Organic farming flourishes in Quezon

MANILA, Philippines - Organic farming continues to flourish with its promising output of high-quality and chemical-free agricultural crops.

It requires low production inputs and promotes environmental protection. Most importantly, it safeguards the well-being of the people.

“Ang gulay sa Dolores, Quezon ay walang lason.” This tagline is what gives the farmers of Sitio Bangkong Kahoy, Brgy. Kinabuhayan in Dolores, Quezon a reason to be proud of their vegetable produce. 

In support of the Department of Agriculture’s goal of pushing organic agriculture in the Philippines through Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, a project titled, “Sama-Samang Pagsasaka sa Organikong Pamamaraan” is being implemented.

It is a community-based organic farming/agroforestry project led by the Center for Environmental Law and Policy Advocacy, Inc. (CELPA Inc.), with funding support from the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), in cooperation with the local government unit of Dolores, Quezon,  Bangkong Kahoy Farmers’ Organization for Reforestation and EcoSystems Trust (BK FOREST) that also served as the intended beneficiaries of the project, and with support from Costales Nature Farm in Majayjay, Laguna. 

The project familiarized and educated the farmers on organic farming implementation, taught them the processes involved in organic fertilizers and pesticides production, resulting in an increase in farmers’ income and establishing a market for the produce.

As part of the project monitoring activities, a group composed of BAR, CELPA, and University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) visited the sites and met with the farmer cooperators. The meeting served as a venue for the partner institutions and stakeholders to impart their messages for the project’s accomplishments.

Dionisio “Dion” Pullan, vice president of BK FOREST, talked about the importance of organic farming in the lives of the people residing in Bangkong Kahoy.

According to him, the use of inorganic pesticides contributes greatly to the suffrage of the water table, which then poses health threats to those in the lowland.

Being an environmentalist himself, Pullan encouraged other farmers to engage in producing vegetables organically and to avoid the use of inorganic pesticides in farming to preserve the balance in the ecosystem.

By refraining from using harmful chemicals, vegetables can be eaten fresh right after harvest. He added that the easy-to-prepare pesticides created for organic farming do not actually kill pests, instead pests are just prevented to get near the crops.

Pullan stressed that “if organic farming will be sustained, people of Dolores will be able to send their children to colleges or universities”. He also expressed his gratitude, especially to BAR, for fulfilling its promise of supporting the implementation of organic farming in Bangkong Kahoy.

 Evelyn Juanillo of BAR’s Technology Commercialization Division (TCD) gave a message in behalf of BAR director Nicomedes P. Eleazar. She thanked everyone for their efforts and mentioned that BAR never forgets its promise in support to the project since it helps uplift the lives of farmers and at the same time aids in conserving the environment.

 Also in attendance was municipal agriculturist Anniewenda Reyes who noted that Dolores, Quezon has one of the best fertile lands making it very suitable for farming agricultural crops.

She also cited the 20 percent increase in development fund given to them by the LGU in support of organic agriculture.

While organic farming takes a little time, she reiterated that farmers’ teamwork and patience would result in the continuous success of the project. Meanwhile, farming alternatives such as phasing and crop rotation are being done to address such problem. 

Another notable progress of the project is that as soon as paper works are finally settled, BK FOREST would be officially registered in the Securities and Exchange Commission, enabling them to venture into vegetable enterprises. 

Others who also participated in the activity were Dr. Ramon Razal, former dean of UPLB-College of Forestry, Dr. Portia Lapitan, professor from UPLB and co-team leader of the project, councilor Marife “Pepay” Mendoza, and the members of BK FOREST. 

The group visited the various project sites in Bangkong Kahoy to check and monitor the status of the different organically- produced vegetables including lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, raddish, among others.