The document summarizes the history and development of organic farming in the Philippines from the 1980s to present day. It describes how the modern organic movement began as a protest against chemical-based agriculture during the Green Revolution. Key organizations like MASIPAG and networks were formed to promote organic practices. While the movement was initially led by NGOs and farmers, government agencies later became involved to help organic farms and products access international markets. National standards and certification were established in the early 2000s, and the sector has continued to grow with government support through policies like the Organic Agriculture Law passed in 2009.

1. SUSTAINABLE ORGANIC FARMING IN THE PHILIPPINES:
HISTORY AND SUCCESS STORIES
Rodelio B. Carating and Silvino Q. Tejada
Senior Science Research Specialist and Director, respectively
Bureau of Soils and Water Management,
Elliptical Road, Diliman,
PHILIPPINES
Abstract
The beginning of modern organic agriculture movement in the
Philippines can be traced in the midst 1980s as the study on “The Miracles
that Never Was” presented in the national farmers convention and followed
by protest rally against IRRI. The farmer-scientist partnership, called
MASIPAG, was eventually organized. Other organic movements and
network followed. At the international trade fairs, demand for organic
produce from the Philippines surfaced but with the lack of certification, it
became a necessity to organize both producers, processors, and marketers to
come together for the country to penetrate the huge global organic market.
The Philippine hosting of the 1999 IFOAM –Asia Scientific Conference and
General Assembly in Tagaytay City consolidated the organic movement in
the Philippines. From here on, it was moving forward with the establishment
of the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines in 2001 culminating
with the enactment of the Organic Agriculture Law in 2009. Four types of
organic agricultural cases were examined – indigenous, traditional, large-
scale commercial, and the small-scale subsistence. Sample cases were
discussed, especially for the large-scale commercial and the small-scale
subsistence farming to assert the economic profitability of organic farming
systems.
The Philippine Agricultural Geography
The Philippines consists of around 7,100 islands and cover some 30 million hectares.
About 11 million hectares is the current extent of agricultural lands. In the context of Philippine
agricultural geography, five crops form the bases for all regional patterns – rice, corn, root crops
(yams and sweet potatoes), banana, and coconut, the so-called all-purpose plant. Regional
specialization adds one crop or group of groups to the base crops, such as rice-banana base,
either as locally dominant item or shared complements (Wernstedt and Spencer, 1967). In the
Visayas, southeast Mindanao, and northeast Luzon, corn replaced rice as the primary food item.

2. Sweet potatoes joined yams both in use and regional concentration. Papaya and avocado spread
widely to join the jackfruit, pomelo, but none of the fruits rival the bananas to the status of
primary crop in regional context. With this summary, Wernstedt and Spencer described the
agricultural patterns in regional landscapes: Northern and western Negros Island has sugarcane
assuming dominant status, with rice, coconut, bananas, papayas, and mangoes as compelements.
Sotheast of Manila, coconuts dominate the landscape and complementary crops show up in
patches, gardens, and homestead plantings. Corn and coconut appear to dominate the landscape
in much of Cebu in central Philippines whereas the rootcrops present an open landscape in the
typhoon-belt northernmost islands of the Philippines. It is quite significant that by this time
where almost four decades had passed since Wernstedt and Spencer wrote their book, we could
still relate with the agricultural geology they described despite significant changes like the
expansion of irrigated areas backed up by large reservoir in the 1960s and 1970s, the current
thrust on small scale irrigation projects, construction of farm to market roads, and other
productivity enhancing efforts of the government.
The Beginning of Modern Organic Agriculture Movement in the Philippines
The modern organic agriculture movement in the Philippines can still be considered in its
formative years despite decades of being on the agricultural landscape. It is generally private
sector-lead, started as a militant movement against the so-called Green Revolution Movementin
the eighties. As for government initiatives, it is interesting to note that the beginning of growth
of the organic agriculture in the Philippines can be traced from the efforts, not of the Department
of Agriculture, but of the Department of Trade and Industry way back in the early nineties.
Obviously, the major reason was for the Philippines to capture the sizeable global organic trade
and market as the efforts were undertaken by the Natural Products Division of the Centre for
International Trade and Exposition Missions (CITEM). These early government endeavors were
focused on processed organically grown products, not on agricultural production systems as the
Department of Agriculture was still enmeshed in conventional agricultural practices at this time.
Expectedly, the major accomplishment for this period was the organization of a certifying body,
too expensive for an ordinary subsistence farmer to afford.
But back to the beginning of modern organic agriculture movement in the Philippines: In
1980, a rural development NGO, Farmers Assistance Board, lead by Noel Mondejar, published
“Profits from Poison” which bared the negative impacts of chemical-based agriculture on rice
farmers while multinational agribusiness raked profits as a consequence of the Green Revolution.
This was followed in the mid-80s by “The Miracle that Never Was” by the Agency for
Community Education and Services showing that the farmers were better off before they shifted
to the intensive monoculture of high yielding varieties. Ironically, this study arose from the
initial contract of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) with the agency for a

3. community-based pilot project using participatory strategies intended as a model on how
productivity could be enhanced through high yielding varieties.
This study was presented at the National Convention of Rice Farmers held at the
University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) in July 1985. This was soon followed by the
very first protest rally of rice farmers against IRRI. In the succeeding year, May, 1986, the
farmers convention initiated the Farmer-Scientist Partnership for Agricultural Development
which is known as MASIPAG (Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Ikauunlad ng Agham Pang-
Agrikultura). This NGO pioneered on teaching farmers rice breeding to allow farmers to select
the parent materials based on desired plant characters at zero chemical (fertilizer and pesticide)
inputs. Subsequently, several other projects emerged. MASIPAG, the pioneer of all the organic
agriculture NGOs in the Philippines, is a member of ANSOFT-Philippines Network.
In 1986, CITEM of the Department of Industry participated at the Biofach, the World
Organic Trade Fair at Nuremberg, Germany. The range of products on display ranged from
processed and frozen organic food, natural products, household supplies including organic pet
food and toys, organic agriculture and marketing, media services and green finance. It was then
realized the potential of the organic sector and the added export avenue for the Philippine
produce. Prospective buyers inquired about organic products from the Philippines but the
volume of internationally certified organic products was not sufficient. To be certified organic, a
farm or a processing facility had to be inspected by a third party to verify that the requirements
of that certifying body are adhered to. Because of this significant trading opportunity for
Filipino exporters eluding their grasp, for the first time, a national government office pushed to
organize both the producers and traders of organic agricultural products to gain a foothold in the
expanding multi-billion dollar global organic market.
The Decade of the 1990s and the Consolidation of the Organic Prime Movers
The low-external-input-sustainable-agriculture (LEISA) global movement found its
active adherents in the Philippines as we moved on to the next decade. In 1990, the Sustainable
Agriculture Coalition was founded by 15 NGOs and they organized sustainable agriculture fairs
in different parts of the country. Another network of four NGOs organized the Philippine Forum
for Sustainable Agriculture in 1991 for exchange of experiences among them and their partners.
With the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit having taken place in 1992, Xavier University set up the
Sustainable Agriculture Centre (XU-SAC) under the leadership of Bishop Antonio Ledesma.
XU-SAC is also a member of the ANSOFT-Philippines Network. It was in 1993 that the
Department of Agriculture launched its Integrated Pest Management Program as part of its
commitment in the Agenda 21. The UPLB College of Agriculture initiated new courses on
farming systems that was oriented towards sustainable agriculture. As we moved towards mid-
1990s, organic movements and conferences that promoted environment friendly and non-

4. conventional agriculture increased but the adoption by farmers remained to be seen. A number
of sustainable agriculture practitioners stayed dependent on agro-chemicals by applying below
recommended rates, showing that these advocates were not aware of the social, economic, and
ecological objectives of organic agriculture. We can cite for example the Pangasinan-based
NGO, AGTALON, defining LEISA for rice production as applying at least 10 bags of organic
fertilizers plus a maximum of two bags inorganic fertilizers instead of the recommended 8 to 10
bags under the conventional practice, and no pesticides at all. Inevitably, LEISA adoptors found
themselves in conflict with organic growers in the sustainable agriculture definition.
By 1995, China lead the example to show that there need not be a conflict between
organic agriculture and LEISA as production processes and farm systems could be certified as
organic and organic products while those grown on LEISA farms could be certified as green
food.
In 1996, Filipinos who attended the 1995 IFOAM-Asia Conference in Seoul, Republic of
Korea formed a coalition called FOODWEB to produce a Philippine Standards for Organic
Production and Processing based on IFOAM standards. A consultation process involving
informal network of sustainable agriculture advocates conducted in three regions of the country
and at the national level to review the draft on Philippine Basic Standards for Organic
Agriculture and Processing as a starting point for a national certification program. This was
spearheaded by key Filipino members of the IFOAM-Asia and funded by MISEREOR. Key
staff of CITEM joined the Organic Industry Technical Working Group.
Aside from MASIPAG, key actors in the Philippine organic movement were OPTA
(Organic Producers and Traders Association), SIBAT (Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya, also a
member of ANSOFT-Philippines Network), and a host of networks of organic agriculture
networks – KALIKASAN-Nueva Ecija, ALTERTRADE, AVDF, PDAP, ROAD, VCOP, just to
cite some of the key organic agriculture players in the Philippines. This was a mix of NGOs,
producers, and traders unified in their organic advocacy. The Philippine organic movement was
growing and at the national level, the prime movers were not only NGOs working with farmers
for organic production system but also had organizations involved with food processing and
marketing of organic products. The government sector was also beginning to be involved. New
players, both private and government, were beginning to emerge.
It was in 1997 that the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, and
Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) under the Department of Science and
Technology (DOST) sponsored the national consultation on organic agriculture with organic
producers and members of IFOAM invited to interact with government researchers. In 1998,
PCARRD provided the funds for a two-year study on organic, LEISA, and conventional farming
in selected villages. The results of the study showed that net income per year could not be the

