Trust is organic

I was reading literature on Organic Farming and the high cost of third-party certification which prevents farmers from trying to even qualify for such papers that consumers are not even aware of. The education and awareness about “What is Organic?” is very low, even after the Organic Law was passed in 2010. The law states that 2 percent of the national budget must be earmarked for organic agriculture.

The law was amended to include Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) or a mechanism where you ask a group of farmers to work on trust basis among and between themselves that they indeed guarantee each others’ organic practices. Ultimately, a certification is only as good as who issued it and when. Because after certification, anything could happen to the farm. So I personally go by the age-old practice of knowing your farmer, or growing what you need for your household and selling the excess.

Back in 2004, after an organic conference we attended in Uganda, we undertook a certification process for two coffee farms in Benguet. Both underwent a two-year process under the sponsorship of German NGO GIZ (formerly called DED) and our foundation. I am happy to know that almost 20 years hence, the Benguet State University coffee farm is still organic and would pass any international standard because of the stewardship of Prof. Val Macanes. Today, the coffee farm will be the site of our agroforestry training under Naturland, also a German association of organic farmers globally. Together with Philippine Coffee Board and another non-profit, ECHOsi Foundation, we will again train coffee farmers to grow organic coffee and other crops.

As I was catching up on readings for our Organic Agriculture class in UP Open University, I reviewed my knowledge of laws leading to what the state of organic agriculture is in the country today. Sadly, the market for organic products is usually people diagnosed with disease and their relatives and people of higher income (because they can afford the premium of about 10 percent over conventional produce). Majority of the population still do not care to choose organic due to challenges in accessing these produce and also the claim of higher costs.

For me, it has always been about taste. Thankfully, I have my taste buds intact and I am able to taste non-organic vegetables which have a “petrol-like” taste as compared to the sweetness of natural organically-grown vegetables. Exposure and practice is all it takes. Having grown organic vegetables for more than 10 years, you can tell by the taste and smell if it is organic. Practice indeed, makes perfect.

So where do you start knowing more about organic products? As they always say, when the student is ready, the teacher will come. So when you are ready to embrace the shift to eating only organic fare, you will first teach your senses. Taste, smell and try each vegetable so that your mental memory markers will go to work. In sensory exercises, coffee tasters need to expand their taste of many substances, like natural food and fresh produce. For how will you know what a stone fruit tastes like if you have never tasted a stone fruit? And how will you taste peach or apricot if you have never tried a fresh sample of the fruit? The best yardstick is always a natural version of the fruit or vegetable. A processed fruit may already be laced with sugar for preservation techniques. A processed or pickled vegetable may have vinegar and salt and will not reveal the vegetable’s natural flavor. Fresh is best. Teach your senses is job number one.

Second is to find reliable suppliers. Not only in terms of consistency of supply but actually seeing how they are grown. I have been to a few farms whose practices I admire and believe in.

When we were going to open our ECHOstore in Davao, we first checked the supply of organic vegetables or what they now call the value chain and the supply chain. Today, ECHOstore Davao’s owner has her own organic vegetable farm like our Luzon example.

Third is to visit weekend markets where organic suppliers sell their produce. In the Slow Food movement these are called Earth Markets – where farmers and producers directly sell to consumers. You will most likely meet the farmer who milks the carabao, the farmer who grows the vegetables and the producers of seasonal fruits like lanzones, avocado and the like. Beware of seasonal fruits being available year-round. Except for banana and papaya, everything else has a season. Mangoes have been developed to produce year-round but I also stay away from these due to its high-sugar content and more often than not, the heavily sprayed varieties.

Do I want to live to a hundred as my friend has jokingly asked? Maybe not, but I want to eat healthy and avoid disease. I do not want to shift to organic because the doctor said so. I want to eat organic because that is how Nature intended it to be. So rather than just check organic certifications, we take some effort in finding the farmer. And visiting his or her farm. Then building that trust between farmer and consumer.