Levelling the playing field: Davao’s small farmers push for second party organic certification
DAVAO CITY – Organic small farmers are pushing for a second party organic certification to enable them greater market access for their products. Tranquilina Alibango, an organic farmer who markets her produce every Sunday at the women managed organic vegetable bagsakan at the Calinan market, says that third party organic certification is complicated and very expensive for a small farmer like her. “Dili man namo makaya kay mahal kaayo. Kung ing-ana ang mamahimong paagi, dili gihapon kalahutay nga mupartisipar ang mga gagmay nga mag uuma sa organikong merkado.”, according to her. Alibango’s case is symptomatic of the dilemma that small organic farmers face under Republic Act 10068 or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010. While the Act provides support and incentives for farmers to shift to organic farming, helping small farmers access the growing global market for organic produce remains problematic. In the international market, much depends on the certification of a product. In the case of the organic market, this means the acknowledgement that the marketed products have been produced according to the applicable organic production standards. Such certification may be obtained through any of three levels: branding, or 1st party certification,where the farmer brands his product as organic; participatory guaranty system (PGS), or 2nd party certification, where a network of farmer peers certify the product as organic; and private organic marking, or 3rd party certification, where a independent group of private inspectors certify the product as organic. In the Philippines, the OA law only recognizes 3rd party certification. This means that only certified by an independent and accredited third party as organic will be the ones allowed to market and brand themselves as such. Any sale of products with organic labels or claims without the approval of the certification body will be illegal. The same applies to imported products. But according to Ling Castro, Policy Officer for Interface Development Interventions, the third party certification process puts small farmers at a disadvantage. “Getting a 3rd party certification will cost a farmer P 100,000.00 per crop.”, Castro said. According to her, the certification is only good for one year, after which, it must be renewed. “ For the small organic farmer who practices diversified cropping, it would be very expensive.”, she said. “We need to level the playing field between small farmers and big farmers.”, she stressed. For Castro and the rest of the Go Organic Davao City, a network of organic farming practitioners and advocates, this will entail the adoption of the 2nd party certification so that farmers will be able to engage the international market. Castro pointed out the experience of MASIPAG, a non government organization engaged in sustainable farming, which already practices 2nd party certification among its partner organizations. “The Masipag Farmer’s Guarantee System (MFGS) is an appropriate system for Davao’s small organic farmers to follow because it empowers the small farmers in that it allows them to participate in the certification process.”, she said. Last week, GO DC had invited MASIPAG National Coordinator, Dr. Chito Medina, PhD , to give an orientation on the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) which the GO DC is pushing for as an alternative to 3rd party certification. “As an example of a 2nd party certification, the PGS is even more reliable than the 3rd party process because monitoring is built among the farmers.”, according to Dr.Medina. Under the PGS system, organic producers are certified based on the active participation of stakeholders, built on trust, social networks and knowledge exchange. “For instance, communities can be mobilized around the clock to ensure that their organic fields are safe and healthy.”, Medina said. It is also very much cheaper than 3rd party certification. “In PGS, local inspectors are trained to conduct monitoring and evaluation. There is no need to pay expensive fees for 3rd party certification inspectors.”, he pointed out. Around the world, various countries have already adopted their own versions of the PGS. Australia, India and Brazil which supply most of the world’s demand for organic produce are already using their own versions, according to Medina. At last year’s national conference on organic agriculture , the Aquino administration had estimated that in 2012, the high potential of organically grown commodities in the world market would cost around $40 billlion- $70 billion. “With a potential market like that, small farmers need to take advantage of it but only if the necessary mechanisms are in place.”, said Medina. Locally, this will entail mainstreaming