5. sole basis for comparing farms; and that organic farms that recycled farm wastes had higher
return on investment values than the LEISA and conventional farms. The organic farms that
were dependent on commercial organic fertilizers had low return on investment. In 1999,
PCARRD also funded a five-year R and D program on organic vegetable production.
It was in 1999 that the modern Philippine organic movement was consolidated when it
hosted the 4th
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM) Asia
Scientific Conference and General Assembly in Tagaytay City. A seed fund was raised to
establish a National Certification and Inspection body.
As a result, NGOs and POs expanded with their programs oriented on LEISA and organic
agriculture. Sustainable agriculture was beginning to be a catch-word. It was at this point that
the Department of Agriculture through the Bureau of Soils and Water Management introduced
the Balanced Fertilization Program, a combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers for rice
production. With Integrated Pest Management Program that focuses on spraying based on
threshold index for pest damage, there is now increasing awareness on the need to be
ecologically conscious and the benefits of soil quality through raising the soil organic matter
content.
The New Millennium and the Organic Agriculture Advocacy
The value of the domestic organic industry, as of 2000 was estimated at PhP100 million
and imports of processed organic food products was placed at PhP150 million (FAS/USDA,
2000). The growth rate is about 10 to 20 percent annually, and the organic products are
generally priced 20 to 30 percent higher than their non-organic counterparts.
As for the domestic organic market, it is described as a ‘niche market” since organically
produced agricultural products are available mainly in weekend markets frequented by urban,
upper middle class and elite shoppers including many expatriates who adhere to health-and-
wellness lifestyles. This trend conforms with the studies in other countries that characterized
organic consumers as affluent, well-educated, and concerned about health and product quality
(Lohr, 2001, citing several studies). Lohr further described the regular consumers as generally
parents of young children who favor locally grown organic products, when available, in an effort
to support local farmers and ensure freshness.
It was in December 2000 that the first orientation training on Organic Certification and
Inspection was held with consultants from FiBL, a Swiss research and training institute on
biological agriculture and IFOAM member, and Bio.inspecta, Swiss-based international
certifying agency, conducting the training.

6. The Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP) was organized and the
Organic Certification and Inspection Program was launched in June 2001 when the National
Organic Congress was organized by the Organic Industry Technical Working Group. Besides
the OCCP, the significant outputs of the congress included action plan for the promotion of
organic agriculture and an organic pavilion at the exhibit area. A month earlier, in May 2001,
then Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor issued a Special Order creating the National
Task Force for Organic Agriculture.
CITEM remains active in the Philippine organic movement by providing contacts with
organizers of FOODEX in Japan, BIOFACH in Germany, and the United States Organic Trade
Show for participation of Philippine organic products at international expositions relating to
organic trade. But the major constraint remains that some products are not certified organic.
The Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP) is the only body authorized by the
government to certify organic products in the country. OCCP has arrangements with Swiss
consultants not only for the training of OCCP members but also for the certification of organic
products that would pass their inspection process. It needs at least 3 to 6 months to complete the
inspection of organic farms before it can issue a certificate which costs around US$297
(PhP12,500) and valid only for one year. There are few certified organic farms in the Philippines,
not even exceeding 100 hectares. Since there are many non-certified organic farms, reliable
statistics on the extent of organic farming in the Philippines is quite difficult to obtain.
In 2002, the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standards (BAFPS) adopted a
Philippine National Standard (PNS) for Organic Agriculture. Government research institutions
began conducting R and D and extension projects on recycling of farm-generated biomass to
improve soil organic matter, vermiculture, and the use of biological nitrogen fixers in addition to
Integrated Pest Management and Balanced Fertilization Strategy. Still, there is pervasive attitude
both in the academe and in the national agricultural system that organic agriculture will turn back
the scientific gains into subsistence farming considering the reductionist philosophy and thinking
of the agricultural scientific community.
In 2004, the First National Organic Agriculture Conference was held in June at the
National Seed Quality Control Services, Manila.
In 2005, the BCS-certified organic land was 25,310 hectares but these estimates are
subject to validation and official confirmation. In fact the 2006 IFOAM statistics for the
Philippines is 14,134 hectares of organic farms. The organic products exported are muscovado
sugar to USA and Europe, banana chips to Europe, dessicated coconut to USA and Europe,
virgin coconut oil to USA, Europe, and Australia, dried banana leaves to Japan, pineapple to
Japan, and fresh Cavendish banana to Korea, Japan, Singapore, and New Zealand. Some
products are exported under fair trade lables including fresh balangon bananas shipped to Japan,

7. rice to Switzerland, virgin coconut oil to Europe and USA, and fresh mango to Europe. All
exports of organic products are certified by international CBs. Among those operating in the
Philippines are ECOCERT, CERES, Naturaland, SGS, and DoalNara (Korea-based, IFOAM
Basic Standards).
In 2005, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued Executive Order 481 which intended
to promote, develop, and sustain organic agriculture as a farming technology by establishing an
effective networking and collaboration with stakeholders and develop the roadmap for the inroad
of organic agriculture industry in the country. The National Organic Agriculture Board was
established.
From here on, organic agriculture was mainstreamed into the government bureaucracy as
part of the national food production program. The Bureau of Soils and Water Management
(BSWM) promotes the use of compost fungus activator to speed up in-situ farm waste
decomposition and nutrient recycling, and currently implements a community-based organic
fertilizer production program using vermiculture for the rice and corn program. The promotion
and commercial marketing of biological fertilizers like nitrogen fixers is also put in place. Other
bureaus within the Department of Agriculture had their organic agriculture-related initiatives in
pursuit of their mandate. The Agriculture Training Institute (ATI) for instance, conducts several
organic agriculture training courses. The Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) funds several
organic farming researches and projects. The Sugar Regulatory Administration assists sugar
farmers in organic fertilizer production and use of beneficial microorganisms (MBO)
independent of those services provided by BSWM as part of their production support services.
The Philippine Coconut Administration (PCA) has funding assistance for organic and bio-
fertilizer support to keep coconut plantations under organic production system. The list goes on.
By 2007, organic agriculture is thriving as small and fragmented land holdings
throughout the country. Several local government units even declared their areas as organic.
Among those areas with active organic movements are Batanes, Abra, Kalinga, Ifugao, Benguet,
Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Zambales, Bataan, Rizal, Cavite, Quezon,
Laguna, Batangas, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, Palawan, Antique, Iloilo, Negros Occidental,
Negros Oriental, Bohol, Leyte, Samar, Davao City, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Agusan del
Norte, Agusan del Sur, Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, Compostela Valley, Sultan Kudarat, South
Cotabato, North Cotabato, Zamboanga del Norte, and Zamboanga del Sur. The 4th
National
Organic Farming Congress was held in Iloilo City, organized by BAFPS.
In October 2008, the 5th
National Organic Agriculture Congress was held in Davao City.
The conference was held in line with the celebration of the World Food Day and a parallel
Organic Trade Fair and Exhibit was organized.

8. In 2009, Republic Act 10068, also known as the Organic Agriculture Act was enacted by
Philippine Congress. It was now declared state policy to promote, propagate, develop, and
further implement the practice of organic agriculture in the country to improve soil fertility,
increase farm productivity, reduce farm-source pollution, further protect the health of farmers,
consumers, and the general public, as well as save on imported farm inputs. The National
Organic Agricultural Board, earlier established by the Executive Order, was affirmed.
Private initiatives were launched to push organic agriculture among its network members,
and we have for example Go Organic Philippines (later on was re-launched as One Organic
Movement) organizing its 3rd
Pinoy Organic Festival in Quezon City in May, 2010 with public
forum and trade show to instill the organic consciousness in the minds of the general public. In
the same year but earlier, February 2010, PCARRD organized the first of the four Organic
Agriculture Forum Series. The organic advocacy momentum has grown by leaps and bounds, it
becomes difficult to keep tract of every programs, projects, and activities relating to the
promotion of organic agriculture in the Philippines.
In 2011, the Philippine Organic Agriculture website was launched by BAFPS. It is also
quite significant that President Benigno Aquino III reiterated his administration’s commitment to
develop organic farming in his keynote address during the 8th
National Organic Agriculture
Congress in Tarlac City, November 8, 2011 held at the Hacienda Luisita.
It was in 2012 that the Organic Agriculture Program was formulated to guide the
nationwide implementation of the organic agriculture. February 2012 of course is historic for
AFACI-ANSOFT Philippines as we hosted the First Mindanao Sustainable Organic Agriculture
Congress and Agro-Tourism Fair in Dumingag, Mindanao. By May, 2012, the BAFPS-
Philippine Organic Agriculture website stated that we have a total of 688,220 hectares certified
organic farms.
A Case Study on the Indigenous Organic Agricultural Practices: the Cordillerans
In the Philippines, we still have several indigenous tribes whose culture was not
assimilated with the Islamization and later on Christianization of the country. They have a
distinct set of agricultural traditions that can be characterized as organic acquired through
accumulation of experiences, informal experiments, and intimate understanding of the
environment through the centuries. Many of these practices are intertwined with their culture,
way of life, and belief systems. Nevertheless, modernization and the advances in communication
and transportation have threatened the extinction of these indigenous practices among the tribal
people. The agricultural practices of the Indigenous Peoples (IP) of the Cordillera highlands in
Luzon can be categorized as indigenous organic agriculture.

