LINGAYEN, Pangasinan –The Department of Agriculture (DA) regional office appealed to the city and municipal veterinarians to submit a project proposal on organic agriculture farming for possible funding in year 2016 through the agency’s National Organic Agriculture Program (NOAP).
Dr. Marvin Quilates, regional organic agriculture focal person, made this call during a consultation-dialogue held on Friday at the Pangasinan Training Development Center here which was also participated in by livestock coordinators on organic farming.
The NOAP was established in 2014 in support to the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 or RA 10068 which “calls to promote, propagate and further develop the practice of organic farming in the country.”
Along this program, he said that the organic livestock farming plays a major role in achieving this goal through the help of the veterinary practitioners by shifting to an environmentally -healthier food production practices.
“Let us raise livelihood production in an organic way,” Quilates said as he emphasized the importance of livestock farming in sustainable agriculture.
Quilates pointed out that Region 1 has a total land area of 1,824.6 hectares for organic agriculture: Pangasinan province has the highest land area with 757 hectares followed by Ilocos Norte with 491, while Ilocos Sur and La Union with 474 and 64 hectares respectively.
Again, he said, Pangasinan has the highest number of organic practitioners or advocates in Region 1 numbering at 1,420 with 8 established organic demo and training farms in the different municipalities of the province.
With this, Quilates asked the vet doctors to come up with a project proposal that would redound to the benefit of organic farmers especially those who are engaged in livestock farming.
He also encouraged them to “go natural” in providing antibiotics. “No more antibiotics only probiotics,” Quilates said as he added the need to adopt “good animal husbandry practices for integrated organic farming.”
Meanwhile, OIC Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Eric Perez told the participants to actively support the organic agriculture and “become a part and parcel of achieving a sustainable agriculture in the province and country as well.
By Dexter A. See