Philippines-Organic farming.

PHILIPPINES-ORGANIC FARMING.

ENTREPRENEURS and farmers should engage in the large-scale production of organic goods to be able to meet domestic demand and lower production costs, organic producers late last week said.

"If we have the economies of scale [in production], it would be easier to convince farmers to shift to organic production," Pacita U. Juan, co-chair of the Philippine Coffee Board, Inc., said in an interview.

However, the producers need access to funds to develop more organic farming communities and farm-to-market roads to facilitate trade, Mara Pardo de Tavera, managing director of Mara’s Organic Market, said in a briefing.

"There is a growing market [for organic products and consumers] are veering more towards choices of great quality," she said, adding that it has expanded by 20%-30% in the past three years.

Ms. Juan is optimistic that the demand for organic products will not shrink despite the global slowdown since health concerns will remain constant.

"People still do not want to get sick despite the economic slowdown."

Exports for organic products, which include virgin coconut oil, organic rice and muscovado sugar, have earned the country $10 million, which accounts for 40% of total domestic production, Jerry E. Pacturan, executive director of the Philippine Development Assistance Programme, Inc. (PDAP), said at last week’s forum.

In a consumer research conducted last year, the PDAP found that some 150,000 A-C class households eat organic rice, which translates to 1.5 million metric tons per year.

However, barely a third of the annual demand is met as only 4,000-5,000 hectares are devoted to organic farming, Mr. Pacturan said in a separate interview.

He said that converting 2.5 million hectares of rice farms to organic rice farms will save the government as much as P25 billion by cutting the costs of fertilizers.

"[The money saved] is something the government can use for more basic services, health, education and even expanding organic agriculture production in all areas," Mr. Pacturan said.

Organic producers are now planning to set up a unified group advocating organic products.

"The One Organic Movement’s focus is to actively participate in crafting a bill to be proposed to the Congress and Senate. If you have a law on organic agriculture, you can expect more concrete support from the government," Mr. Pacturan said.

The government should provide more extension work and research in organic farming to convince more farmers to shift to organic farming, Ms. Pardo de Tavera said.