9. The complex chain of mountains in the northern part of the island of Luzon is known as
the Cordillera Central. Its southern reaches is the headwater of the Cagayan River and flows in a
northerly direction along the western flanks of the mountain range, picking outflow from several
tributaries, the largest of which is the Chico River that flows through the center of the Bontoc
area. The Cordillera Central used to be a single political entity, known as the Mountain Province
with five sub-provinces of Benguet, Ifugao, Bontoc, Apayao, and Kalinga. These are now
reconstituted as four provinces with the Mountain Province now referring to Bontoc and we have
the Kalinga-Apayao Province. The people here belong to a single, fairly clearly defined
ethnolinguistic group. (Reid, 1994).
Rice is the staple food in the Cordillera. The farmers here also grow root crops, primarily
sweet potato, taro, yam, cassava, and grains such as millet, sorghum, and corn. Reid (1994)
described two types of rice grown – the dry rice grown in shifting swidden by the indigenous
people of Isneg and Kalinga in the lower elevation, and the wet rice grown in terrace pondfields
in the higher elevation where Ifugao, Bontoc, Kankanay, and other groups of the high mountain
regions of the Benguet Province..
Wet Rice Cultivation Practices
Reid (1994) stated that wet rice agriculture resulted in extensive modificatiaon of the
ecosystem as the valley walls and precipitous mountainsides were carved into terraces built of
rocks quarried from mountainsides and river beds thousands of feet below. The building of new
terraces and the maintenance and repair of old is labor intensive.
It is quite interesting to note that rice production in the Cordillera is a woman’s domain.
From selecting the seeds to storing the grains in the granary, the women play major roles
reflecting on the high status of women in the society. Traditional rice production is still at
subsistence level. (Khor and Lin, eds, 2002)
The rituals associated with the growing of rice is central to Ifugao and Bontoc societies.
There are rituals that have to be performed at the beginning of the soil preparation season and at
every distinct phase of activity, and this is a highly structured social activity hedged about with
religious sanctions to ensure ultimately a good rice harvest and health for the populace.
The start of the agricultural cycle is signaled by the appearance of a migratory bird, called
in different names by the various ethnolinguistic groups. The first activity is the cleaning of the
irrigation canals. The seedbed is prepared which can be either a small plot near the rice field or
home. Sowing is done by broadcasting. There are purification rituals associated with sowing
and transplanting. Generally, the overlying theme is that human agents must go through a
cleansing process to be worthy to plant in the rice fields. The right to plant rice in the field is a

10. special gift given by grace, water, the sun, the gods, and the ancestors who worked in the fields
before them.
The start of the sowing season is marked by a village holiday, and a woman of prestige is
assigned the task of opening this phase by sowing the first seeds in her seedbed after which she
will confine herself to her house to fast for a day. After the holiday, the others start sowing.
(Khor and Lin, 2002). In the Ifugao province, the land owner asks a person to perform the rite
using seeds in his granary, and then sacrifices two chickens. A woman relative of the land owner
plants the seed in the mud and water is put in the seedbed to as part of the ritual.
Canals and dams are inspected and repaired for any damages. As the seeds germinate
and the water is assured, land preparation begins, usually, the end of the rainy season and the
field is flooded. Surrounding areas are cleaned to ward off rats, weeds removed, and the soil is
fertilized using sunflowers plowed in together with rice stubbles. Macale-Macandog (2012)
noted that Tithonia diversifolia (sunflower) is widely used as organic fertilizer in many farms in
Benguet and Ifugao. They have observed that rice plants fertilized with sunflower cuttings have
better growth, robust stalks and higher grain yield. Key informants interviewed in Kalinga also
noted that they used sunflower as organic fertilizer though not as widely used in Benguet and
Ifugao.
A common practice is to allow a standing period after the first plowing and allow any
vegetation to regrow in the field. A second plowing is then done in order to finally fold in the
new growths and complete the process. A week before transplanting, the field must be smooth
and without any growth appearing.
Transplanting is a very important event and a village holiday is declared. A council of
elders identifies a woman of prestige to wake up early on the appointed date to go to her rice
field to plant taro to signal the start of the planting season.
In some villages like Sagada, elders meet and decide the planting ritual and no one works
in the field on that day. The next day, the bangan or the ritual transplanter who inherits this role
from her ancestors, dresses in red, abstains from all worldly indulgences days before, and starts
to plant. Three days later, her children will start to plant their fields, and then the rest of the
village follows. Transplanting is a woman’s job and seedlings are often shared when some
farmers run out of planting materials. It is unthinkable to refuse to share extra seedling materials
with those in need.
After transplanting, the maintenance work is left to the women, especially weeding. As
the rice growing season progresses, the farmer is considered to be the protector of the field to
check the water level, keep away insects and other pests, and perhaps perform other rituals that

11. call on past ancestors to protect the field. Scarecrows and other capturing or repelling devices
are made to protect the crop from birds.
Harvesting comes about two months later, at the end of the dry season. As harvest time
approaches, a taboo sign is placed in the middle of the town and the town elders declare a rest
period to show respect for the soil and the rice plants lest good fortune leave them. Both men
and women are involved in harvesting using indigenous harvesting knife made of steel mounted
perpendicular to a wooden frame. After a handful is cut, the leaves are removed and the stems
bundled, the size varying according to the culture of the place. The most experienced women
segregate the best heads as seed materials for the next cropping.
Sweet potato, cabbage and green onion are other crops that can be grown in the terraces
after rice harvest. The sunflower leaves and twigs are only applied before rice cultivation. No
further application is done for the second cropping (sweet potato) because farmers believe that it
is not necessary due to the residual organic fertilizer from the rice crop. This process allowed
slow release of nutrients from the decomposing sunflower leaves and twigs thus farmers believed
that their crop production in payewis sustained. They also believe that the practice of
incorporating sunflower helps rejuvenate the soil that results to vigorous crop growth, loosens
the soil and prevents rotting of sweet potato (Magcale-Macandog and Ocampo, 2005).
Dry Rice Cultivation in Shifting Swidden
In the Cordilleras, shifting cultivation is a common practice in the uplands as a system of
food production. Shifting cultivation or swidden farming is the practice of subsistence upland
farmers in cultivating food crops in a patch of cleared forest area (Miguel et al., 2006).
Continuous cultivation of forest area usually last from 2 to 3 years. The land is left for fallow
while the farmers shift to other areas to grow crops. Indigenous people are aware of the
importance and value of trees and forest litter in soil fertility and do careful selection of forest
areas to be cultivated (See and Sarfati, 2003). Generally, forest areas with secondary growth are
selected for cultivation while those areas with fruit trees, lumber and other valuable plants are
avoided from burning. Costales (1993) as cited by See and Sarfati (2003) defined burning as “the
controlled application of fire to wild land fuels in either a natural or modified state and under
specific environmental conditions which allow the fire to be confined to a pre-determined area
and at the same time produce the intensity required to attain planned resource management
objectives”.
Among the Bontocs, as well as other indigenous people of the Cordillera, this method has
long been part of their indigenous knowledge and agricultural system. The people use the
method for site preparation, for improving the growth of mature grasses, for hunting and to
efficiently eliminate weeds and poisonous plants or vines that may harm them. Prescribed

