CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Pres. Aquino has directed the Department of Agriculture (DA) to make sure that two percent of its annual budget is allocated for programs and policies on organic agriculture.
The President issued this directive in his speech during the recent opening of the 8thNational Organic Agriculture Conference (NOAC) in Tarlac city.
Aquino reminded DA officials that such allocation is stipulated under Republic Act 10068 otherwise known as the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010.
“Organic agriculture, as stated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, has the potential to increase farm productivity thereby increasing farmers’ wages and provide food for all,” he said.
The President noted that “through organic agriculture, farmers are ensured of cumulatively conditioning and enriching the fertility of the soil, reduce pollution and destruction of the environment, prevent depletion of natural resources, and further protect the health of farmers, consumers and the general public.”
The 8th NOAC is a four-day confab of around 800 organic farming practitioners, advocates and enthusiasts from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao that features plenary and breakout sessions anchored on the theme “Organic Farming: Towards Food Sufficiency and Healthy Environment.”
Topics discussed during the plenary session included: the global organic market access (GOMA) project, the state of organic farming in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, the status and implementation and introduction of the new National Organic Agriculture Board (NOAB), Non-Government Members, organic farming in national convergence initiative sites, organic farming in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and updates on the formulation of the organic agriculture roadmap.
On the other hand, breakout sessions topics included management of pests in organic agriculture with emphasis on the biological control agents and bio- pesticides, biotreatment for sewage disposal, updates on vermi composting, biocontrol of non -chemical bananas export to Japan, among other subjects.
