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[av_heading heading=’‘More funds needed for organic agri research’ ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY: ROEYNA MAY FAMISARAN
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ILOILO City – More funds should be allocated for research on organic agriculture, according to the chairman of a local farmers’ organization.
JobyArandela, chairman of Zarraga Integrated Diversified Organic Farmers Association (ZIDOFA), said the government should provide more funds to strengthen and widen studies on organic farming and that priority should be placed in shifting more research on agro-ecological methods of farming.
He stated that the Department of Agriculture in Region 6 has been first to initiate such a shift in research resources with the recent allotment of funds for studies on the Organic System of Rice Intensification (SRI) both at the Western Visayas Integrated Agricultural Research Center and its satellite Research Outreach Station in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo.
Arandela is hopeful that this is a good sign of things to come and that the agriculture department places more priority on research of sustainable regenerative agricultural practices and not just focus on the conventional industrial and chemical-based protocols.
“To better promote organic farming, farmer support should not end with training or with the giving of seeds and organic fertilizers. There should be a holistic approach which covers the monitoring of farmers organic cultivation to help troubleshoot any problems and at the same time to ensure that farmers abide by the organic protocols taught to them to ensure the organic integrity of their crops,” he said.
The ZIDOFA chairman, however, recognizes that the government has funds to promote the development of the organic agriculture sector.
“There are funds in support of RA 10068’s mandate. These funds could best be used to help small farmers during their conversion to organic. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as just telling farmers to plant organic by training them and giving them seeds and compost or vermicast.”
Arandela furthermore stressed that aside from trainings and research, farmers should also be given post-harvest support.
“For the organic rice sector, for example, there should be organically certifiable rice mills and rice dryers set up for small-farmer stakeholder communities so that their organic rice can be milled at these mills and can output high quality organic rice which meets international export standards,” he said, adding that it is a way to empower farmers “into being competitive in the international organic marketplace especially with the Aseaneconomic integration now underway.”
Arandela believes that organic farming can help farmers reduce costs and increase their yield.
“By using local farm materials and wastes as organic inputs for crops, the cost to produce crops will be greatly reduced,” he noted. “And over time, the continuous practice of organic and regenerative agriculture methods will bring soil biodiversity and biological activity back to where crops are then able to produce higher yields with rich soils able to provide sufficient nutrients and enhance the plants’ natural resistance to pests and diseases.”
The reduced production costs and increase in yield, according to the ZIDOFA chief, is what makes organic and regenerative agriculture appealing to most. What remains unseen to many though, is that continued practice of agro-ecological agriculture brings life back into one most precious yet forgotten resource, the soil./PN
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