THE Central Philippine Adventist College (CPAC) in Murcia, Negros Occidental is applying for Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification with the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS) as a first step towards the implementation of its organic agriculture program, its official said.
Carlos Jardeniano Jr., program head for agriculture and research director of CPAC, said the GAP certification would further boost their products, which means it will be declared safer and of higher quality for better market reach and profitability.
Jardeniano said that of the 122-hectare area covered by CPAC, almost 100 hectares is dedicated to agricultural land use such as sugarcane field and orchard with different fruits trees and vegetable crops, mostly still non-organic.
The school has been doing well in terms of its agriculture programs, particularly in maintaining high production, he said.
For further development, it is eyeing to venture more into organic agriculture because of its emerging commercial value and demand.
It is feasible through acquisition of GAP certification, Jardeniano said.
Moreover, he said that CPAC was already accredited by the bureau to conduct efficacy trial on various commodities prior to the registration of organic fertilizers.
"We now have the privilege to conduct the test on the efficacy level of an organic fertilizer used by farmers in the country for it to be registered by the BAFS," he added.
Meanwhile, Jardeniano said that as they host the first province-wide vegetable congress on August 27, CPAC will showcase its products as well as its different agricultural practices and mechanism to more than 300 local vegetable farmers.
A group of vegetable farmers from the province of Antique will also participate for them to replicate the school’s best agricultural practices in their respective localities.