Small steps for organic farming in Pangasinan

SAN FABIAN, Pangasinan— Though the department might not have met its target of 8,000 hectares of organic farms in three years in Pangasinan province, an official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) is satisfied with developing only 1,000 ha so far as conversion efforts reach wider areas.

“I’m fine with 1,000 ha, especially if we can complete the supply chain from production to marketing to make it sustainable,” said Marvin Quilates, organic agriculture coordinator of the DA in the Ilocos region.

“When we say organic, there should be no chemicals, no synthetic inputs. So, the conversion is a slow process,” he said. Converting an agricultural area into an organic farm takes two to three years.

Changing lifestyle

“We have what we call good agriculture practices, a program of the government that allows the controlled use of synthetic chemicals and inputs,” Quilates said.

More people are getting interested in organic farming because of consumers’ changing lifestyle, he said.

“Many people now want [a] healthy lifestyle. So, it’s food safety, and at the same time, because of the continuous advocacy by the government and nongovernment organizations, people are now becoming aware,” he said.

Aside from organic farming advocates, the regional DA has penetrated indigenous communities in the province, like San Nicolas and Sison towns.

Orientation

Quilates said the DA had been talking with representatives of indigenous peoples to the municipal councils and had oriented them on organic farming technologies and on the advocacy of food safety.

Organic farming, when practiced properly, is a profitable venture, he said.

“The organic farming principle is: You feed the soil and the soil will feed the plant. If the soil is not ready, if it is insufficient in needed minerals, your yield will decrease by 40 to 50 percent,” he said. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon