it is not supported by a master plan or a comprehensive road map. There is no good marketing study, no international competitive analysis, and no profitability estimates using different economies of scale.

Without these road-map elements, it is difficult to determine the best use for the annual P900 million DA budget for organic agriculture.

With the management background of the capable officials guiding this program, namely Undersecretary Bernadette Romulo and Assistant Secretary Salvador Salacup, we believe this road map will soon be formulated.

It can be a catalyst for other comprehensive road maps needed by other critical agricultural sectors.

Road maps are especially important today as Philippine agriculture faces severe global challenges such as rapid trade liberalization, a 2015 ASEAN tariff-free regime and rampant smuggling.

Marketing

Benguet State University (BSU) professor Jose Balaoing (0947-329-4357), who regularly attends the monthly NOAB meeting, identified marketing as the main obstacle preventing the growth of organic agriculture.

Having started the BSU organic farming in 2003, he observed over the last 10 years that farmers can easily adopt the different methods of organic farming. The problem is selling the produce. There needs to be a marketing program to inform the people of organic agriculture benefits.

The Henry Doubleday Research Association states that organic farming aims to “produce nutritious food, feed for animals, and high quality crops to sell at a good price; increase long-term soil fertility; control pests and diseases; and use of other resources which the farmer already has.”

For the consumer, the most important benefit is good nutrition. For example, chemicals from fertilizers and pesticides get inside the vegetables we eat in a way that mere washing cannot eliminate. These chemicals are the major cause of our poor health situation today.

For the farmer, organic agriculture can yield better profits and a better life.

Masipag [Farmer-Scientists Partnership for Development] Mindanao Vice President Jose Adorable Jr. (0908-980-2485) has several examples where Masipag, with its wide network throughout the country, has demonstrated this.

Fund use

The NOAB expects to get a picture of how the P900-million organic budget for 2011 and 2012 was used. This way, it can recommend the best use of funds.

Omi Royondoyan, Alyansa Agrikultura board member and Organic Rice Coalition co-convenor, has also asked during the NAFC and AF 2025 meetings how the more than P100-million budget for the organic-oriented Palayamanan Rice Program was spent.

He, together with other organic agriculture practitioners, would also like to recommend optimal funding used once he gets the answer.

It is best that P-Noy’s Private Public Partnership (PPP) approach be harnessed in helping determine the best fund allocation. Most importantly, a credible and comprehensive road map must be formulated to guide fund use.

If, as P-Noy says, “organic farming is the way to go”, then a road map must lead the way.

(The author is chairman of Agriwatch, former secretary for presidential flagship programs and projects, and former undersecretary for Agriculture, and Trade and Industry. For inquiries, e-mail [email protected] or call (02) 8522112.)