12. burning also improves soil fertility and makes it easier for them to shape their mountains into
farms.
Uma is a rainfed upland shifting cultivation found in the sloping areas of the mountain
that cover at least 500 m2 of land (Magcale-Macandog and Ocampo 2005). In the province of
Kalinga patch cultivation is the common term for shifting cultivation (Miguel et al., 2006).
Farmers choose sites that are not stony, sloping but not too steep and where trees are more than
20 years old (Magcale-Macandog and Ocampo, 2005). All trees are cut while the cleared area is
burned to easily remove weeds and shrubs. The wood from the cut trees are used for building the
farmers’ house and storage room for the crops to be grown. In Mt. Province, chosen uma fields
are usually heavy or clayey soils to resist soil erosion and are planted to sweet potato, squash,
millet, beans, peanut, maize and onion. Woody shrubs such as Tithoniadiversifolia (sunflower)
and Gliricidiasepium (“kakawate”) are planted as boundary fence of the uma field to protect the
crops from stray animals (Magcale-Macandog and Ocampo, 2005).
Forest Management Strategies:
In the mountainous areas of the Cordilleras, muyong or pinugo is an important part of
agroforestry system to protect the farms below from erosion and runoff, maintaining soil fertility
and biodiversity (Serrano and Cadaweng, 2005; Abannag et al. 2006; Comia, 2000). It is the
unique way of life of tendering forest practiced by the Ifugaos that is internationally recognized
to be an ideal resource management strategy (Butic and Ngidlo 2003). In other areas in the
region, it is known as lakonor komunal (Mt. Province) and imung (Kalinga) (Abannag et al.,
2006).
In the woodlots of muyong, agroforestry system can be observed. The practitioners of
muyong commonly integrate tree crops and herbs with the natural vegetation of muyong (Butic
and Ngidlo 2003). The practice is commonly bound to the religious belief system of the people
and economic values of trees and crops. Muyongs is privately owned, inherited and managed
properties (Butic and Ngidlo, 2003; Serrano and Cadaweng, 2005). It provides food, housing
materials, home furnishing, firewood/fuel, medicinal herbs at the same time maintains the
biodiversity and ecological balance in the area. However, no records have been found yet to
show when and where the practice began (Serrano and Cadaweng 2005). Three probable reasons
of muyong emergence were documented by Bagong Pag-asa Foundation Inc. (BPFI) as cited by
Serrano and Cadaweng (2005): (1) The evidence suggests that the ancestors of Ifugao were well
aware of the relationship between the existence of forests and stable water supplies. In the same
way that the Ifugao people exercised ingenuity and creativity in carving the terraces to support
their tribal livelihoods, they also designed and established muyongs to create a stable source of
water for their payohs (rice field); (2) Muyong establishment was reinforced when it became
apparent that sources of fuelwood near Ifugao settlements were becoming depleted; and (3)

13. There are indications that some early muyongs were started by a low caste in Ifugao society – the
nawotwot– as a means of uplifting their economic and social standing in the community.
Ownership of large areas of payohs and muyongs are indicators of high social status or affluence
in Ifugao culture.
Batangan or Saguday is an indigenous forest management system in the Mt. Province
with the primary purpose of source of timber materials (Abannag et al., 2006). In this system, a
clan size of 1 to 20 manages a piece of forestland typically with a land size between 0.5 to 10
hectares (Pulhin et al., 2005). All members of the clan managing the batangan have equal rights
and direct access to the resources in batangan. This forest management system is governed by
five objectives of living: health, prosperity, abundance, nature and peace (Pulhin et al. 2005).
Batangan is also managed for food, medicine, clean water and cultural values such as wood
carvings for icons. Like the muyong, the management and conservation of batangan is done by
selective tree cutting, thinning, pruning, under brushing and weeding. Hardwood and fruit
bearing trees are also planted in thinly populated areas of the batangan. Most commonly found
indigenous tree in batangan is Pinuskesiya Royle Ex. Gordon (pine tree). Mature pine trees that
bear lesser cones in batangan are more often cut if wood is needed for house construction. Some
customary laws associated with batangan as cited by Abannag et al. (2006) are: 1) prohibition
and punishment of poaching within the area; 2) non-community members are not allowed to
exploit forest resources without permission and consent from the community leaders; and 3)
banning of commercial sale and transport of timber products.
A Case Study on the Vanishing Traditional Organic Agricultural Practices for Rice
The second type of agricultural production practice, free of synthetic farm chemicals and
undertaken prior to the Green Revolution of the 1960s, is referred to as the traditional. Rice is
the most extensively grown in Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, the Bicol
Region, and the Visayas but the Green Revolution introduced many changes in Philippine
agriculture as centuries-old practices were modified if not totally eliminated.
The tradition of rice culture in the Philippines probably began along with the search for
Paleolithic sites in the country (Bulalacao, undated). Anthropologists discovered that all major
ethnic groups in the country cultivate rice and they believed that wet rice agriculture was an old
practice dating back to pre-historic times. Such long tradition and history of rice growing
practices was changed by the Green Revolution.
The growing of rice is interwoven into the people’s culture and beliefs. People observe
planting or transplanting rituals for the rice to grow and prosper. Filipinos decide when to plant
their crops according to the monsoon rains. They also follow the migration of birds. In the rice
growing province of Nueva Ecija, the planting season begins by the sighting of the Kiwing bird.

14. When harvest time comes, the sickle which is shaped like the crescent moon is traditionally used
in harvesting, symbolic of the traditional local farmers’ belief that they await the crescent moon
for the signal to begin harvesting. People take care to harvest the spirit of the rice and to save it
for the next planting season and assure the continuity of the strains from generation to generation.
Irrigated rice cultivation is labor-intensive during the periods of planting and harvesting and
cooperative labor exchange is the norm; usually extending beyond rice culture such as those that
involved house construction and other community projects.
Landraces have become part of the culture of farming communities (Andal and Sana,
2008). There are traditional varieties preserved exclusively for festivals, weddings, and for
special guests. These also command a high market price.
As the Green Revolution made its inroads into the rural farming communities, there is a
significant reduction in the genetic diversity in cultivated rice. The traditional varieties are
dwindling along with the practice of on-farm selection of pest resistance, eating quality, pericarp
color, and climate adaptation. Many farmers lost their knowledge and expertise on rice breeding
as part of cultural heritage acquired through centuries of experiences to hand down to the next
generation.
But we do still have rice farmers that cultivate traditional varieties in traditional practices.
One example are the marginalized farmers of Nueva Vizcaya who cultivate landraces which are
aromatic, with varying pericarp color, and in good eating quality. They plant traditional rice
cultivars which are products of careful and continuous selection by farmers, genetically and
morphologically diverse, vary in pest resistance, pericarp color, and even in grain length and
weight (Frei and Becker, 2004).
Traditional Rice Varieties
In the province of Nueva Vizcaya, there are five traditional varieties grown – Bungkitan,
Raminad, Wagwag Pino, Wagwag Paran, and Wagwag Magasal (Andal and Sana, 2008). These
are planted once a year in September or October and harvested in February or March. Low
levels of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides are used but the upland farmers use only organic
fertilizers and no pesticides at all. Farmers grow these for market and home consumption and
varietal conservation is not considered. These varieties are tall and susceptible to lodging but
showed moderate to high resistance to bacterial leaf blight and rice blast. Fresh harvest is sold in
a straight-buying scheme involving local traders. Part of harvest intended for seeds is dried and
stored under ambient temperature for 5 to 6 months. The varieties have good grain quality
characteristics that passed recommended standards in physical attributes and milling potentials.

15. Bautista and Javier (2005) mentioned that the pre-Green Revolution best quality variety
was Milagrosa, not a good yielder and its grains were the smallest among other varieties.
Wagwag was named by farmers of Nueva Ecija from the Tagalog word “wagwagin” meaning to
shake off, is also a leading variety because of its superior quality and relatively good yields. The
Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) introduced Raminad Strain 3 (also known as Quezon Rice) after
successfully crossing Ramai and the native Inadhica varieties. BPI introduced also Buenkitan
(from Buenavista and Ketan Koetek), Milketan, and artificial hybrids like Milfor and Milbuen
Series (from Milagrosa-Formusa and Milagrosa-Buenkitan crosses).
It is quite interesting that Bulalacao (undated) mentioned in her anthropological research
for the National Museum several rice varieties: Oryza sativa Praecox (early rice that grows in
the highlands and not in stagnant water which the natives call dumali because it is gathered in
three months), Oryza sativa Quinanda (Quina rice preferred because of its taste and the grain
expands more after cooking and necessarily needs a little bit more water to boil), Oryza sativa
Pilosa (hairy rice which is a variety of dry rice, not really preferred but they sow it because this
is not easily attacked by insects), Oryza sativa Rubra (red rice which is noticeably sticky to the
taste and usually given to horses who suffer from worms by mixing with chaff, a little water, and
honey), and Oryza sativa violacea (violet rice which grows on high terrain and sought after for
its taste).
Rice Cultivation and Growing
The rice production system prior to the Green Revolution is characterized by single
cropping per year. Rice management is less influenced by technology or chemical inputs but
only by the farmers’ direct experiences and field observations. The varieties used are generally
photoperiod sensitive.
The traditional practice for rice cultivation in Iloilo and Pangasinan provinces is to
transplant a photoperiod-sensitive tall rice variety in July or August after sufficient rains have
fallen to allow soil puddling. Rice is harvested in October or November. The cropping pattern is
rice followed by upland crop, mungo being the most dominant. The field is plowed and planted
to broadcast mungbean in late November or early December. Most farmers owned a buffalo
used for tillage and short-distance hauling. (Morris, et.al. 1982)
Traditional Methods of Harvesting
Harvest time is a joyous time and a good harvest means the farmer and his family will
have enough food until the next harvest season.