the PGS model among the farmers in the grassroots. On a national scope, this will mean amending the OA law to include PGS as a valid organic certification process. Go DC, which is taking the lead in drafting its own version of PGS, hopes that this 2nd party certification will be adopted by Davao City as part of the implementation of its Organic Agriculture Ordinance. “If the Organic Agricultural Management Council (OAMC) mainstreams the PGS, this will mean that small farmers like Alibango will not have only the Calinan district to market their organic products, but the whole world.”, said Tina Delima, Go DC member and officer-in-charge of SIMCARRD. “Through PGS, we aim to make organic agriculture more inclusive and facilitative for our small organic farmers.”, she added. (Mindanao Daily Mirror, Feb 19, 2012)
Davao to ban entry of GMOs
DAVAO CITY—After disallowing the growing of genetically modified plants alongside organic crops, including the experimental culture of the so-called Frankenstein varieties, the city council has started tackling a more detailed proposal to keep modified organisms out of the city. The move was hailed by local anti-GMO (genetically modified organism) groups. “While the local Organic Agriculture Ordinance explicitly said that organic crops cannot coexist with genetically modified crops, we still need to protect our agricultural biodiversity from future attempts to plant GMO crops in the city,” Tina Delima of the group Sustainable Integrated Area Development Initiatives in Mindanao-Convergence for Asset Reform and Regional Development, said of the proposed ordinance. Under the proposed ordinance, now the subject of public consultations being conducted by the city council, the mere entry of GMOs was to be outlawed. Its importation, introduction, planting, growing, selling and trading would not be allowed, Councilor Benjamin Al-ag said of the proposed ordinance recently passed by Councilor Pilar Braga. Go Organic Davao City, a network of organic farming practitioners and their supporters, said the approval of the proposed ordinance would totally shut down the city from GMOs. It was also timely, the group said, as there had been recent attempts to revive field testing of GMOs at the University of the Philippines’ (UP) Mindanao campus here. The field tests were halted in 2010 when Mayor Sara Duterte ordered genetically modified eggplant seedlings being grown at the UP Mindanao campus uprooted amid protests by anti-GMO groups led by Go Organic Davao City. If the ordinance banning GMOs were approved, it would allow the city to tap the growing demand for organic products for domestic and international markets, said Ling Castro, policy advocacy officer of the Interface Development Interventions. The market for organic products has been expanding at 10 to 30 per cent per year, she said. “Davao City, which is branding itself as Green Davao, can easily tap this market,” she added. “By ensuring that no GMO crops will pollute our agricultural fields in the future, not only can we assure our food security but also the healthy quality of our produce,” she said. Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao
Organic advocates push for GMO Ban Ordinance
Davao City – The Go Organic Davao City, a network of organic farming practitioners and their supporters, is pushing for the passage of the GMO Ban Ordinance in Davao City. “We need to protect the integrity of organic agriculture in Davao City”., said Tina Delima , Officer –in-charge of SIMCAARRD. “While the principles of our local Organic Agriculture ordinance has explicitly stated that organic crops cannot co-exist with genetically modified crops, we need to ensure the protection of the agricultural biodiversity of the city from future attempts to plant GMO crops here in the city.”, she said. The Go Organic Davao City network had been at the foreground of the protests against the recent attempts to revive the field testing of the controversial Bt eggplant in Davao City. Councilor Bernard Al-ag is calling for a committee hearing this February 15, 2012 to discuss Councilor Pilar Braga’s proposal to enact an Ordinance banning the entry, importation, introduction , planting, growing, selling and trading of Genetically Modified Organisms within the territorial jurisdiction of Davao City. GoDC members are expected to attend. If eventually approved as an ordinance, Davao City will join a select league of municipalities and cities which are GMO-free and are poised to take charge of the growing demand for organic products domestically and internationally. “Currently, the growing market for organic products is expanding at 10-30% per annum.”, said Ling Castro, Policy Advocacy Officer of the Interface Development Interventions. “Davao City can easily tap this market especially since it is also branding itself as a Green