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LA
TRINIDAD, Benguet—To cushion the losses due to the entry
of cheap imported agricultural products, the Cordillera
Autonomous Region (CAR) is now on an aggressive campaign
to persuade farmers to shift from conventional farming
to organic method.
The
recent Second Cordillera Organic Agriculture Congress
brought together farmers from the region to expand
training and information and to encourage the promotion
of organic farming by presenting the economic gains of a
big market waiting for organic products.
In a
paper prepared by Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., he said this
alternative form of farming is supported by the
government, particularly by executive order on the
“Promotion and Development of Organic Agriculture” or
the Agri-Kalikasan program signed in December 2005,
which is the response of the Department of Agriculture
(DA) to the impact of the oil crisis on food security
during the late 1990s and to reduce the use of chemical
fertilizers.
DA-CAR
records show that CAR produces 1,500 kilos of organic
vegetables worth some P72,000 weekly on 2.1 hectares of
farmland, of which some 1,000 kilos are brought to
Manila markets, according to Magsaysay.
Agri-Kalikasan has developed the Modified Rapid
Composting (MRC) and the Tipid-Abono technologies.
MRC is
compost derived from rice straws and other farm
products, and Tipid-Abono mixes organic and inorganic
fertilizers. MRC farms produced 10 to 20 cavans (0.5 to
1.5 tons) more per hectare for inbred rice and 20 to 40
cavans (1 to 2 tons) per hectare for hybrid rice, based
on field trials in 2006. |