16. Farmers learned over countless generations when to reap their rice crop to obtain a high
quality yield. If the grains are harvested too early, they will not mature; if late, the grains will
dry and crack in the sun. As the traditional rice farming practices declined over the years,
different types of knives used also diminished. Movillon and Schlosser (undated) made efforts
to document their utilitarian role in rice harvesting to preserve them as part of cultural heritage.
The traditional method of rice harvesting is accomplished by cutting the stalks with a sharp hand
tool. The hand-held transverse bladed knife is known by various names throughout the country.
A harvesting sickle of smooth or serrated hook-shaped blade fitted with a handle was more
labor-saving. “Lingcao” was a hooked tree branch with or without a curved knife fastened along
the handle. The hook is used to gather the rice stalks into bunches with are grasped with the free
hand. The tool is then shifted in the hand and the blade is used to cut the stalk midway between
the panicles and the round.
In the period 1909 to 1913, the average rice production was 16 cavans per hectare. It
increased to 24 cavans per hectare in 1919, 28.4 cavans per hectare in 1929 until 1966. In 1968,
the yield reached 30 cavans per hectare and by 1970, it was 40 cavans per hectare. Yield
increases were attributed to the development of irrigation systems. There was an intensive
campaign for planting better varieties after the war, in the period 1946-1951.
Other Traditional Type of Organic Agriculture
Much of the areas devoted to traditional type of organic agriculture are planted to coconut
and backyard or small scale fruit orchard. There are also small scale livestock production –
carabao, cattle, goat, hog, chicken, and duck.
Case Studies on Commercial Farms Converted to Organic Agriculture
The conversion of large scale commercial farms from conventional to organic
agricultural system is certainly something that can be considered revolutionary in the Philippine
agricultural landscape. Not only farmers, but even government policy makers are skeptical of
organic farming delivering the production targets to assure the profits and attain national food
security goals. But there are success stories on large scale corporate organic farms to prove that
this production system can be sustainable, environmental friendly, and most of all, a profitable
economic venture. Three success stories are looked into.
Organic Chicken:
From the UNESCAP Report (2002): The pioneering spirit of A. P. Inocencio shows that
organic chicken has great potential for large-scale production in various parts of the country.
Inocencio pioneered the introduction and breeding of the Sasso breeds in the Philippines. Sasso

17. breeds from France are adaptable to the various agro-climatic conditions across the country; they
have weathered frequent typhoons in the monsoon months as well as hot dry summers. With his
Teresa Farm as the main centre, Inocencio has already established satellite centres in 15 sites
across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. He provided breeder layers in each centre and promotes
the production of organic chicken. He encourages local people to breed, select and produce the
promising ones adapted in the area. He observed that the people accepted the Sasso breeds
easily because they looked like native chickens; the eggs are also brownish like the native eggs.
The same case study from Philippine Headline News (Vanzi, 2003) :Native chickens
used to be grown in backyards and were intended for family consumption only. Hence, there was
no native chicken industry to speak of in the old days.
But Anthony P. Inocencio, who used to be a contract grower for a big food company in
the 80's, decided that native chicken could become a profitable industry, provided someone starts
breeding it with other foreign breeds on a commercial scale. In 1997 he decided to mate
imported sasso (an acronym for selectione de avecoledela Sartre etsudouest or selections from
Sartre, France and southwest) with local native chickens to produce a superior breed in meat and
egg production. SASSO is a cooperative of native chicken farmers in France who bonded
together and adopted the acronym as the trade name as well. The biggest farm in France
produces 25 million heads a year and the smallest produces 60,000 chicken a year. In Asia,
sassos are being bred with the native chickens in Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan with the later
having the biggest production at 100,000 heads.
Inocencio said he shifted from white leghorns to native chickens knowing how they are
being pumped with so much chemical medicines and preventive antibiotics the residuals of
which are eaten by humans making them more prone to allergies and other diseases such as
breast cancer, among others; and b) because free range chicken are healthier since they feed
themselves with more greens that in turn get to be consumed by humans.
Besides, he said, there is room for starting a commercial native chicken industry in the
country considering that more and more consumers – who can afford it – are following the
Westerners hunger for organic food and the mounting volumes of scientific and medical research
showing the ill effects of residual antibiotics and inorganic medicines on humans.
With the GATT in place next year, there is no telling how big the organic chicken market abroad
is, which could not be filled unless someone starts an industry now. This early, he said, Germany
has required only the sale of table eggs from free range chicken by 2004 and in the whole of
Europe by 2007. By 2012, the European market will buy only free range (native) chickens.
The Inocencio Farm, which used to be called Teresa Farms when it was still a white leghorn
enterprise, devotes half of its 20 hectares of rolling terrain to sasso chickens, which are kept in
existing houses but are allowed to roam freely for the entire day. Though they are fed with the

18. feeds that Inocencio himself formulates, they are left to go around pecking at plants, roots, soil
and other things.
The farm contains 10,000 head of chickens at any given time – but only 8,000 of this
population is for production purposes – to produce chicks that would be distributed to other
satellite breeders of sasso in the country. While the price of native chicken is P95 per kilo for
live and P150 to P180 per kilo for dressed chicken versus the leghorns' P80 per kilo dressed,
there is a huge local market, which could hardly be filled by local sasso production, Inocencio
said. Demand for chicken in the Philippines is at 635 million a year. Chicken is the cheapest
protein source.
The breeders produce to four to five times a year and are productive for one to one-half
years with those that have gone past their productive stage being put under rehabilitation or are
sold as meat (with trade name Tony's Country Chicken) in organic stores including Landmark. A
breeder can last up to five years. A female can produce 150 chicks with the chicks costing P35 a
piece, Inocencio said.
Agro-tourism
Costales Nature Farms prides itself as the Philipines’ first agri-tourism destination
accredited by the Department of Tourism and certified organic with NICERT Certification No.
NIC-1201. This article is reproduced from their website found at
http://www.costalesnaturefarms.com/. The integrated and sustainable commercial farm is located
just below the foot of Mount Banahaw, Barangay Gagalot, municipality of Majayjay, Laguna
province.
The farm area consisted of 5 hectares and patterned after the Japanese Farming System
and the Korean Natural Farming where micro-organisms played vital role in enriching the soil
and growing vegetables, fruits, fish, poultry, and livestock.
At the center of the property is a farm house with roofs of anahaw leaves, walls and
ceilings of bamboo materials, strategically located to provide a perfect panoramic view of Mount
Banahaw. There is a man-made waterfall, together with the fishponds culturing organically
grown tilapia have spring water source. The farm also serves coffee, tea, and coconut juice. Spa
and massage services are available to guests.
As come-on to guests, the farm offers unlimited (eat-all-you-can) organically grown salad
greens which guests themselves can personally harvest and select from the vegetable plots.

19. The sustainable integrated natural farming practices were adopted from the Effective
Micro-organisms (EM) technology pioneered by Dr. TerouHiga where the soil is inoculated with
beneficial microbes to attract earthworms. The farm practices no-till. So far, they estimate about
80 different species in a bottle of EM-1 which include lactic acid bacteria, actinomycetes,
photosynthetic bacteria, yeast, and nitrogen fixing bacteria. EM technology is used in their crop
production as soil conditioner, microbial inoculant, foliar spray, composting agent, and as
fertilizer. The farm also uses EM in their poultry and livestock as pro-biotic mixed with drinking
water and to control fecal odor. The farm does not use anti-bioticsnor vaccines. The farm also
uses EM to make mud balls to clean the bottom of fish ponds in their aqua culture operations.
For their organic fertilizers, EM is used for different composting processes like vermin
composting, aerobic composting, and anaerobic composting for kitchen garbage.
Combining the Japanese technology with the Korean Natural Farming system of Dr. Han
Kyo Cho, the farm ferments its own organic fertilizers, foliar sprays and insect repellants like the
use of fermented plant juice, fermented fruit juice, fish amino acid, foliar calcium, calcium
phosphate, and oriental herbal nutrients. They brew compost and harvest the compost tea for
foliar supplements.
As an integrated or close farm system, every by-products of farm operations are utilized.
Organic pigs are fed with excess vegetables and other plant by-products like corn stalks, banana
leaves and trunks. Pig manure is collected to feed into the worms (African Night Crawlers) for
vermicomposting. They grow rabbits and the manure is used as a nitrogen source and the rabbit
meat is consumed.
The farm manure and farm left-overs are fed into the worms to produce vermicast as a
primary source of fertilizers for the salad greens. The worms are also occasionally fed to tilapia
and the other livestock as protein supplement.
Duckweed is their plant-based protein source for fish, poultry, and livestock. They
double their mass in just 2 days and forego purchase of expensive soya meal or commercial feeds.
A kilo of duckweed can fill a hectare of a pond in 56 days, with crude protein reaching from 35
to 45%.
It is zero waste farming. Kitchen garbage is collected, mixed with bokashi, fermented in
airtight containers for 15 days, and converted to organic fertilizers. Transplanting of seedlings is
made another 15 days after application in the soil.
The farm produces leafy greens (lettuce, cabbage, pakchoi, upland kangkong), fruit
vegetables (tomato, eggplant, pepper), crawling vegetables (bitter gourd, gourd, patola,

