BAGUIO CITY – Six farmers cooperatives and associations (FCAs) in the Cordillera have partnered with the Department of Agriculture for the implementation of the Organic Agricultural Livelihood Program (OALP), which aims to increase the supply of organic produce and products in the country that will address the problems and gaps of organic farmers.
In the radio program, “Usapang Agrikultura” of the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera (DA-CAR) and Radyo Pilipinas Baguio, Joemar Tacio from the OALP explained the objective of the program is to strengthen and empower the existing organic practitioners and organic groups, aside from serving as business integrators of organic farms.
“These organic agriculture groups are the producers and suppliers of organic inputs, providers of farm services. As well as the consolidators and marketing arm of organic produce and products. This organic agriculture livelihood program is proposal-based wherein those eligible proponents for this program are the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) groups, registered civil society organizations that have the potential to become PGS groups that would be certified as PGS within 2 years after receiving interventions from the project,” Tacio said.
The facilities and components of each OALP, as well as its scale of operation and phases of development is based on the organic agriculture commodities of the proponent.
“In the Cordillera region, we currently have six groups that have been accredited as PGS groups in 2023 including 1 group currently undergoing the process of accreditation for PGS that has the potential to be certified within 2 years. These PGS groups that availed of the OALP come from Tublay, La Trinidad, Atok, and Itogon as municipal PGS groups while Mountain Province and Ifugao have 1 PGS group each that will serve their respective province, the Our farmers Heaven in Benguet is currently in the process of certification for the province” Tacio added.
The OALP approval process flow features a two-level approval approach with the regional level covering proposals amounting to PhP5 million and below, while the second level is for the National Organic Agriculture Board (NOAB) with proposals exceeding PhP5 million.
Both levels will go through the submission, screening, review, evaluation, and endorsement of the proposal by the regional screening committee to the Regional Executive Director (RED).
While the project evaluation and approval process in the regional level ends with the approval of the RED, proposals in the national level will proceed with the endorsement and presentation to the NOAB for final approval. By JTLanes
