Summit to push for organic farming

Natural and organic farming in the country is expected to get a big boost with the holding of the 8th National Organic Agriculture Conference (NOAC) in Tarlac City from November 9 to 11, where about 800 organic farming practitioners, advocates and enthusiasts from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are set to meet and exchange ideas.

This year’s NOAC theme is “Organic Farming: Towards Food Sufficiency and Healthy Environment,” which jives with the advocacies of Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala for the Philippine agriculture.

Gov. Victor Yap of Tarlac said that his province’s hosting the conference would also benefit organic farming in Tarlac.

“This will definitely improve our organic way of farming in the province. The technology we can gather from the best farmers in the country is to our advantage,” the governor said.

The conference will have sessions that will tackle the following: Global Organic Market Access Project; state of organic farming in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations; implementation of Republic Act 10068 or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010; Organic Farming in National Convergence Initiative Sites; organic farming in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao; and updates on the formulation of the Organic Agriculture Roadmap.

A trade fair and product exhibit showcasing organic agriculture will also a sidelight of the event. Display and sales of various organic agriculture and health products will be held during the three-day event. A technical study tour to organic agriculture projects in Tarlac will culminate the event.

Since appointed Agriculture Secretary on July 2010, Alcala has been advocating the use of natural and organic methods in farming without abandoning the use of traditional inputs. –CONRAD CARIÑO, Manila Times