MANILA, Philippines — The La Liga Policy Institute (La Liga) has welcomed the pledge of President Aquino to spend 2 percent of the annual budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to promote organic agriculture.

La Liga managing director Roland Cabigas said Aquino has already ordered Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala to deliver the goods to organic farming projects being pursued by the DA and private sector.

“This policy pronouncement and marching order from no less than President Aquino himself should signal the start of the shift to environment-friendly food production practices, wherein food self-sufficiency and environmental sustainability are given equal importance,” Cabigas said.

He added that since the DA budget next year is P53.7 billion, it means that at least a billion pesos will be allotted to organic farming, as mandated by Section 25 of the implementing rules and regulation (IRR) of Republic Act 10068.

“With the timely release of such fund, there will be continuity of various initiatives and activities that promote sustainable, organic and ecological agriculture in the country. This should suffice to implement the National Organic Agriculture Program of the Aquino administration,” Cabigas said.

Cabigas was reacting to Aquino’s directive to the DA during a speech at the 8th National Organic Agriculture Conference at the Aquino Center of Hacienda Luisita on Tuesday, wherein he directed Alcala to ensure compliance of RA 10068 and its IRR.

La Liga was among the citizens’ group tapped by the DA in crafting the law’s implementing rules and regulation or IRR, which mandates the allocation of at least 2 percent of the DA’s budget for programs that promote organic agriculture in the Philippines.

The law and the corresponding IRR strengthen the state's policy to promote, propagate, develop further and implement the practice of organic agriculture in the Philippines.

Cabigas, a convenor of Go Organic! Philippines, said with Aquino’s marching order to the DA, Alcala will be compelled to promote organic farming extensively.

He said aside from launching information, education and communication campaign and various trainings on organic farming systems and technologies, the DA should ensure that the budget will be used to strengthen the organic food industry, given its potential to boost the economy, with the end view of increasing organic food production.

According to Cabigas, the DA should eye the conversion of at least 400,000 hectares of agricultural land, or 10 percent of the country’s agricultural land, into organic farm sites in the next five years.

The law mandates the DA to provide direct support to organic farming practitioners, as well as local government units (LGUs) that promote organic farming.

This, he said, will require the large-scale production of organic fertilizers and inputs, ideally in organic agriculture zones in strategic areas.

Part of the budget should be used to support state colleges and universities to boost research and development that will establish area-based protocol and organic farming “best practices” Cabigas added.

Likewise, Cabigas said the DA should also provide support for trading and marketing of organically-produced food and by-products to increase the country’s share in the global organic food market.

La Liga, a development policy research and advocacy non-government organization, is aggressively promoting the shift to sustainable organic and ecological agricultural models in the Philippines.

The group believes that the failure of the old agricultural models — which makes use of excessive chemical or petroleum-based fertilizers in the last four decades — should be enough reason for policy makers to rethink and change the way Filipinos do agriculture to one that is less costly, healthier and safer both for the food producers and consumers, and friendly to the environment, at the same time.

In his speech, Aquino directed the DA to finalize and implement organic agriculture programs under the National Organic Agriculture Program (NOAP).