SUCCESSSTORIESOFSMALLORGANIC FARMSINTHEPHILIPPINES

Rodelio Carating BUREAUOFSOILSANDWATERMANAGEMENT

OUTLINE
TypesofOrganicPractitionersinthe pp Philippines TheProfileofSmallScaleFilipinoFarmer The Th P Profile fil of fanO Organic i Movement M N Network: k MASIPAG ThreeCaseStudies Issues I and dConcerns C SummaryandConclusion

TYPESOFORGANIC PRACTITIONERSINTHEPHILIPPINES
INDIGENOUS Wehaveindigenous tribes ib who h h havenot beenassimilatedby mainstreamsociety despitegiantcultural wavesofIslamization andChristianizationthe pastcenturies.Their p agriculturalpractices remainorganicin principle

 TRADITIONAL Smallremnantsofpre GreenRevolutionfarmers adheretogrowing traditionalricevarieties andtotraditional agronomicpractices (basicallyorganic) becauseofpremiumprice given i to t these th aromatic ti andfancyricedespitelow yield Consumerdemand yield. remainsstrongbecause oftraditionalso(specific riceforspecificoccasion).

 LARGESCALE(COMMERCIAL) FARMS Thesearethebigtimefarms convertedtosustainable organicfarmingpractices. practices The farmproducearenot necessarilyforexportbut theytargetdomestic consumers Theyareusually consumers. certifiedorganicastheycan affordthehighcostof certification.

 SMALLSCALE ( (SUBSISTENCE/MARGIN / AL)FARMER Farmersconvertto sustainableorganic agriculturalpractices throughtheextension effortsoforganic movements.They cannotaffordthehigh g costofcertificationbut pursueorganicfarming becauseofthe economicand environmental i t lb benefits. fit

ProfileofSmallScaleFarmer
Farmersownsmall lands,averageof2 hectares Theyareinanever endingcycleof indebtednessbecause ofthehighcostoffarm inputs.

SUBSISTENCEFARMERPROFILE
Theaverageageis50,we h anaging have i farmer f population Disadvantagedintheir accesstobasicneeds (water, ( ,electricity, y, education,etc.) Theytypicallyplantrice, corn,andcoconutas base. Average A annual lincome i is i PhP20,000.(approx.US$ 476)

PROFILEOFANORGANICMOVEMENT NETWORK:MASIPAG
MASIPAGisacronymfor FarmerScientist P t Partnership hi f for Agricultural Development. Development Establishedin1987to liberatefarmersfromthe shacklesofdeteriorating economicplightresulting fromadoptionofmodern ricefarming gtechnologies. g

PROFILE:ComponentsofMASIPAGActivities
Collectingandbreeding differentlocalvarietiesto adaptricecroppingto varyingconditions. Exchangeofexperiences amongfarmers; d decentralized t li ddecision d ii making Diversificationof productiontoincrease foodsecurity yand decreasevulnerabilityto pricefluctuations

PROFILE:ComponentsofMASIPAGActivities P Promotes t composting ti andadherenceto principles i i l of fnatural t l farming Hasatotalof456base Pos,42NGOs,and15 affiliatedscientists. Secretariatislocatedat LosBanos,Laguna

PROFILE:MASIPAGPrograms Collection,identification,multiplication,maintenance, andevaluationoftraditionalricevarieities g Breeding Developmentofsustainableagroecosystems Promotionoffarmerdeveloped/adaptedtechnologies Marketingandprocessing Educationandtraining

CASESTUDY1:SACADAWORKER
Elpidio Paglumotan isa sugarplantationworker inNegros g Occidental, , earningroughly US$3perdayfor8 months Aftermanyyearsof struggle,hisfarmers associationwonthe right i htt toownth their i lands. l d Heownshalfahectare now. now

MASIPAGPROFILEMEMBER:TheSacada Worker Halfofhalfahectareisusedforricecultivation The h other h h half lfof fh half lfah hectareisgrownto vegetables. Inaddition, ddi i he h had h d8goats,16hens, h 2carabaos, b 3 turkeys,and8ducks Hebreeds b d his hi ownrice i variety i and dchooses h those h he h wantstodevelop. His Hi ducks d k take k careof fthe h snail ilpestsi inthe h rice i farm.Andbecausehedoesnotusepesticides, beneficialinsectsinhisfarmactasnaturalenemies ofcroppests.

CASESTUDY2:NEARBLINDEDBY PESTICIDE
E Eugenio i G Geraldo ld i isa diversityfarmerfrom Mindanao. Mindanao Hesinglehandedly raisedsixchildrenona 5hectarefarm Until1999, 1999 heused conventionalfarming techniquesandhiseyes werebadlydamagedby p pesticides.

