PB to decide on the proposed “Cebu Go Organic” ordinance
Awards and incentives await farmers who practice organic farming once the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) approves an ordinance institutionalizing an organic agriculture program in the province.
The “Cebu Go Organic” ordinance authored by PB Member Alex Binghay will be discussed on the third and final reading during the board’s regular session tomorrow.
“The province of Cebu envisions to be one of the major producers of organic agriculture products led by entrepreneurial farming communities,” Binghay, the PB committee chair on agriculture, said in a resolution.
Furthermore, the Cebu provincial government seeks to promote organic farming as a means of increasing farm production, mitigating the effects of climate change, reducing dependency on external inputs, preventing further ecological destruction, soil erosion and environmental pollution, and protecting the health of farmers and consumers.
“Simply put, we don’t want to eat chemical-induced food. At the same time, organic farming is also more affordable,” Binghay said in a phone interview with Cebu Daily News.
An incentives and awards system will be established to encourage the implementation of plans by local government units, non-government organizations, people’s organizations, and schools to promote and develop organic agriculture.
Binghay said he initially proposed an allocation of P5 million for the implementation of the ordinance.
Based on the records from the Provincial Agriculturist’s Office, only 10 percent of the more than 300,000 farmers in Cebu province practice organic farming.
The town of Dalaguete, the Vegetable Basket of Cebu, has only 50 practicing organic farmers out of 11,000 farmers and livestock raisers.
The board member said he is optimistic that the number of organic farmers in Cebu will increase to 50 percent within the next five years.
A technical working group will be established to determine how much incentives will be given to practicing sectors or individuals.
An existing provincial ordinance enacted in 2012 grants a 10-percent real property tax discount on lot owners or farmers who devote their properties to organic farming. This has already been incorporated in the proposed ordinance.
Binghay included in the proposed ordinance a provision granting the same incentive to companies that also practice organic farming.
Expedizitas Lenares, head of the municipal agriculture and natural resources office, said organic farming requires a series of trainings and government subsidy to adopt certain technologies.
“It takes three years before the farmer can get a certification,” she told CDN.
Provincial Agriculturist Roldan Saragena, in another interview, said that there are farmers practicing organic farming but they are unrecognized because they are not certified.
Under the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, claiming that one’s products are organically grown without a certification is punishable by law.
Nonetheless, the provincial government has been going to different barangays in the last two years to teach farmers about organic farming.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
