By Nanette L. Guadacquiver
BACOLOD CITY, (PNA) — Long before the national government campaigned for the practice organic agriculture, the province of Negros Occidental had long been championing this farming practice.
This is according to Armigenia Benedicto, agricultural center head and concurrent research and development laboratory in-charge of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, who was awarded Best Focal Person in Organic Agriculture during the 10th National Organic Agriculture Congress last week.
Negros Occidental was also declared the Top Performing Province in Organic Agriculture.
Benedicto recalled that when the province was hit by the sugar industry crisis in the late 70s into the 80s, non-government organizations and civic-spirited planters were already promoting organic farming.
“We have a long history of organic agriculture even way before it was being discussed seriously at the national level,” Benedicto said.
Then in 2005, the late Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon and then Negros Oriental Gov. George Arnaiz declared Negros Island an “Organic Island” by virtue of a memorandum of agreement signed by the two governors.
That same year, the Negros Island Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (NISARD) Foundation was founded with Edgardo “Boyet” Uychiat as executive director.
The first Negros Island Organic Farmers Festival was held in 2006 and in 2007, the Organik na Negros Organic Producers and Retailers Association, now headed by Ramon Uy Jr., was established.
It was only in 2010 that Republic Act 10068, or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 became a law.
Benedicto said the national award is a challenge for Negros Occidental to do more in terms of sustaining the campaign for organic farming.
She noted that Negros Occidental was cited because of its growing land area, now more than 10,000 hectares, planted to organic crops, which is two percent of its 441,000 hectares of agricultural land.