LGUs advised to take advantage of funding, promote organic farming

TWO nongovernment organizations (NGOs) yesterday urged local government units (LGUs) to help implement the Organic Agriculture Law and avail themselves of the P900 million Congress allocated for it.

Shen Maglinte, executive director of Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya, said they tied up with the Farmers Development Center to promote food production in the Visayas that can reduce health risks brought about by chemical-laced planting.

Maglinte said the P900 million was released by the Department of Budget and Management to the Department of Agriculture (DA). The LGUs can avail themselves of the amount by submitting food production plans and programs.

Criticisms

He said they would like the active participation of local officials in implementing the law, which was principally authored by DA Secretary Proceso Alcala when he was still a congressman.

“The Philippines will be moving toward environmental-friendly food production system for safe and nutritious food for the people,” Maglinte said.

He criticized the Institute of Plant Breeding at the University of the Philippines Los Baños for allegedly promoting the Bascillus thuringiensis (BT) and genetically modified organisms (GMO) like corn, golden rice and eggplant with multinational companies, such as Monsanto, Pioneer and Syngenta.

He said these food products are in demand in the entire country.

Maglinte explained that in the BT and GMO system, poisonous chemicals are injected to the seeds to prevent pests from eating the plants.

“The government must know how large or how massive is the contamination and genetic pollution of genetically modified corn, rice and even the eggplant,” he said.