Davao , where our lifestyle is sustainable, ecologically safe and healthy .”, she pointed out. But more than economics, the mainstreaming of organic farming is also an issue of health. “ International studies have indicated that organic crops contain 40% more antioxidants which lessen the risk of heart disease and cancer compared to pesticide-intensive crops.”, said Castro. “By ensuring that no GMO crops will pollute our agricultural fields in the future, not only can we assure our food security but also the healthy quality of our produce.”, she said. At present, Bohol, Mindoro and Negros islands have already declared themselves GMO-free. Elsewhere, municipalities and cities have begun to shift towards organic agriculture by passing local ordinances mainstreaming organic agriculture and outlawing genetically modified crops and products. Last November 2011, President Aquino had also reiterated the support of his administration to the mainstreaming of organic agriculture by saying that is poverty alleviation and hunger mitigation strategy at a national conference on organic agriculture. (#)
Protests vs aerial spray still alive, growing louder
DAVAO CITY—Groups campaigning against aerial spraying are calling on President Benigno Aquino to issue an executive order banning crop dusters nationwide and urging the Supreme Court to uphold the legality of the ban in the city. “We’re calling on the Supreme Court to decide fast on the issue in our favor and put an end to our suffering,” said Dagohoy Magaway, the head of the group Mamamayan Ayaw sa Aerial Spray. He said the ordinance has not been enforced in the city five years after it was passed because the Supreme Court has yet to rule on its constitutionality. “For the Supreme Court to turn a blind eye and deaf ears on the plight of the suffering communities by failing to issue a prompt ruling is an injustice of massive proportions,” he said in a press briefing here to mark the fifth year of the ordinance’s passing. “But we also ask President Aquino to listen to the pleas of the affected communities by issuing an executive order banning aerial spray,” Magaway said. “There’s so much talk without action. If the Supreme Court can’t be swayed by our plight, an executive order from the President will provide relief for affected communities,” he said. Mindanao business groups, such as the Mindanao Business Council and the Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA), are lobbying against the ban, saying it would kill the local banana industry, Mindanao’s top export product. A Department of Health study showed the adverse effects of aerial spray on the health of people in communities living near banana plantations. Magaway said banana plantations temporarily stopped aerial spraying three years after the passing of the ordinance but resumed again in the barangays of Subasta, Dacudao and Wangan, pending the Supreme Court ruling. In 2007, PBGEA challenged in the Court of Appeals the decision of a local judge who upheld the legality of the ban. The Court of Appeals based in Cagayan de Oro City issued a temporary restraining order against the ordinance, and later declared the ordinance unconstitutional, prompting pro-ban groups to elevate the case to the Supreme Court. The environment group Interface for Development Interventions (IDIS) also complained that people directly affected by the aerial spray were excluded in a dialogue organized by the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) with different government agencies. Chinkee Pelino, of IDIS, said the interagency workshop that PCSD organized last year invited representatives from the PBGEA and Croplife, groups strongly lobbying against the ban, while excluding leaders of communities near the plantations. President Aquino earlier asked the PCSD to consolidate the different positions on aerial spray, after Malacañang was swarmed by petitions from groups calling for an outright ban on the practice because of the hazards it posed to people’s health. The groups said the President should fulfill his campaign promise to give priority attention to the aerial spray issue. Germelina Lacorte, Philippine Daily Inquirer
MAAS calls on Supreme Court to uphold legality of Davao City Ban AS Ordinance