20. cucumber, beans), perennials (Sinta and Red Lady varieties of papaya), and assorted culinary
herbs (different kinds of basil, different kinds of peppermint, tarragon, kaffir lime, fennel, thyme,
sage, gynura, stevia, parsley, viola, gotocola, antenjo, citronella, cat’s whiskers, old spice
geranium).
The pigs are grown in odorless pens, without using anti-biotics and chemcials. Their
feeds are fermented with beneficial microbes and they mix their own feed with combination of
rice bran, duck weed, copra meal, greens, EM, molasses, water and ferment anaerobically for
two weeks. They are also fed with farm vegetable and fruit rejects. The pens are sprayed with
mixture of EM, molasses, and water every week to eliminate pathogens and foul odor and
prevent the flies from proliferating.
Organic Peking ducks are fed similarly those given the pigs, adding a fraction of
livestock lime, kangkong, and EM salad consisting of a mixture of 10 kilos chopped vegetables,
2 kilos rice bran, 5 ml EM and 2 liters of water.
The farm has organic free range Sasso chickens, and in their shelter, beddings are
provided as those given the pigs and ducks. Aside from the farm-formulated poultry feed mix,
the chickens are fed with grasses and vegetable trimmings. No chemicals and anti-biotics are
used.
The farm has four ponds for culture of organic tilapia with water coming from a natural
spring. They grow their own algae on the pond a month before the fingerlings are put. Bokashi
is used to grow the algae that grow profusely and become the feed meal of the fingerlings up to
six weeks. On the seventh week, the algae diet is supplemented by duckweed. Guests usually
bring their fishing rods to catch the tilapia using the farm’s vermi as bait, and a great bonding
time for father-son and mother-daughter team up.
The farm also provides training and consultancy services. They have transformed
corporate executives into full pledged multi-awarded natural farmers.
Organic Coffee Production
Reproduced from the website: The Dining Room (http://thediningroom.com.ph/organic-
farming-is-making-a-comeback-among-commercial-farmers-in-the-philippines-concern-over-
toxin-build-up-in-soil-and-food-chain-is-spurring-a-return-to-sustainable-methods-of-
agricultural-product/ and reprinted from Planters Magazine from an article entitled “Turning
Green to Gold:

21. Organic farming is making a comeback among commercial farmers in the philippines.
Concern over toxin build-up in soil and food chain is spurring a return to sustainable methods of
agricultural production. One of the country’s pioneers in commercial organic farming is Ateneo
alumnus Ernest L. Escaler who says, tongue-in-check, “I turned my hobbies into nightmare,
because it became a business!”
Escaler is one of very few people blessed with both a green thumb and a Midas touch.
Aside from his food business, his incarnations include investment banker, real estate developer,
impresario and producer.
He ventured into the food industry in 1979 as an exporter of green coffee beans. In fact,
his flagship ECI Trading Corporation (ECITC) introduced Philippine coffee varieties to the
international commodities market. But by the late 1980’s, coffee was no longer a profitable
export so he trained sights on the local market.
Escaler launched the Gourmet brand of premium roast. His main challenge was to get
Filipinos, by that time already accustomed to instant coffee, to reacquire their taste for the brew.
With persistence and acumen, Escaler guided his company on the road to steady growth.
In 1987, Gourmet Farms was established to absorb the coffee roasting and blending
operations of ECITC. The subsidiary also undertook a pilot agricultural project to produce
organically- growth salad vegetables for the market. Escaler had, as hobby, been growing
culinary herbs to share with family and friends. An incurable world traveller, he personally
carried the pots of rosemary, tarragon, basil, and other aromatic species for his garden.
Eventually, his enthusiasm and passion for organically grown greens became subject of a thesis
proposal at one of the most prestigious graduate schools in the country—and was met with
rejection. But Escaler’s instincts proved on the dot.
At that time, few Filipinos appreciated fresh garden salads. Even fewer knew how to
cook with herbs, which cost an arm and a leg in up-market delis. Thus was born Gourmet Café.
Located in Silang, Cavite on the tourist route to Tagaytay, the café became the showcase for
Escaler’s coffee, tea, organically-grown veggies, herbs, sauces and salad dressings. Healthy
Mediterranean style food, using locally grown ingredients, was at last, available in the country.
Word of the café’s dedication to cultivating the natural, healthy lifestyle spread and quickly drew
a regular crowd from Manila. A central attraction of the café was its salad bar. Surprisingly, it
was the children of his patrons who couldn’t seem to get enough of the fresh greens. Those kids
proved to be my best browsers and promoters, Escaler avows. It is the same generation that is
now grown-up and starting their own families.

22. Gourmet Café has since reinvented itself as Refresher’s, a cozy dinner in the front
property of Gourmet farm. It continues to be a favourite stop-over of tourists and business
travellers on the Cavite and Batangas route. Here, the coffee is truly top-of-class and the best-
selling Refresher’s Signature Lemonade offers a heady surprise! The menu, which is creative,
tasty and nutritious, offers value for money. The greens are guaranteed farm fresh and guests can
catch a glimpse of the culinary staff preparing drinks and meals inside the glass-fronted kitchen.
Refresher’s recently opened a deli in the ABS-CBN Loop in Quezon City, and Escaler says the
company plans to branch out in the near future. Meanwhile, he is already applying the finishing
touches on his latest project—a Greek-themed fine dining spot and social venue in what Gourmet
employees’ fondly dub “The Ruins,” the site of the original Gourmet Café.
Six hectares out if the 11-hectare property behind the restaurant are devoted to garden
plots and greenhouses, planted to a rich variety of herbs and lettuce. Organic farming is not new.
The practice dates back to the dawn of history but the term was coined in 1939 by Lord
Northbourne to describe a holistic, ecologically- balanced approach to agriculture. This is in
contrast to ‘conventional’, large-scale farming methods of the last hundred years that are largely
dependent on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
According to farm manager Eugine Jimenez, Gourmet Farms produces its own compost
for with pepper-based solutions. Different herbs and ornamental plants around the lettuce beds
serve to balance the eco-system, attracting insects that would otherwise infest the lettuce.
Jimenez points to a tree and bamboo-lined ravine that sets the farm apart from the rest of
the property housing production and storage facilities for coffee and tea blends, and the central
kitchen for the herbs and vegetables. The green border is a nature habitat that continues to host
pythons, kingfishers and other interesting wildlife.
Escaler says commercial organic farms should be kept small in order to sustain the
quality of the produce. Visitors will be surprised to learn that Gourmet Farms eschews the use of
fuel-guzzling machinery in favour of traditional carabao- drawn plows for land preparation. “It
might be slower,” according to Escaler, but the method has its benefits, chiefly animal dung to
enrich the soil.
Besides its commercial purpose, Gourmet Farmers shares knowledge and expertise with
knowledge and expertise with farmers and indigenous communities from all over the country, as
well as Asia and Europe. “We want more farmers to adopt organic methods,” Escaler explains.
Gourmet Farms also welcomes tour groups to view their facilities, where visitors get hands-on
opportunity to learn basics in ground preparation, planting, care and harvesting of produce.

23. A visit to Gourmet Farms, of course, isn’t complete without a peak at the country’s
largest coffee roasting machine. The secret to good coffee is in the grading, sorting and the
roasting process, Escaler says. Coffee aficionados would be surprised to learn that the blends
exclusively served in surprised to learn that the blends exclusively served in corporate
boardrooms, five-star hotels, restaurants, fast food chains and coffee shops were processed in this
facility.
It is important to sort the beans according to quality and state, explains Escaler. “A coffee
bean is not just a bean. A whole bean will roast differently from a cracked one. The worst thing
you can do is to mix premium beans with cracked or low quality ones.
But that’s not all. Packaging and storage are also important. “Coffee breathes,” says
corporate finance officer Rey Salinas. “ The packaging that carries our brand has built-in one-
way valves that let gases escape but prevent the let contents from coming in contact with outside
air.” An added feature of the packaging is the zip-lock seal. Salinas says these features minimize
contact with air, which trigger chemical reactions that would spoil the freshness and taste of the
coffee.
At present, coffee contributes over half of the revenues, completed by their herbal tea
lines and food products like salad dressing and sauces. Market presence is strong in supermarkets,
select restaurants and institutional clients. But Gourmet Farms is more than just these. It is also a
place for solace and well-being. Set apart by walls of greenery is another of Ernest Escaler’s pet
projects. The St. Joseph’s Sanctuary is a meditation center that can accommodate up to 25 guests
in its ten rooms. Surrounded by trees and gardens, the Sanctuary was established to provide
harried city dwellers with a place where they can “get in touch with their spiritual selves” and
cleanse themselves physically through a detoxification regime.
Other commercial farms converted to organic production
Most farmers who shifted from the conventional farming system became LEISA
practitioners; some persevered to make their farms both productive and ecologically sustainable.
These are the organic producers of rice, vegetables, muscovado sugar, banana, herbs, hogs,
chicken, and dairy products. They generally developed diversified farms with different agro-
ecosystems but their numbers need to grow to create an impact on the Philippine economy.
Case Studies on Subsistence Farms Converted to Organic Agriculture
Ara (2002) in his masteral thesis for Kobe University evaluated organic rice production
in the Philippines and noted that most of the small farmers who own three to five hectares of land
were under the control of traders who have big network, marketing power, and capita. Because

