BUTUAN CITY -- To promote and further develop the practice of organic agriculture in the Philippines, Organic Agriculture Act (RA 10068) highlights the importance of enriching the fertility of the soil and the need to undertake community-based organic fertilizer production.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) – Caraga through its Organic Agriculture Program in partnership with the DA-Bureau of Soils & Water Management (BSWM) turned over Small-Scale Composting Facility (SSCF) to three Local Government Units and a cooperative in the region on August 25.

Each small-scale composting facility is composed of 15 kilogram African Night Crawlers, one unit of shredder machine, and two units of vermitea brewer.

The facility recipients were the Local Government Units of Cantilan, Surigao del Sur, Sibagat, Agusan del Sur, Province of Dinagat Islands, and Center for the Poor Agricultural Cooperative (CEPAGCO) in Talacogon, Agusan del Sur.  

DA-BSWM Regional Soils & Water Area Coordinator for Caraga Marcelo P. Dayo said that the ₱1.7million worth of intervention will serve as machinery to transform farm waste into organic fertilizer.  

“The facility is expected to provide the needed vermicast or vermicompost of farmer-beneficiaries. This will ensure higher profit because of the gradual reduction of their dependence on the use of chemical fertilizers. The use of organic fertilizers will also significantly contribute to protect and rebuild soil health naturally,” Dayo said.

Since 2010, a total of 193 SSCF have been distributed to organic farming advocates in the Caraga region.  

George G. Ballongay, CEPAGCO – Board of Director, was grateful for the intervention they have received. “The SSCF will open more opportunities to widen our resources in providing services to our members and the community through our organic agriculture livelihood programs. Aside from using the fertilizers to our crops, we can also sell the vermicast at ₱400 – ₱450 per bag at 50 kilos,” he said.

CEPAGCO is a church-based agri coop that mainstreams food production in an organic way. The cooperative is affiliated with the Missionary of the Sacred Heart Congregation dedicated to taking care of the well-being of the people and the environment by providing services to the community, disaster responses, concerns for the poor, and the marginalized.

Moreover, DA Caraga Regional Technical Director Rebecca R. Atega hopes that the facility would encourage more farmers to engage in organic farming as a sustainable approach to food production.  

The turn-over ceremony were also graced by Genome A. Fortun, Mindanao Regional Coordinator, Villar SIPAG Foundation and Gemma Asufre, DA-Caraga OIC-Chief Integrated Laboratories Division. (Rhea C. Abao, DA Caraga/PIA Caraga)