Davao City – Anti-aerial spray activists called on the Supreme Court to finally uphold the constitutionality of the Davao City Ban Aerial Spray ordinance. “Five years after it was passed, it has yet to be enforced.”, according to Dagohoy Magaway, President of the Mamamayan Ayaw sa Aerial Spray (MAAS). “This is because the Supreme Court has yet to rule on the legality of the ordinance.” Speaking at a press conference marking the anniversary of the landmark ordinance, Magaway aired his disappointment with the lack of progress. “ For the Supreme Court to turn a blind eye and deaf ears on the plight of the suffering communities by failing to issue a prompt ruling is an injustice of massive proportions.”, he said. Magaway pointed out that after the ordinance was passed in 2007, banana plantations stopped the practice but lately, plantations have begun aerial spraying again. “Reports coming from the communities have revealed that in the barangays of Dacudao and Subasta, spray planes have again resumed their flights, spraying their deadly mix of poison chemicals.”, said Magaway. Opponents of the aerial spraying practice have repeatedly pointed out the dangerous effects of the spray drift to the health of the families living along or inside banana plantations. “The Department of Health had already conducted a study showing the potential risks to the environment and health of anyone that is exposed to the spray drift. ”, said IDIS Executive Director Lia Jasmin Esquillo. “These findings should have been enough to spur the Supreme Court to acting decisively on the issue in favour of the affected communities.”, she said. Other than the Supreme Court, MAAS had also been lobbying for concrete actions from the Aquino administration. Last year, President Aquino had tasked the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) to consolidate the different positions of various stakeholders. However, the workshop, which was convened by the PCSD, failed to include representatives coming from MAAS and the affected communities. “They invited representatives from the PBGEA and CROPLIFE but they never invited us. How can we expect a government position which is fair to our cause if we were not even consulted during policy meetings?”, said Magaway. MAAS and its supporters are now demanding urgent action from President Nonoy Aquino. “We call on President Aquino to listen to the pleas of the affected communities by issuing an Executive Order banning aerial spray. There is too much talk without action.”, said Magaway. “ If the Supreme Court refuses to be swayed by the plight of the affected communities, an Executive Order coming from the highest elected official of the land banning aerial spray outright will provide relief to the affected communities. (#)
Gov’t measures to stop ‘Panama disease’ branded as ‘exercise in futility’
DAVAO CITY, Nov 22, 2011—At least 1,000 hectares of banana farms in Southern Mindanao have been destroyed so far by Fusarium, a disease with no known cure that organic farming advocates said was aggravated by the practice of monocropping in the region. The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) said Fusarium, also known as Panama disease, had devastated more than 1,000 ha of banana farms as of yesterday. Madeline Dizon-Marfori, PBGEA chair, said the problem threatens the survival of at least 300,000 families, who are dependent on the banana industry, which could be Mindanao’s top export revenue earner. In her family’s company for example, Marfori said some people have lost their jobs after about 40 ha of banana farms that showed signs of the disease have been shut down. She said the infected areas have no chance of recovering soon as the fungus that causes the disease is known to thrive in soil for at least five years. It was given the name Panama, after the Central American country where the disease wiped out entire banana plantations and brought the country’s economy to its knees. “The Panama disease is the most serious challenge currently facing the banana industry,” Marfori said. Lia Esquillo, executive director of the Interface for Development Intervention, said the Fusarium disease was a “problem waiting to happen” in big plantations here because the practice of crop monoculture reduces plants’ resistance to diseases. “It was bound to occur because monoculture plantations are never sustainable.” she said. “The Fusarium disease is nature’s way of asking for a rest from all of the toxic abuse that the plantations have done to the soil.” She said because big plantations propagate bananas through tissue culture, the susceptibility of bananas to the disease increased. “The cavendish fruit is an infertile clone,” said Esquillo. “This means it doesn’t have the natural resistance to diseases which can only be developed from crossbreeding varieties.” Esquillo said because the disease was difficult to control, the Department of Agriculture’s effort to help farms and plantations was “an exercise in futility.” “As long as plantations do not have the agricultural biodiversity which comes from organic farming, crops will continue to be attacked by new diseases,” she said. “Instead of helping out big banana corporations, the government should instead allocate funds to encourage more farmers to shift to more ecological and sustainable farming methods,” said Dagohoy Magaway, a member of the group Go Organic Davao City. Germelina Lacorte and Judy Quiros, Inquirer Mindanao