THE City Agriculturist Office (CAO) reported that more barangays in Davao City are showing interest in converting to organic agricultural practices following the declaration of Barangay Sibulan as the first organic agricultural zone in the city.
CAO focal person for organic Jayna Ablen told SunStar Davao Friday, February 1, that the identified areas are Barangay Mapula in Paquibato District and some barangays in Calinan and Buhangin districts.
“In these areas, they are really willing but hindi kasi basta-basta ang process ng conversion. Ang mga barangy na ito, nakita na nila ang benefits ng organic farming that is why they wanted to convert,” Ablen said.
She further said that with local government’s massive information and education campaign about the benefits of organic farming, more people have come to understand the importance of organic agricultural practices.
“Every year, one of our major activities is to orient different barangays about the benefits of organic farming. So mayroon pong mga barangay na willing to be declared as an organic agricultural zone but ang kailangan lang talaga is the whole community,” Ablen said.
“Going organic is a wholesome farming activity wherein the environment and the people preserve the environment,” she added.
Meanwhile, Councilor Antoinette Principe, who is one of the proponents of the ordinance in declaring Barangay Sibulan as an agricultural organic zone, said that with its declaration, more businesses will venture in the area.
“Daghan na og gusto mag-renta og yuta didto kay siyempre as an organic zone, naa nay clamor for organic products kay most of us wanted to be healthy, to go organic (More businesses wanted to rent a land in the area because of course, there’s a clamor to go healthy through going organic),” she said.
Last January 7, Barangay Sibulan was officially launched as an agricultural organic zone attended by different non-government organizations (NGOs), city councilors, Department of Agriculture (DA) and the City Agriculturists Office (CAO).