DA implements P246M
organic agri program

The Department of Agriculture is now implementing the govern-ment’s organic-based Agri-Kali-kasan Development Program.

Through the Bureau of Soils and Water Management, the program aims to lessen small farmers’ dependence on chemical-based fertilizers which are not only expensive but are also risky to human health and the environment.

A start up fund of P246 million has been approved by the Japanese government under the Philippine-Japan Increased Food Production Program (KR2) in cooperation with the DA Naitonal Agriculture and Fisheries Council (NAFC).

Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar of the Bureau of Agricultural Research reported the progress of the program at the "Bio-organic Fertilizer Production Project Orientation" held at the BAR Research and Development Management Information Center (RDMIC) in Diliman, Quezon City.

The BAR presentation was in line with the ongoing project on bio-organic fertilizer funded and supported by BAR in collaboration with the Agro-Forestry Crops, Systems, Inc. (AFCSI), a private agency.

Eleazar and AFCSI president Rene Naguiat had signed a memorandum of agreement for the project’s implementation in line with the government program to promote and develop organic agriculture in the country.

"The Agri-Kalikasan program," Eleazar said, "is a science-based, back-to-basic sustainable agricultural and rural development program that promotes organic-based farming guided by scientific principles."

Initially, he said, the program implements two types of technologies – modified rapid composing (MRC) and tipid-abono (TA).

MRC promotes farm recycling and composting, which is an alternative technology suitable in poverty-stricken areas, with farmers having limited capital to sustain production.