MASIPAGPROFILEMEMBER:NearlyBlindedbyPesticide MASIPAGtrainshimonnewcultivationtechniques andbreeding, breeding andondiversifiedintegratedfarming system. Today hehasvastecologicalknowledgeandwell Today, plannedschedulehowthefarmshouldbemanaged torecycle y nutrientsandaddressotherfarmconcerns Hisdiversityfarmincludesrice,maize,sorghum, bananas, ,andvegetables g likebeans, ,eggplants, ggp ,and tomatoes.Thevegetablesoccupy3hectares. Healsohasahalfhectareofforest. Hiscroppingsystemalsoincludesrearingofducks andtilapia. p

MASIPAGPROFILEMEMBER:NearlyBlindedbyPesticide
Forfertilizer,heusesanimalmanureandfarmbiomass waste. Heprepareshisownpesticideconcoctionsbasedon locallyavailablebotanicalswithpesticideproperties. Hebreedshisownriceandcornvariety,notatallthat easyasheattendstominutereproductivepartsof plants, l t and dtakes t k about b t3and dahalf h lfyearsof f experimentationtostabilizethenewbreed.Hisfavorite varietyisAGE4,anacronymofhiswifes wife snameandtheir surname. Hedoesnothavedebt.Forimmediatecash requirements,hesellsvegetablesandfish. Thereisnoelectricitytorefrigeratebuttheyeatfresh food.

CASESTUDY3:AWOMANFARMER
LydiaMacaya just reachedelementary education,andfarmsin Dao,Iloiloprovince, islandofPanay Shestartedusing MASIPAGseedin1997 andshedidntrealize thenitwaspartofa broaderfarmingsystem

MASIPAGPROFILEMEMBER:AWomanFarmer Totallandareaishalfhectare. isplantedtorice, rice andtheotherisplantedto diversifiedvegetables. shortage. Thefamilyhadnotexperiencedfoodshortage Thefamilyincomeimprovedastheycouldhave3 croprotationsinayear, year andcutexpensesby eliminatingcripplingfarminputcosts(fertilizersand p pesticides). ) ShealsostartedbreedingnewvarietyforMASIPAG forincreasedp pestresistance, ,seedlength, g ,numberof tillers,localsoiladaptation,andeatingquality.Sheis nowonfifthgenerationandwouldbereadyformass productionsoon.

ISSUESANDCONCERNS
Effortstopromoteorganicagriculture agriculture,especiallyin Mindanao,ishamperedbythepresenceofbig agribusinesscompaniesthatluredfarmerstohave theirlandsplantedtopineapple,banana,and rubber Contractfarmingisinitiatedasthefarmers rubber. findthepotentialreturnsmoreattractivethan currentactivities;andthelevelofriskquite acceptable.Thereisperceptionofquickcapital, simplestoragerequirements, requirements assuredmarketand payment.

ISSUESANDCONCERNS
Acceptanceoforganicallygrownproductsisnotyet highamongconsumers consumers.Althoughthereissomedegree ofknowledgeandawarenessaboutorganicproducts andtheensuingissuesaboutorganicfoodsasagainst thoseproducedunderconventionalfarmingpractices, thereislackofappreciation pp by yconsumersonwhatit couldcontributetofoodqualityattributes,thereby influencingthepremiumpricetheconsumeriswillingto pay.Theincomeelasticityofdemandfororganicfoodis generallysmall.Themarketremainslimitedforthe highlyeducatedandthehealthconscious.

ISSUESANDCONCERNS
Fortheproducers,amongthekeyconcernsisthe costofthirdpartycertification.Smallfarmholders giventheirlimitedincomehavedifficultyshouldering th additional the dditi lcost tof fcertification. tifi ti The Th duration d ti of fthe th certificationisroughlythreetosixmonthswhilethe validityofthecertificationlastsupto18months months.The costcanreachuptoUS$2,000.Thecostofthirdparty certificationforforeigncertifyingagenciesisestimated atUS$4,000to5,000ayear.Certificationismost relevant e e a for o o organic ga cp producers oduce strying y gto openetrate pe e a ethe e exportmarket.

ISSUESANDCONCERNS
Domesticconsumers,thetargetmarketofthesmallfarm holders, ,arenotlikely ytobeinterestedontheorganic g label. IPMandorganicproduceareoftentimesjudgedbythe presenceofcosmeticblemishes.Presence,forinstance,of insectbitesinleafyvegetablesisanindicationthatno pesticidewasused;andwouldbepreferredovertheno insectbiteregardlessofwhichhastheorganiccertification. SinceGMOproducearenotsegregatedfromthenonGMOs inthewholesalersmarket,thereisdomesticskepticismthat evenorganicallycertifiedlocallyproducedpoultryproducts products, forexample,couldhaveeatenGMOcorn.Forthelocal consumers,itisnottheorganiccertificationthatmatters b tth but thepoint i tof forigin i i of fth theproduce d asitrelates l t t toshelf h lf life,possiblepresenceofpreservatives,andperhaps prevailing p gagricultural g p practicesinthearea.

SummaryandConclusion
Certificationisnotmuchissueforthesmallscale farmersbutMASIPAGispursuingapprovalof ParticipatoryGuaranteedSystemattheNational OrganicBoardaspartofnationalcertification policy. Forthesmallscalefarmers:withbetterincome, betterhealth, health betterenvironment environment,thereisno turningback.Sustainableorganicagricultureasa movementismovingforward. forward