Philippines hailed for sustainable farming

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines was conferred the “Outstanding Country” award by the Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (AFACI) for its achievements in organic agriculture.

The award was given during the AFACI program workshop on basic agriculture held on Aug. 18 to 22, 2015 in Hanoi, Vietnam. 

The Philippines led the 10 Asian member countries under AFACI’s Asian Network for Sustainable Farming Technology (ANSOFT).

The program workshop was organized for the member countries to create high-impact results on the basic agriculture programs being implemented in each country.

The activity served as a venue for the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) to impart its knowledge about the high-impact results of the Organic Agriculture and Agri-Pinoy Corn program.

BSWM executive director and head of ANSOFT-Philippines Silvino Q. Tejada said the country’s award was a recognition of the people behind the ANSOFT-Philippines who work to provide new ideas and technologies to make farming in the Philippines as competitive as other Asian countries.

ANSOFT-Philippines was launched in September 2014 in the Camiguin province where organic agriculture model technologies were adopted in all its municipalities in a bid to declare itself as an “organic province.” 

BSWM intends to allot the $2,000 cash prize it received  for the training of fresh college graduates, opening new opportunities for the youth and for the development of organic agriculture, particularly in Mindanao.