GoOrganic! Philippines

 

 

Agriculture/Commodities 

Page B5 

 

Go Organic! Philippines, a consortium of nongovernment organizations (NGOs) led by La Liga Policy Institute (La Liga) and the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), is urging the in-coming administration of President-elect Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to institutionalize such funding support to ensure the effective implementation of the law.

Also known as the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, the law signed by President Arroyo on April seeks the development and promotion of organic farming or a chemical-free agricultural method in the country. It establishes a comprehensive organic-farming program, which includes incentives for farmers engaged in the production of agricultural crops free from harmful chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

The new law also creates a National Organic Agricultural Board (NOAB) to provide policy direction towards the promotion of organic farming in the Philippines.

Roland Cabigas, managing director of La Liga which acts as secretariat of Go Organic! Philippines, wants Aquino to ensure that organic agriculture will have a corresponding fund or budget for the effective implementation of the law.

“We don’t want the law to end up like the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, which gets no substantial funding for its implementation,” said Cabigas, coconvenor of Go Organic! Philippines.

The group, which successfully implemented the Organic Fields Support Program (OFSP), a national organic program that promotes environment-friendly food production, issued the call ahead of the scheduled regional consultation being initiated by NGOs for the crafting of the Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR) for RA 10068.

Around 70 representatives of organic farming NGO stakeholders are expected to take part in the activity dubbed “Consultation on the RA 10068 Implementing Rules and Regulations Formulation for Calabarzon and Mimaropa Regions” to be held on June 25 at Pueblo Por La Playa in Pagbilao, Quezon.

The activity, Cabigas said, is a prerequisite for the crafting of the law’s IRR, which is supposed to be conducted on or before July 26. The draft IRR is to be submitted to Congress by October 25 or within the 90-day prescription period after law was signed by Arroyo on April 6, 2010.

Through the regional consultations, Cabigas said they hope to get the consensus of various stakeholders, particularly farmers engaged in organic farming, on how the law is supposed to be implemented and funded by the government.

“Implementing rules and and regulation requires budget institutionalization by way of coming up with a regular budget line for organic farming – including training, promotion, production and marketing,” he said.

He added that while the law will take effect right after the IRR has been signed this year, funding for its implementation in the amount of P50 million annually begins only next year.

He said there is a need for P’Noy and his would-be secretary to allocate fund from possibly, the P500 budget for Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) program for rice for 2010 to “start the ball rolling” and fund programs, citing the need to go organic especially when the country is starting to feel the adverse impact of global warming and climate change.