24. the Green Revolution in the Philippines in 1965, farmers started converting their traditional
farming to modern farming which involve high yielding varieties and intensive chemical input.
Such small farmers did not have enough cash for purchasing expensive chemical inputs and had
to borrow money from local creditors who offered high interest rates. To pay back their debts,
the farmers were forced to sell their products at a low price. As a result, their income stayed
minimum or lower than poverty line. To produce for the next cropping season, they have to
borrow again, and thus the vicious cycle.
The motivation to adopt organic farming practices came mainly from NGOs who tried to
cut farmer dependence on local creditors and on expensive agro-chemicals. The NGOs are also
concerned with the farmers’ health as pesticides cause chronic eye irritation and the formation of
pterygium that can diminish vision and cause dermal problems like eczema and nail destruction.
Bronchial asthma, neurologic problems like paralysis of arm and leg muscles and kidney
problems were also reported.
MASIPAG has been a key player in the history of organic farming in the Philippines.
MASIPAG is a network of small-scale farmers cultivating organic rice-based agricultural
systems. The network aims to improve the situation of resource-poor small farmers to empower
them. By 2009, it has about 35,000 members. The core of the MASIPAG approach is the open
and free access to seeds which are respected as common good. MASIPAG farmers breed their
own varieties of rice from the old traditional varieties, collect and share them, and enhance their
on-farm diversity without agro-chemicals.
The case studies in this paper have been culled from Report on Organic Farming in the
Philippines by Jacob Lundberg and Fredrik Moberg produced with financial support from Sida
and published by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.
The Sacada (Sugar Plantation) Worker
Elpidio “Jojo” Paglumotan used to be a plantation worker without any land of his own.
At the sugar plantation, he earned around roughly US$ 3 per day for approximately eight months
per year. For the rest of the year, the family had no income.
After a long-running conflict with the authorities, the members of his farmers’
association on the island of Negros obtained the right to own their land. A number of the
farmers ended up in prison before they finally won their rights from the government.
Today, Jojo owns half a hectare of land, half of which he used for rice cultivation and the
other half for vegetables. In addition to this, he has 8 goats, 16 hens, 2 water buffaloes, 3 turkeys,
and 8 ducks.

25. Jojo is one of the MASIPAG’s 65 farmer-researchers who are breeding new varieties of
rice for the organization. He is able to choose the varieties he wants to develop. He uses simple
but effective method to keep pests in check without having to spray his plots with expensive and
environmentally destructive agro-chemicals. One of the main problems for rice growers in the
country is apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata), but Jojo has had no major problem since
MASIPAG recommended that he allow his duck to wander around the rice fields. They eat the
snails and also restrict the amount of weeds. Jojo’s rice fields have numerous dragonflies, the
natural enemy of a number of insect pests and these are example of beneficial insects that is
strikingly absent in crops treated with chemical pesticides.
Eyes Damaged by Pesticides
Eugenio “Euni” Geraldo is a diversity farmer in Mindanao. After losing his wife in
childbirth, Euni single-handedly raised his six children on five hectares of land. Until 1999, he
sprayed his rice and vegetable crops with chemical pesticides to protect them against insects and
diseases. He damaged his eyes and lost some of his sight because of using pesticides.
However, after going on a course organized by MASIPAG, he began to grow organic
crops. Not only because he partly lost his sight, the pesticides also affected the natural pest
control system and resulted in the disappearance of beneficial insects and birds. He wanted also
his children to enjoy more nutritious food.
MASIPAG trains him in the use of new cultivation techniques and rice breeding which he
then shares with other farmers. Euni has a great ecological knowledge and a well-planned
schedule on how the farm should be managed so that the nutrients can be recycled in the best
possible way. His diversity farm includes rice, corn, sorghum, and bananas, as well as
vegetables such as haricot beans, aubergines, and tomatoes. He also has half a hectare of forest.
“The forest is a source of water for my crops, while also promoting the natural enemies
of pests. From it, I also get coconuts that we can eat or sell in the market.”
On the hills around the rice fields, he grows the madre de cacao, a nitrogen-fixing and
deep rooting tree that can extract nutrients from deeper soil layers. He uses the leaves as fodder
and the branches for firewood. His cropping system also includes ducks which he rears on crop
trash. He also has fishponds where he keeps tilapia and sells some at the market in the
neighboring village.
From the MASIPAG website: http://www.masipag.org/Nang Lydia.htm written by Dr. Sarah
Wright in 2004 for the MISEROER Lenten Campaign in Germany.

26. A woman from an isolated village in Panay Island
Lydia Macaya is only 35 years old but she is already addressed with the respectful “Nang”
(added before a name) by her villagers. Nang Lydia is a community leader, rice breeder and
trainer in organic agriculture. On her ½ ha plot she is developing a new strain of pest resistant,
high yielding, locally adapted rice. She is also testing a new method of growing organic rice,
trialing 60 different varieties, and growing enough food to feed herself and her extended family.
Nang Lydia travels throughout the island of Panay and to different islands in the Philippines to
give training to other small farmers on breeding and sustainable agriculture. All this from a
woman who was forced to leave school at 12 years old because her family did not think she
could use an education.
Nang Lydia was born in the isolated mountain village of Dao in the Philippines. The
community has no electricity or telephones and is not accessible by road during the wet months
of the year. As a child, life was not easy and she had to shoulder her share of responsibility for
the family from a young age. She saw education as a way to make a better life for herself and her
family but, unfortunately, she was not given the opportunity to go to high school.
"During elementary school, I would wake up at 4 am to prepare breakfast, to do some
weeding on the farm, feed the animals and gather firewood and vegetables to give to the family
to eat. I would leave to go to school at 6am. It was a two and a half kilometer walk through the
mountains that would take about an hour. During that time, I was so eager to go to school, even
if there was a typhoon or lots of rain I would want to go. I had to miss days sometimes if my
parents asked me to do something like baby-sit my younger sisters and brothers or to take the
carabao out to the farm to let it eat grass. Also we were the ones who did the plowing, so on
plowing time we also had to miss school."
She left school after elementary because her parents would not let her continue. "I had to
help out the family and my parents thought it would be a waste for me to get more education,"
she said. "They thought I would just get married and be of no more help to the family." In
addition to continuing her schooling, Lydia wanted to manage their farm but for the time being
she needed to go to work to help support the family. Nang Lydia went to Manila in 1988 to look
for a job. She especially wanted to make sure her younger sisters had the opportunity to finish
high school and college. In 1994, after her younger sister had finished high school, she moved
back to the community and began working on the farm. It had long been her dream to come back
to the community. "It was my will to work on the farm," explains Lydia.
In the Philippines it is unusual for the farm to be managed primarily by a woman.
Although women play a major role in agriculture, mostly as unpaid family workers or self-

27. employed farmers, they rarely hold the ultimate authority on the farm. Women's work managing
budgets, ensuring food security for the family and planting, weeding, harvesting, threshing and
processing, and are critical but often unrecognized.
For many years, women have been sidelined by official agricultural extension programs
and other farming programs. When chemical farming and high yielding varieties came to the
villages, they were based on western assumptions about women. The assumption was that
women are housewives and therefore the major services extended to them have been through
home management technicians and Rural Improvement Clubs. As men got access to new
knowledge not available to women, their decision-making power on the farm increased.
Nang Lydia explains that when a farm is planted ½ to MASIPAG and ½ to conventional
high-input agriculture it is almost invariably the woman who is behind the MASIPAG. "This is
because if the husband was behind the MASIPAG, the whole farm would be planted to it
because he has the say. If it is the wife, she has to negotiate and the husband may let her trial it
on some portion of the land. But it usually only stays like that for a season or two. Eventually it
gets resolved and the whole farm goes to MASIPAG."
MASIPAG organizers try to ensure that their programs ensure the full participation and
empowerment of women and that women's contribution to the farm is recognized and supported.
In Nang Lydia there is a gentle determination and enthusiasm that transcends ordinary
boundaries. Supported by MASIPAG, her courage and vision has allowed her to become a leader,
trainer, organizer and farmer-scientist in her own right.
Nang Lydia started using MASIPAG seeds in 1997 when she was given some seeds to try
by the MASIPAG organizer Joemarie who was at that time working for the outreach unit of a
local college. At this stage she didn't realize that the seeds were part of a broader farming system,
supported by the MASIPAG organization, or that adoption of the seeds would lead to a new life.
At first her family, and the rest of the village, couldn't accept that she was using the MASIPAG
technique. "They thought that it was the work of crazy people," said Nang Lydia. "For example,
in the trial farm period, I planted out the farm with 20 varieties all in small patches in order to
test which were the most locally adapted and pest resistant." This was a big risk to take
considering she only have ½ ha to grow enough rice and vegetables for the whole family for a
year.
Nang Lydia said, "It was difficult but ultimately I didn't care what people said. As long as
it would benefit my family and the community in the long run. That is all I cared about."
Although she was ridiculed at first, the community kept a close eye on Nang Lydia's output and,
when they liked what they saw, they too began to use MASIPAG. Now in Nang Lydia's village
of Dao with 78 households, 24 grow organically using the MASIPAG technique, and the method

