ORGANIC AGRICULTURE. The Department of Agriculture (DA) has lobbied for local government units in Antique to support the protection of agriculture areas that are into organic farming in an information caravan held in a hotel in San Jose de Buenavista on Wednesday. Lea Deriquito, the chief of Advocacy and Policy Office of the DA National Organic Agriculture Program said that there is a need to sustain the organic practice of the farmers through an ordinance. (PNA photo by Annnabel Consuelo J. Petinglay)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – The Department of Agriculture (DA) has lobbied for the support of local government units (LGUs) for the protection of organic agriculture (OA) areas during an information caravan held at the Eagles Hotel in San Jose de Buenavista on Wednesday.
“We need to develop and make sustainable the organic practice of farmers with the backup of an ordinance,” said Lea Deriquito, the chief of Advocacy and Policy Office of the DA National Organic Agriculture Program, in an interview.
She said that they intend to hold a workshop among the LGUs for the drafting of the ordinance that will ensure the sustainability of the organic farming.
They are also proposing for LGUs to identify focal persons who could provide technical support to practitioners, as well allocate fund for the OA program.
“We also urge the LGUs to have a profile of their OAs and the practitioners so we would know the development,” Deriquito said.
The one-day info caravan gathered municipal council chairpersons of the committee on agriculture and municipal agriculture officers of the province’s 18 municipalities.
Vice Governor Edgar Denosta who is also chairperson of the committee on agriculture at the provincial board, will pass a resolution during their regular session on Monday urging their LGUs to come up with ordinance supporting the OA in Antique.
“OA is important in farming considering the high cost of fertilizers and pesticides now,” Denosta said in a separate interview.
He said that organic farming can help save depleting freshwater fishes and the other resources found in the rivers.
“We expect that the bounty in the rivers and creeks could be restored through the promotion of organic farming,” Denosta said.
Data from Antique Provincial Coordinating Office showed that 2,225 farmers are currently into organic farming covering 995.86 hectares of farmland in 184 barangays.
The areas are planted with bananas, coffee, camote, vegetables, rice and corn.
Other farmers are also into raising organic native hogs and chicken. (PNA)
