BONTOC, Mountain Province – To promote the natural way of farming in the province, the provincial government launched the 1st Provincial Organic Agriculture Month with the theme, “Kabuhayang OA (Organic Agriculture), Kinabukasan OK, PGS (Participatory Guarantee System) Pinalakaas Para sa Bagong Pilipinas,” held at the Provincial Plaza on August 6, 2024.
Gov. Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr. and Vice Gov. Francis O. Tauli led the ribbon-cutting to open the first Provincial Organic Agriculture Month celebration in the presence of the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and agriculture stakeholders from the provincial government and line agencies, and local organic farmers.
Governor Lacwasan and Provincial Administrator Franklin C. Odsey lauded the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for passing an ordinance promoting the organic practices of farming in support of the programs of the national government and to strengthen the organic agriculture industry of the different barangays and municipalities of the province.
Sangguniang Panlalawigan Chair for Agriculture, Board Member Ezra Samson A. Gomez gave an overview of the celebration. According to him, organic farming is simply natural farming that relies on seasonal changes without the use of farm inputs like pesticides that affect the natural environment and the health of the farmers and consumers.
He relayed that natural farming was the prevalent farming practice in the rural communities and its importance was recognized by the national government under the incumbency of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the Organic Agriculture Act, which declared the policy of the state to promote, propagate, develop further and implement the practice of organic agriculture in the Philippines was approved by former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
With this, he said that through the collaborative efforts of the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, a provincial ordinance declaring August of every year as Provincial Organic Agriculture Month was passed and was approved by Governor Lacwasan with the goal of making organic produce more accessible and affordable.
Meanwhile, Vice Governor Tauli and Board Member Henry D. Bastian, Jr. were one in conveying their support to organic agriculture farming and reassuring the Sangguniang Panlalawigan’s continuous support in assuring the involvement of local farmers in community and participatory development. By Hail, MP
