The Davao City Agriculturist Office’s (CAgrO) is calling on Dabawenyos to take part in events celebrating the Organic Agriculture Month.
Presidential Proclamation No. 1030 issued in 2015 has set November as Organic Agriculture Month in the country to acknowledge the significance of organic agriculture and promote its acceptance as a useful instrument for development, environmental preservation, and health protection.
In line with this, the CAgrO has laid out activities related to organic agriculture.
Jeana Ablen, Focal Person for the Organic Agriculture Program, during the weekly flag ceremony on Monday, said the celebration will officially kick off at the Rizal Park Pavillon on November 7.
She said Rizal Park will host an Organic Agri Fair featuring processed foods and organically cultivated goods during the opening program. The Agri Fair will be held every Thursday and Friday and will run until November 22.
A wide range of services will also be given to Dabawenyos through CAgrO’s Information Education Campaign (IEC), distribution of seedlings, and an orientation about food safety.
On November 18, CAgrO will conduct orientation in schools on the awareness of organic agriculture, food safety, environmental issues, and bio-security protocols.
The culmination and awarding of the winners of the Gulayan sa Barangay contest will be on November 22, also at the Rizal Park.
The Gulayan sa Barangay was first introduced during the time of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. It aims to empower Filipinos by increasing their capacity to generate their own food through the adoption of diverse food production technology through community collaboration.
Ablen, in a separate interview with the city-owned Davao City Disaster Radio, said this year’s celebration will have “Kabuhayang OA kinabukasang okay: PGS Palakasin” as its theme.
The Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) is a certification mechanism for small farmers who own five hectares below, engaging them in organic agriculture practices and adhere to the Philippine National Standards for Organic Agriculture to produce organic agriculture products.
She said five farmers from Tamugan, Calinan, Baguio and Tugbok Districts have already received Participatory Organic Certificates. CIO
