FILIPINOS are now conscious of their health and want to eat foods that are healthy and safe from toxic chemicals.

As such, it is only proper for public markets to have an “organic” section where health-conscious Filipinos can buy organic food, such as organically-grown agri-products like rice, vegetables and fruits.

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Efren Moncupa, lead convenor of Go Organic! Philippines, said some grocery stores started putting up an organic section where organically-grown rice, fruits and vegetables can be bought.

He said some restaurants now offers organic menu to customers with discriminating taste for healthy food.

Such initiatives, he said, supports the campaign for farms in the Philippines to go organic.

Go Organic!, a consortium of non-government organizations (NGOs), promotes organic farming and is taking the lead in implementing the Organic Fields Support Program (OFSP) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM).

Phase 1 of the project, which was launched by Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap on November 2008, ended last April.  Phase 2 of the project is now in the pipeline.

“Local government units should similarly put up an organic food section in the market, where organically-grown products can be bought. It is also ideal that LGUs put up a bagsakan center for organically-grown agricultural products, as well as byproducts, in support of the growing organic industry,” said Moncupa, a former agrarian reform undersecretary, in a statement to Sun.Star Bacolod.

Roland Cabigas, managing director of LLPI, said such initiative boosts the ongoing campaign for farms in the Philippines to go organic.

He said institutional support from LGUs boosts the chances for local projects initiated by the national government to succeed.

Cabigas urged local chief executives to take the lead by joining the organic bandwagon and support efforts to promote organic farming in the Philippines.