Monday, October 13, 2008 Organic farming saves Mindanao on rainy days
WHEN the whole country was astir over the skyrocketing prices of rice, coupled by high prices of other basic commodities, many families from Sultan Mastura in Maguindanao were not shaken a bit.
The same were many families of Maguindanao's Northern Kabuntalan and Paglat and a few communities of Isulan in Sultan Kudarat and even some families in a number of towns of Agusan del Sur.
At least 120 hectares of rice farms in Sultan Mastura is planted to organic rice, an agriculture practice that is already gaining ground around Mindanao as many farmers have now seen the sweet harvest of those who went ahead of them and practiced what was earlier was less popular.
Without the need for costly synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that doesn't guarantee a jacked-up earning, organic farmers in Sultan Mastura and the other towns of Mindanao are assured of a harvest that does not only benefit them economically but also assure the safety of their environment and the their own health.
This exactly what happened to them when the entire country wobbled over the crisis in the supply of rice that resulted in the increase of its price in the market, the highest of it went as much as P52 per kilo.
They did not worry at all and in fact, even helped other consumers have access to cheap and healthy rice while assuring that rice is always present at their dinner tables.
Organic rice farms reach an average of 80 sacks of rice per hectare for every harvest. That is way better compared to the conventional way of farming considering how less costly the production is, explained Tom Villarin, executive director of SIAD Initiatives in Mindanao-Convergence for asset Reform and Regional Development (Simcarrd Inc).
Villarin's group helped the farmers of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, and Agusan del Sur in their organic farming practice. The success of the organic farmers comes with the value that they give to the life giving potentials of the soil and the plants.
Villarin said they have extended to the organic farmers a special technology that will ensure a good harvest and a safe environment, so unlike the practice of the conventional agriculture that demands intensive synthetic chemical inputs that are known to be harmful to human health and potentially disastrous to the environment.
"It is inspiring to see that organic farmers are now self-sustaining while as they increase their productivity right at the household level," Villarin said.
Villarin's technology is called Diversified Integrated Farming System Approach where farmers do not only grow one particular crop like rice but also other plants like Cardava bananas, sugarcane, fruits and other cash crops.
Central to this practice is the use of the water lily fertilizer, which has been proven to be effective in restoring the nitrogen need of the soil. The water lilies are also sourced out from the Liguasan marsh.
"What we do is when introduce a technology based on the resources found in the community. The base of our fertilizer is found in the community and even the variety of rice is adaptable to condition of the community," Villarin said.
He explained that their technology's objective is to employ indigenous microorganism (IMO), which will invigorate the soil, something that cannot be achieved by synthetic chemicals.
"What synthetic chemicals do is only target the plant and not the soil. While they do something to the plant, the soil is left out. But we give importance to the soil as much as we give important to the crops that we plant. The relationship between the plant and the soil is something that we cannot undermine. So we take care of the soil and then we take care of the plant -- safely," Villarin said.
Compared to synthetic fertilizer that costs P1,900 per sack, the water lily fertilizer of Villarin's group only costs about P300 per sack.
And when the rice crisis caused panicked around the country and prices of commercial rice shooting up that rice became almost inaccessible to poor, the price of organic rice sold by Simcarrd remained affordable.
"It was because our partner communities were having good harvests so we did not have problems with the sources. And because our products were produced with less costs, we are selling it at low prices as well," Villarin said.
Villarin said that organic farming is fast becoming attractive to many farmers in Mindanao with more and more of them shifting their gears to adapt the methods of organic agriculture.
The advocacy for organic agriculture is made easy by the support of the local government units of Mindanao.
Mindanao localities with farmers now engaged in organic farming with the support of their local government leaders include the towns of Midsayap, M'lang, Tulunan, Kabacan and Kidapawan in North Cotabato province, Trento, Santa Josefa, Veruela and Bunawan in Agusan del Sur, Dujali in Davao del Norte, Governor Generoso in Davao Oriental, Sto. Nino, Surallah, and Banga in Sultan Kudarat, and the entire province of Zamboanga del Sur.
(Hundreds of organic agriculture practitioners from various parts of the country and the world will be gathering in Davao City from October 15-16 for the 5th Organic Agriculture Conference at the Davao Convention Center. The conference will also feature and exhibit and trade fair).
