Forum on earth-friendly agricultural method set

MANILA, Philippines - A forum on an earth-friendly agricultural method in the Philippines will be held Feb. 26 in Makati City. Actual training on the method will take place in Lubao, Pampanga on Feb. 27.

Farm owners and farmers will share with the general public what they have learned, their successes and challenges in Managing Abundance: a Forum on the Living Ideas of Bio-dynamic Agriculture. Bio-dynamic agricultural methods have been used in some capacity in a number of Philippine farms since the early 1990s.

The call for more farms to consider bio-dynamic methods is clear and urgent. The demands on soil and water to feed an unstoppable population ironically end up depleting the earth of essential nutrients and minerals, especially through current agricultural practices.

Many are familiar with organic farming, a safe, sustainable system that produces healthy crops and livestock without damage to the environment. No chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used or are limited, and animals are reared without routine use of antibiotics and drugs. The health of the soil is maintained and the welfare of livestock considered.

Bio-dynamic agricultural methods, take organic farming a step further. In a series of lectures given as early as 1924, Austrian philosopher and social thinker Rudolf Steiner talked about how the earth was a living organism, that each farm was distinct and needed to be treated differently, and that plants, animals and the soil were inter-related as a self-nourishing system. Unique to the bio-dynamic system is the introduction of special sprays and soil starter preparations called BD 500-508. The preparations not only replenish depleted physical nutrients, which is what organic methods already do, but also activate the “life forces” in the soil and plants. The resulting produce is healthier, is naturally richer in nutrients, and has actually been proven to stimulate the human immune system.

It has also been scientifically proven that bio-dynamic soils absorb and hold back large amounts of water, and assist in lessening the severity of floods.

The annual forum, held for the second consecutive year, will be at the ISIP Center, Makati City on Feb. 26. An optional field trip to a living bio-dynamic farm in Lubao, Pampanga will be held the next day, Feb. 27, with actual training on how to make bio-dynamic preparations.

Learn the basics of bio-dynamic agriculture, how it keeps nature in balance, and get practical suggestions and tips from farmers themselves in a panel discussion on keeping farms sustainable.

Speakers include Greg Kitma, a bio-dynamic farmer from Baguio and president of the Philippine Bio-dynamic Agriculture Research Foundation (PhilBio); Reimon Gutierrez of Prado Farms, Pampanga; Betsy Ruizo-Gamela of the Don Bosco Foundation for Sustainable Development near Kidapawan City; and farm owners and farmers who represent active Philippine bio-dynamic initiatives throughout the Philippines.

The forum is organized by the Institute for Steiner’s Ideas in Practice (ISIP) Philippines in cooperation with PhilBio. Through the years, ISIP has produced seminars and workshops that deepen the understanding of the work of Rudolf Steiner. In the Philippines, Steiner is best known for his educational philosophy that is the basis of the Waldorf schools, and as the founder of a field of study known as anthroposophy. PhilBio was formed in 2002 with the aim of making the biodynamic method accessible to more farmers.

The forum is open to farmers, farm owners, students, teacher, NGO professionals and the general public, and will be held at the ISIP Center, 6241 Palma cor. Mañalac Sts., Poblacion, Makati City. Space is limited! Call 899 4675. text 0920 983 1329 or email [email protected] for inquiries and registration.