The Benguet Provincial Board approved on third reading an ordinance that will expand organic farming regulations and provide a comprehensive framework for advancing organic farming, allocating funds, and supporting sustainable agriculture.
Authored by Board Member Neptali Camsol the “Revised Ordinance on the Promotion and Development of Organic Agriculture in the Province of Benguet” is anchored on a broader shift toward sustainable cultivation in the country’s primary highland vegetable hub and fund agricultural cooperatives.
Co-authored by Board Members Ruben Tinda-an, Romeo Salda, and Armando Lauro, the ordinance also aims to institutionalize organic agricultural practices to restore soil fertility, secure the livelihoods of mountain farmers, and safeguard consumer health.
Camsol said the revised measure moves beyond policy theory by pairing regulatory updates with provincial resources, noting the bill faced no opposition or queries before its final approval.
“We must think about sustainability and the safety of our consumers. In this revised version, we are not just promoting organic farming on paper,” Camsol explained.
The local measure directly aligns with Republic Act No. 10068, otherwise known as the “Organic Agriculture Act of 2010,” which establishes national policy to promote, propagate, develop further, and implement organic agricultural practices across the Philippines.
It also draws authority from the Local Government Code, which mandates local government units to prioritize and fund grassroots food security and ecological protection.
Based on a data from the Cordillera Organic Agriculture Research and Development Center at Benguet State University, since 2018, more than 4,000 organic practitioners were already recorded in the province. Noemi Salatic | UC Intern
