Starting today, Saturday, 01 May 2021, inspired by the leadership of Secretary of Agriculture William Dar and the latest news on successful organic farming by Western Visayas farmers (above) championed by the Department of Agriculture (DA), I hereby declare that my new mantra is Coop-Driven Agriculture.
Always an original Ilocano aboriginal, I thought of “coop-driven agriculture” early morning, and later found out that the month of May is “Farmers’ & Fishermen’s Month” as mandated by Presidential Proclamation 393 signed 1989 by Cory Aquino. Serendipity!
The above image is shared on Facebook by Mr Dar, where President Antonio Tadiaque of the Tubungan Vegetable Producers Association in Iloilo is saying, and I quote (unedited):
Vegetables, lettuce, pechay, black rice, livestock, and poultry animals are being organically grown in more than 100 hectares of farm areas in Tubungan by almost 200 local organic farming adopters.
The news is reported by Sheila Mae H Toreno, “Success Story: Tubungan Farmers Obtain Steady Market For Chemical-Free Produce[1]” (28 April 2021, Daily Guardian). Miss Sheila says:
As consumers are getting more mindful about their health and diet, the preference for organically grown foods over crops treated with chemicals rapidly grows as time passes. Having to produce safe and quality crops and animals with lesser farm expenses and reduced threats to the environment prompts the farmers in a fourth-class town in Iloilo to champion organic agriculture.
100 hectares, 200 farmers growing organic crops and livestock. In fact, when Tubungan was #1 in the “National Search for Outstanding Organic Agriculture Municipality” in 2015, the DA awarded the Tubungan group with a P6 million project prize.
Miss Sheila says Marjorie Tacardon, Municipal Agriculturist of Tubungan says:
We value quality over quantity in our food production. Through organic farming, we could produce safe food to consume for a healthier and longer life. Second, we need to protect the environment. And as mandated (by) Republic Act 10068, we should convert at least five percent of the agricultural areas into organic farms.
Why not PH 100% organic farms!?
I see a gargantuan problem though – a third-party organic certification costs from P42,000 to P150,000 per crop valid for only 1 year. If a Filipino farmer could pay that, it means he is very rich in the first place!
Now, I will note that those Tubungan farmers are members of an association. I wish the association will turn itself into a cooperative; an association is governed by influential members, a cooperative by a board representing the interests of various sectors of the community. One tends to be dictatorial, the other democratic.
I want more! I propose that all Filipino farmers become bonafide members of local multipurpose cooperatives, and each coop will discuss with a certification group for a negotiated fee. I also encourage the DA to provide financial assistance towards this end.
(above, lower image[2] from QS Study)
Yes, from farmer-driven to coop-driven agriculture – the first of its kind in the world. From there, I predict the Philippines will become the very first organic farming-certified country in the world!@517
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