28. has spread throughout the area with adapters in all seven nearby villages that make up the Seven
Cities area. Nang Lydia's sister, Estilita, speaks highly of the change, "We would be nothing
without it. It makes us feel informed and empowered. We have had access to new information,
met different people and learned so much. Nang Lydia even went to a conference of small
farmers in the United States."
The Macaya family has ½ ha of land. ¼ of it is planted to rice and ¼ to a diversity of
vegetables. "MASIPAG has big impact on the family because it reduces expenses and leads to a
healthier life," she says. The family has not experienced a food shortage for many years now
because they can grow three crop rotations in one year and they have cut expenses. Most families
cannot afford the cost of inputs such as fertilizer and pesticide and MASIPAG is valued because
it reduces crippling costs that lead to debt and to hunger. The positive health impacts of the
organic rice, and the organic methods of farming are also highly valued.
"Since I started growing organically, the sickness in the family has gone down so much.
Before we had more colds and flu, headaches and my grandmother had arthritis. We often had to
go to the hospital. Now these problems have nearly gone away."
After her initial successes growing MASIPAG, Nang Lydia began to get more involved
in the organization and expanded her role to become a trainer and a breeder. In the community
she is looked at with respect as a leader. The training work allows her to spread the news about
the benefits of organic farming and MASIPAG to other farmers. She has conducted trainings on
basic orientation on sustainable agriculture, rice breeding, corn selection, corn breeding, trainers
training, and Masipag orientation.
"I enjoy conducting trainings because I like to empower fellow small farmers. At first I
felt shy but now I enjoy it if I can give some benefits to others."
Two years ago, Nang Lydia also started breeding. She is breeding a new variety for
MASIPAG, M143-1. Her new variety will have increased resistance to pests, increased length of
seeds, increased number of tillers, be well adapted to the local soil and of a medium height. She
is also breeding it for eating quality and aiming for a tasty variety with a good aroma. She is up
to the fifth generation and variety will be soon ready for mass production. Nang Lydia enjoys the
breeding, it helps with self esteem especially when the breeding process succeeds.
"I breed to increase the number of seeds that are available," says Nang Lydia. "It
increases diversity and also means I am looking after the welfare of MASIPAG. I enjoy seeing
the success of the effort I have put in. It is a good feeling to create something new, something
that helps out MASIPAG as well as hopefully other farmers."

29. Nang Lydia currently grows 60 different varieties of rice in her trial farm which she uses
for ongoing experiments checking adaptability and other characteristics of the different varieties.
Throughout the world, rural women historically have played, and continue to play an important
role in rice farming systems. Women's role, however, is often viewed as a support role and their
contributions are sidelined. Worse, the agricultural support and extension services offered, often
exacerbate gender inequality. Nang Lydia is an example of the enormous contribution that can be
made by women if their knowledge is recognized and supported. Although not given the option
of going to high school, the training and knowledge she has acquired through her years of
farming and with the help of MASIPAG have allowed her to make a significant contribution to
her community and to other farmers in the region. Even her father now recognizes that he should
have allowed Nang Lydia to go to school.
"I'd like to thank the German people for giving their support to the MASIPAG program,"
says Nang Lydia. "I want them to know that our lives have changed for the better, and the
community is a healthier and improved place. It has a good effect on the lives of the people and I
have gained knowledge that I have been able to share with other farmers and the community."
Issues and Concerns
Efforts to promote organic agriculture, especially in Mindanao, is hampered by the
presence of big agribusiness companies that lured farmers to have their lands planted to
pineapple, banana, and rubber. Contract farming is initiated as the farmers find the potential
returns more attractive than current activities; and the level of risk quite acceptable. There is
perception of quick capital , simple storage requirements, assured market and payment.
Acceptance of organically grown products is not yet high among consumers. Although
there is some degree of knowledge and awareness about organic products and the ensuing issues
about organic foods as against those produced under conventional farming practices, there is lack
of appreciation by consumers on what it could contribute to food quality attributes, thereby
influencing the premium price the consumer is willing to pay. The income elasticity of demand
for organic food is generally small. The market remains limited for the highly educated and the
health-conscious.
For the producers, among the key concerns is the cost of third party certification. Small
farm holders given their limited income have difficulty shouldering the additional cost of
certification. The duration of the certification is roughly three to six months while the validity of
the certification lasts up to 18 months. The cost can reach up to US$2,000. The cost of third
party certification for foreign certifying agencies is estimated at US$4,000 to 5,000 a year.
Certification is most relevant for organic producers trying to penetrate the export market.

30. Domestic consumers, the target market of the small farm holders, are not likely to be
interested on the organic label. IPM and organic produce are oftentimes judged by the presence
of cosmetic blemishes. Presence, for instance, of insect bites in leafy vegetables is an indication
that no pesticide was used; and would be preferred over the no-insect bite regardless of which
has the organic certification. Since GMO produce are not segregated from the non-GMOs in the
wholesalers’ market, there is domestic skepticism that even organically certified locally
produced poultry products, for example, could have eaten GMO corn. For the local consumers,
it is not the organic certification that matters but the point of origin of the produce as it relates to
shelf-life, possible presence of preservatives, and perhaps prevailing agricultural practices in the
area.
Summary and Conclusion
Can organic agriculture feed the country and provide food security? Mainstream
agricultural thinking says no. We need modern agricultural technology to attain yield goals. It is
truly hard to believe that the small organic farmers who are backward and unscientific can grow
sufficient food to feed the nation’s ever growing population. It is even harder to believe that
large scale commercial farms can be agro-chemical free. And we don’t have to go back to those
indigenous as well as traditional agriculture.
The history of organic agriculture in the Philippines is moving forward to prove its point
that it can be done, and it can be done at sustainable basis. And despite zero agro-chemical
farming, and turning back on hybrid and GMO seeds, liberating farmers from the shackles of
debt and poverty, we can have abundant and safe food for all.
We have four types of organic farming in the Philippines. The first are those practiced by
the indigenous tribes, inter-twined with their culture, customs and beliefs as the year is divided
into various phases of the rice cycle. The indigenous agriculture is basically organic, and despite
its rituals and superstitions, it has sustained these tribes for thousands of years as they remained
isolated and not integrated into the mainstream of Philippine society. Two major waves of
civilizations engulfed the country – Islamization and Christianization, but these indigenous tribes
have maintained their cultural isolation even to these days.
Rice is also the staple of the mainstream Philippines and the second type of organic
agriculture is the traditional agriculture, developed also through millennia and centuries of
traditions, basically organic in practices. This was the farming system before the Green
Revolution erased it all – not only the traditions and practices, but also the varieties, the cropping
calendar, the dependency on communal spirit and working together, and all others associated
with traditional agriculture. Even the carabao was replaced by the tractor. But we still have
traditional farmers in certain remote provinces planting traditional varieties in traditional way.

31. Yield may be low but it is compensated by premium market price. The traditional varieties are
aromatic, have excellent eating quality, and traditionally consumed to mark special occasions.
Despite the Green Revolution, we have remnants of traditional farmers practicing traditional
agriculture, basically organic in character.
The third type of existing organic farms in the Philippines is the large scale commercial
farms, those that would compete with the multi-national corporations and could very well afford
the cost of organic certification. They adopt modern organic practices by doing their own
breeding, fertilizer production, pesticide concoction, vertical and horizontal integration of
operations by waste recycling as they follow biodynamic and natural farming principles. They
are not necessarily all on the export trade, as they also focus on the increasing organic
preferences of domestic consumers. Our case studies showed a poultry business with satellite
operations in all the three major groups of islands of the Philippines, an agro-tourism site, and a
coffee shop business that produces its own organically grown coffee and salad greens.
The fourth type of existing organic agriculture is the small scale subsistence organic
farms, certainly those who cannot afford the cost of organic certification; nevertheless, they
adhere to sustainable organic agricultural practices because they have proven it to be more
economically profitable than the conventional one. Farmers breed their own planting material
requirements, produce their fertilizers, concoct their botanical-based pesticides, practiced
biodynamic and natural farming principles. They are into multiple cropping, diversified, and
integrated farming so that they are sufficient in their food needs, selling the excess to be able to
purchase those items needed but could not produce in the farm. These are the small time farmers
who felt they have liberated themselves from the shackles of the multi-national agro-chemical
and seed corporations. They have better income, better health, better environment. There will
be no turning back.
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1
Paper to be presented during the Workshop on ANSOFT-AFACI Pan-Asia Project, 18-20 October, 2012 at
Gwangju, Jeonnam Province, Republic of Korea.