LAGAWE, Ifugao – The Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (DA-BAFS), in collaboration with the DA-Regional Field Office-Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) conducted an inspection of the Immipugo Farmers Organic Agriculture Association (IFOAA) Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) core group farmer-members in Ifugao from March 25-27, 2025.
The three-day inspection aimed to assess the compliance of the core PGS group farmer-members with relevant BAFS/Philippine National Standards (PNS) on organic agriculture, including 337:2022 (Organic Crop Production, Post-Harvest, and Processing – Code of Practice), 07:2016 (Organic Agriculture), and Department Circular No. 09 Series of 2020 (National List of Permitted Substances for Organic Agriculture).
During the inspection, five organic farmers were evaluated across various criteria, such as record-keeping, organic practices, use of organic inputs, harvesting and post-harvest handling, land and water management, and pest and disease management. The applicants included Darling’s Organic Farm and Arlyn Tayaban’s Organic Farm (both in Asipulo), Joseph Danglay Organic Garden (Kiangan), and Nanglihan’s Farm and Hilltop Garden (Lagawe). Four applicants had crop production as their scope except with Darlene’s Organic Farm which is involve in animal production.
Before this inspection, the group underwent a pre-assessment conducted by the Regional Pre-assessment Team (RPAT) facilitated by the Regional Organic Program from October 1-2, 2024. This pre-inspection served as a prerequisite for core group certification through the Participatory Organic Certificate (POC) and initiated the accreditation process through an audit.
During the exit meeting, the inspection team presented their findings to the office of the Ifugao governor and provided an overview of the Participatory Guarantee System. The governor, through his Executive Assistant on Environment and Natural Resources Mr. Ricardo Wangag, expressed full support for the program and underscored the importance of organic agriculture as a key provincial priority.
OIC-Provincial Agriculturist Steve Baccay also emphasized the focus on heirloom rice and selected vegetable crops, with plans to allocate funding for the clustering of organic marketing groups. “We will create a group for mighty organic practitioners in Ifugao and share best practices with them,” Baccay said.
After the inspection, the core group will address any non-compliances in the Corrective and Preventive Action Plan (CCAP) within five days, with the required evidence submitted by the target date set by BAFS. Once all necessary documents are submitted, IFOAA is expected to become the second certified core PGS group in Ifugao, following the Lamut Organic Practitioners Cooperative (LOPRACO which was accredited last year.
Founded in 2022, IFOAA operates across four municipalities in Ifugao: Asipulo, Kiangan, Lagawe and Hingyon.
The inspection team included four inspectors from BAFS, two from DA-CAR’s Regulatory Division, and facilitators from the Regional Organic Agricultural Program, Agricultural Training Institute, APCO Ifugao, PAENRO, and the municipal agriculture offices of Asipulo, Kiangan, and Lagawe. By Jay Sagario
