For an agricultural country that was among the first in South East Asia to explore organic farming, most people would assume that by now the Philippines would be a leader in organic farming. But sadly, this is not the case. Four Acre Wood Farm
The Philippine agriculture is highly dependent on costly and ecologically unsound chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
After feeling the effects of climate change with increasing intensity during the last six to seven years and most especially during the 2009 Typhoon Ondoy when large chunks of the Philippine archipelago was devastated by floods, the Philippine government stepped up the implementation of climate change adaptation measures.
Within the list of climate change adaptation measures, the Philippine government finally zeroed in on organic farming as a vital step.
It was only last year that the Philippines passed the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, RA 10068, approved its Implementing Rules and Regulations, and approved a budget, allocating 2 percent of the Philippine Department of Agriculture's funds for organic farming.
Yet, despite these major steps towards propagating organic farming practices, indications of such practices supplanting or even complementing chemical dependent agricultural practices are slow in coming.
On the fresh produce shelves of one of the largest chains of supermarkets, you will find just two or three brands labeled with claims of being "organically grown" produce. Beyond and outside of the supermarket, organic produce can only be found in weekend bazaars or in specialty shops scattered around Metro Manila. Few restaurants offer items with organically grown ingredients.
Organic produce, at this stage, is only available to Filipinos with higher than average incomes. This is largely because of the higher price of organically produced foods are sold at but also because of it is not widely available in wet markets.
The Philippine Department of Agriculture under the leadership of Secretary Proceso Alcala has sought to provide solutions to the price and availability of organic produce to a wider market. First by spurring the adoption of organic farming practices with the help of NGOs. Second by funding a the construction of 2,600 organic fertilizer production plants all over the country.
The second step seems to be the more crucial one.
Without good quality organic fertilizer to enhance the productivity of their farms, organic farming may be a losing proposition for most farmers.
To solve this problem, Alcala recently announced that the Department of Agriculture would be spending P2.6 Billion pesos in converting 2,600 existing composting facilities into Japanese-modeled organic fertilizer production plants.
The proposed conversion of existing compost facilities comes with a price tag of P1 million per facility. The proposed organic fertilizer production plants will be equipped drying equipment, carbonizing machine, shredding and mixing machine, grinders and millers, and enhanced transport system through conveyor belts.
Now, just given the characteristics of the proposed organic fertilizer production plant, it is already apparent that the plants are highly-capital intensive and perhaps unnecessarily backward integrated.