Samal mayor wants to turn town into ‘organic zone’
05/27/2009 | 04:25 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Mayor Rolando Tigas of Samal, Bataan wants the entire town to go organic and is spearheading the move to convince farmers to shift from conventional to the more sustainable organic farming to boost farmers’ income.
In an interview over the Go Organic! program aired over DZRB “Radyo ng Bayan," Tigas said he has asked members of the Municipal Council to pass several resolutions in support of organic farming.
These include resolutions declaring the Municipality of Samal an organic zone, declaring one day every week as organic farming day; promoting, developing and assisting organic farming in the Municipality of Samal, and declaring a portion of Samal Public Market for wholesaling organic agricultural products.
These pieces of legislation, he said, will boost current national government effort through its NGO partners to promote organic farming in Samal, as well as its neighboring towns in the province of Bataan.
At least 50 farmers from Samal recently completed a three-month training process on organic rice production, including organic fertilizer production under the Organic FIELDS Support Program Phase 1.
After their training, farmers will be able to produce their own organic fertilizer using animal manure, carbonized rice hull, rice stalks and other agricultural wastes, which they can use in their farm. Organic farming is being eyed as solution to the problem posed by the skyrocketing cost of agrochemical inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, and will significantly help reduce air, water, and soil pollution, thus benefiting farmers not only in terms of increase in income, but in terms of health and environment.
Samal, Bataan is one of the seven pilot areas where a one-hectare organic demo farm was put up for the Farmers’ Season-Long Training, one of the components of OFSP1.
OFSP1, a project of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), is being implemented by a consortium of nongovernment organizations under the banner of Go Organic! Philippines.
Go Organic! Philippines lead convenor Atty. Efren Moncupa lauded Tigas’ initiative, saying such boosts the on-going campaign for farms in the Philippines to go organic.
“Local projects initiated by the national government have better chances of success when it harnesses the support and cooperation of LGUs and their constituent stakeholders," he stressed.
Moncupa, a former agrarian reform undersecretary, earlier called for local governments to join the organic bandwagon and support efforts to promote organic farming in the Philippines.
“Without LGU support, programs and projects of the national government will not succeed," he said.
Led by the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) and the La Liga Policy Institute (LLPI), OFSP1 aims to promote organic farming in the Philippines, six hundred farmers were trained on various organic farming systems and technologies, including organic fertilizer production in preparation for the massive shift to organic farming.
The DA is eyeing to expand areas covered by organic farming to reach 400,000 hectares by 2010. - GMANews.TV
In an interview over the Go Organic! program aired over DZRB “Radyo ng Bayan," Tigas said he has asked members of the Municipal Council to pass several resolutions in support of organic farming.
These include resolutions declaring the Municipality of Samal an organic zone, declaring one day every week as organic farming day; promoting, developing and assisting organic farming in the Municipality of Samal, and declaring a portion of Samal Public Market for wholesaling organic agricultural products.
These pieces of legislation, he said, will boost current national government effort through its NGO partners to promote organic farming in Samal, as well as its neighboring towns in the province of Bataan.
At least 50 farmers from Samal recently completed a three-month training process on organic rice production, including organic fertilizer production under the Organic FIELDS Support Program Phase 1.
After their training, farmers will be able to produce their own organic fertilizer using animal manure, carbonized rice hull, rice stalks and other agricultural wastes, which they can use in their farm. Organic farming is being eyed as solution to the problem posed by the skyrocketing cost of agrochemical inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, and will significantly help reduce air, water, and soil pollution, thus benefiting farmers not only in terms of increase in income, but in terms of health and environment.
Samal, Bataan is one of the seven pilot areas where a one-hectare organic demo farm was put up for the Farmers’ Season-Long Training, one of the components of OFSP1.
OFSP1, a project of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), is being implemented by a consortium of nongovernment organizations under the banner of Go Organic! Philippines.
Go Organic! Philippines lead convenor Atty. Efren Moncupa lauded Tigas’ initiative, saying such boosts the on-going campaign for farms in the Philippines to go organic.
“Local projects initiated by the national government have better chances of success when it harnesses the support and cooperation of LGUs and their constituent stakeholders," he stressed.
Moncupa, a former agrarian reform undersecretary, earlier called for local governments to join the organic bandwagon and support efforts to promote organic farming in the Philippines.
“Without LGU support, programs and projects of the national government will not succeed," he said.
Led by the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) and the La Liga Policy Institute (LLPI), OFSP1 aims to promote organic farming in the Philippines, six hundred farmers were trained on various organic farming systems and technologies, including organic fertilizer production in preparation for the massive shift to organic farming.
The DA is eyeing to expand areas covered by organic farming to reach 400,000 hectares by 2010. - GMANews.TV
