Prepared by Mr. Roland G.

Cabigas Managing Director La Liga Policy Institute

*Presented during the Mindanao-wide R.A. 10068 Implementation Awareness Conferences for Local Chief
Executives organized by the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Unit XI Pinnacle Hotel Suites, Sta. Ana Avenue, Davao City, May 29-31, 2012

La Liga is a development organization that has partnership undertaking with 23 LGUs (cities and municipalities) in Northern Luzon, Metro Manila and Negros Oriental. As a national NGO, it participates in national policy discourse and advocacy on issues related to climate change, sustainable agriculture, disaster risk reduction, fiscal reforms and participatory local governance. It is also the secretariat of the Go Organic Philippines! A network of local government officials, citizen leaders, farmers , academe and NGOs promoting sustainable organic ecological agriculture as a key development strategy of the Philippines.

In the past three years, its advocacy for sustainable agriculture has taken the shape of providing inputs on the following key national policy instruments and program:
a)

The Philippine Development Plan (PDP) Chapter on Agriculture where the language of Sustainable, Organic and Ecological Agriculture was incorporated; IRR of the Organic Agriculture Act where a regular budget line item for the Organic Agriculture Program of the DA equivalent to 2% of its annual budget was adopted; and, The National Organic Agriculture Program (NOAP)

b)

c)

It also taps traditional and social media to register its position on sustainable agriculture issues and project local success stories and initiatives.

At the local level, the La Liga initiates partnerships among local governments and farmers organizations to promote Organic Agriculture through training, production and marketing support particularly within the One Pangasinan Alliance of LGUs.

OPAL is a LGU cluster in Western Pangasinan composed of 10 LGUs. In 2009, the LGSP program of DILG and CIDA chose OPAL as one of the 4 LGU Alliances for the implementation of its Local Economic Development Projects. For OPAL, these projects are Ecotourism and Organic Agriculture.

OPAL is among the project area of La Ligas MDG Pathways Project, an MDG localization initiative supported by the EU. MDG Pathways adopts the strategy of participatory local governance where citizens, NGOs, elected officials and local government officers formally come together to formulate an MDG enhanced local plans, programs and budget. Organic Agriculture was commonly adopted by the 4 LGU partners of MDG Pathways in response to MDG 1: Poverty Alleviation and MDG 7: Environment Sustainability.

In their 2012 AIP, budget allocation for organic agriculture is as follows:

TOTAL BUDGET FOR AGRICULTURE*

Alaminos City 15,489,262

ORGANIC AGRICULTURE (Php)

1,200,000

Bani
Burgos Dasol

1,600,000
3,000,000 7,000,000

400,000
1,500,000 2,000,000

* Figures do not include infrastructure and post-harvest facilities

Apart from the MDG Pathways Project, these LGUs also partnered with La Liga and the DA for the implementation of the Organikong Palayan Pangasinan Project. OP-PGN is a one year program that combines capacity building for farmers on organic fertilizer and rice production, partnership building with local governments and production support for farmers who will shift to organic farming. Through the LGU cluster approach, OP-PGN is able to initiate an area, ecosystem-based local development. The cluster approach also seeks to address the challenge of production scale and interventions at the different stages of the value chain.

Organikong Palayan Launch From Right: Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza; Secretary Proceso Alcala; Bani Mayor Marcelo Navarro; and Dasol Mayor Noel Nacar.

Amount of the project: PhP 4.3 million La Liga and LGU partner counterpart: PhP 1 million Number of direct beneficiaries: around 300 farmers from 4 towns Implementing Mechanism: Executive Committee - composed of mayors with representative from La Liga and DA-RFU1 Technical Working Group composed of agriculture officers, local La Liga project team Trainors Pool composed of the projects local farmer trainors and LGU rice technicians

Organikong Palayan General Assembly at the Municipality of Dasol, Pangasinan.

Season Long Training: on and off farm, lecture and handson training on organic fertilizer production and on organic rice farming Learning Farms/Bukid Aralan: four 1 hectare demonstration farms on organic agriculture, maintained by the project, LGU agriculture offices and farmer trainees Barangay Assemblies, Organization Building, Market Linkaging

Production Support: distribution of organic farming inputs such as carbonizer, organic seeds, vermicast, African night crawlers, monggo seeds (as green manure), resource materials, et.al. for farmer graduates who have committed to shift to organic farming. On the average, production support amounts to PhP 15,000 per hectare of farm land committed to organic farming.

Farmer Graduates: around 300 farmer graduates 4 local organic farmers association, networked under Man`nalon Ti Organik 100 hectares committed for shifting to organic farming, on the average to ha each from farmer graduates LGU MOA integrating organic agriculture in their local development plans For LGU partners, inclusion of organic agriculture in their local poverty reduction action plans (LPRAP)

Visit from COA Region 1 Officers.

100 Has. to be shifted to organic farming Expansion to other member towns of OPAL Innovative Organic Agriculture Extension Program Setting up of City/Municipal and Cluster Level Organic Agriculture Council Complementing Local Organic Agriculture Program with a broader Agriculture and Fisheries Investment Plan

Participatory local governance is a key ingredient in the institutionalization of Organic Agriculture Programs and Budget at the LGU level LGU cluster as a unit to address production scale and agriculture value chain Need to create regional national LGU (cities and municipalities) pole for organic agriculture

DA as a catalyst for Sustainable Ecological Organic Agriculture Demonstrate how its budget can be a tool to expand the scale and scope of Organic Agriculture and achieve NOAP by 2016; Enable its bureaucracy to respond and adapt to the challenges and imperatives of Organic Agriculture; and, Enhance Partnerships (public-private-people partnerships) between and among the DA (all levels), local governments and citizens organizations.

25-A Marunong St. Brgy. Central Quezon City www.laligapilipinas.org laliga.policyinstitute@gmail.com (02) 990-4236