ATOK, Benguet – From conventional farming and returning to organic, a farmer in Atok, Benguet has seen the difference in making food safe for human consumption following Good Agricultural Practices or GAP.
Saldy Lepago, a member of the Liyang-Bonglo Farmers Association (LBFA), was the first farmer in their municipality to register for GAP following his conventional farmer experience.
Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) is a set of standards for the safe and sustainable production of crops and livestock, which aims to help farm owners maximize yields and optimize business operations while minimizing production costs and environmental impact.
“In my experience as a farmer since childhood, I have seen the difference between initially practicing organic farming to practicing conventional farming, and through the encouragement of the Department of Agriculture, I was convinced to become a GAP-certified farmer as it showed me the positive ways of ensuring food safety by following the standards for safe and sustainable production of crops through a disciplined system of farm management,” Lepago said.
Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation, science, and chemicals promoting fair relationships and safe food compared to conventional farming which utilizes synthetic chemicals to produce the highest yield of crops.
Being GAP certified, Lepago has been a recipient of various interventions from the Department of Agriculture Cordillera (DA-CAR) through the High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) among which are greenhouses, seedlings, hand tractors, and market linkage.
Lepago who did not pursue tertiary education and instead decided to return to their farm to manage it after finishing his agriculture high school course at the Benguet State University campus in Loo, Buguias, Benguet described that the transition from conventional farming to being GAP certified has given him positive results as he now supplies directly to their market.
Just recently while attending a DA GAP congress in Baguio City, a representative from the World Food Expo introduced Lepago to master chefs of restaurants in Manila who wanted each of their farmers to directly supply them with different commodities needed by their establishments.
“These commodities would be planted on a staggered basis on a limited volume weekly depending on the order of the specific commodity. These are then brought to the cold chain facility in Wangal, La Trinidad wherein the owner of the restaurant is scheduled to pick up the said commodities, this direct supplying strengthens our linkage with our clients,” the GAP farmer stated.
Lepago’s main commodities are tomato, potato, and cabbage, with the addition of Chinese cabbage, carrots, and celery being produced in 10 plots each that are supplied for Makati restaurants weekly with the volume depending on the order.
His plantation area covers more or less 2.5 hectares which includes neighboring farming areas that he rents but still follows GAP procedures.
Before being GAP certified, Lepago used to practice mono-cropping which is a common practice in agriculture that usually causes economic losses due to soil degradation, decreased crop yield and quality, pest and disease incidence, mainly due to changes in soil microbial communities, nutrient availability, and allelopathy effect.
After being GAP certified, he began to practice multiple cropping which is defined as harvesting more than once a year through a widespread land management strategy that intensifies agricultural production and diversifies with the crop mix for economic and environmental benefits.
“I am thankful to the DA for encouraging me to undergo GAP certification because, through this, we are beginning to encourage other members of our cooperative to be certified, from our 51 members, 10 are now GAP certified and we are hopeful that the other members and farmers in our municipality will also follow,” Lepago added. By JTLlanes
