Enhancing Organic Agricultural Inputs Sector from a Policy Lens:

(1)

University of the Philippines Los Baños University of the Philippines Los Baños

University Knowledge Digital University Knowledge Digital Repository

Repository

CPAf Policy Brief Publications, Newsletters, Bulletins

2021

Enhancing Organic Agricultural Inputs Sector from a Policy Lens:

Insights from Rice and Vegetable Producing Regions Insights from Rice and Vegetable Producing Regions

Maria Francesca O. Tan

College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines Los Baños Dulce D. Elazegui

College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines Los Baños Agnes R. Chupungco

College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines Los Baños Miriam R. Nguyen

College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines Los Baños Maria Christina A. Alvarez

College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines Los Baños

Follow this and additional works at: https://www.ukdr.uplb.edu.ph/cpaf_policy_brief

Part of the Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons, Public Administration Commons, Public Affairs Commons, and the Public Policy Commons

Recommended Citation Recommended Citation

Tan, Maria Francesca O.; Elazegui, Dulce D.; Chupungco, Agnes R.; Nguyen, Miriam R.; and Alvarez, Maria Christina A., "Enhancing Organic Agricultural Inputs Sector from a Policy Lens: Insights from Rice and Vegetable Producing Regions" (2021). CPAf Policy Brief. 5.

https://www.ukdr.uplb.edu.ph/cpaf_policy_brief/5

(2)

This Policy Brief is based on the research project entitled

“Production and Market Systems of Organic Agricultural Inputs in Major Organic Rice and Vegetable Producing Provinces in the Philippines.” The project was conducted by the College of Public Affairs and Development (CPAf), University of the Philippines Los Baños (UP Los Baños) with funding from the Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Agricultural Research.

For more information about the project, please call (049) 536-3284 or email Dr. Miriam Nguyen, project leader, at [email protected].

Authors

MARIA FRANCESCA O. TAN DULCE D. ELAZEGUI AGNES R. CHUPUNGCO MIRIAM R. NGUYEN

MARIA CRISTINA A. ALVAREZ CPAf, UP Los Baños

College, Laguna, Philippines Language Editor

STELLA CONCEPCION R. BRITANICO CPAf, UP Los Baños

Layout Artists

STELLA CONCEPCION R. BRITANICO RONA THEA T. REODICA

CPAf, UP Los Baños

T

he Philippine national government recognizes the importance of organic agriculture (OA) in promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development, thus the enactment of Republic Act (RA) No. 10068, otherwise known as the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010.

Fundamental in meeting the objective of this Law is the availability of organic agricultural inputs like planting materials, soil amendments, and biocontrol agents.

However, producers and suppliers of organic agricultural inputs encounter challenges in complying with regulatory policies. Likewise, growers of major crops such as organic rice and vegetables lament the lack of supply of organic inputs¹.

This Policy Brief presents some issues on the production, certification, and registration of organic inputs as well as the policy measures to enhance the organic agricultural input sector. The data and information presented are based on the discussions with organic input producers in selected rice and vegetable producing provinces; organic agriculture focal persons in various Department of Agriculture (DA) offices and local government units (LGUs); and other organic agriculture experts.

A total of 61 organic input producers were interviewed in 12 administrative regions of the country in 2018 and 2019. These include the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), National Capital Region (NCR), Region II (Cagayan Valley), Region III (Central Luzon), Region IV-A (CALABARZON), Region IV-B (MIMAROPA), Region V (Bicol), Region VI (Western Visayas), Region VII (Central Visayas), Region X (Northern Mindanao), Region XI (Davao Region), and Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN).

ISSN 2362-8499 ISSUE No. 2021-01

1Rola, A. C., Pantoja, B. R., Chupungco, A. R., Nguyen, M. R., and Reyes, J. C.

POLICY CPAf

BRIEF

(3)

2

Policy Landscape

An “organic input producer,” as defined in RA 10068, is a local or foreign entity that manufactures inputs compliant with the Philippine National Standards (PNS) for Organic Agriculture. There are PNS guidelines specific to soil amendments² and biocontrol agents³. For organic seeds, provisions of the Seed Act (RA No. 7308) apply, and the Department of Agriculture’s Administrative Order No. 19 Series of 2013 provides further guidelines in producing organic rice and corn seeds.

Meanwhile, for an agricultural input to be certified organic, the producer must undergo certification process through an accredited or official certifying body (OCB) such as the Organic Certifying Center of the Philippines (OCCP) and Negros Island Certification Services, Inc. (NICERT), among others. The certificate that will be issued by the OCB, which is valid for one year, is renewable annually.

The OA Act also requires registration of agricultural inputs with the DA-Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS). The registration process of BAFS involves verification of information about the establishment, inspection of production facilities and materials used, and compliance with the administrative and technical requirements. The certificate of full registration that will be issued by BAFS is valid for three years for soil amendments and five years for biocontrol agents.

The PNS for Organic Agriculture also prescribes specific information to be included on the product’s packaging.

These include product information (i.e., raw materials, nutrient content, product description and type), direction

for use, name and contact information of the producer or distributor, and the seal of organic certifying body. BAFS has a surveillance team who monitors organic agricultural products in the market, ensuring that the required information are indicated in the packaging. Products that are found to be non-compliant are pulled out from the market and manufacturers or distributors are informed of their non-compliance. However, there are no stipulated sanctions yet for violations.

To encourage organic input production, the OA Act provides incentives such as subsidy for organic certification to individual producers and micro, small, and medium producers. Provided by the DA, the subsidy ranges from PhP 50,000 to PhP 84,000 per scope (i.e., crops, livestock, fisheries) and can be availed by BAFS-registered input producers for three years.

There are also provisions for tax holiday and income tax exemption for seven years. Provincial and municipal LGUs, the frontliners in the Organic Agriculture Program, also provide incentives and other programs such as support and extension services for organic input production and utilization. They are also mandated to establish at least one trading post for organic inputs.

As of August 2019, BAFS data show that there were 33 registered organic input producers. Twenty-two producers were located in Luzon, nine in Mindanao, and two in Visayas. There were also 16 producers who had organic plant supplements registered, and eight had registered biocontrol agents.

2Organic soil amendments include organic fertilizers, compost/soil conditioner, microbial inoculants, and organic plant supplements based on nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) content (PNS/BAFS 40:2016).

3Biological control agents (BCAs) are organisms and their associated metabolites as well as naturally occurring substances that control pests and diseases.

There are three classifications of BCAs such as botanicals, macrobials, and semi-chemicals.

(4)

Table 2. Status of OCB certification and BAFS registration of agricultural organic input producers and suppliers as of 2018 Input Producer/Supplier With Active

Certification but Expired Registration

With Active Registration but

Expired OCB Certification

Registration or Certification

is Due for Renewal

Expired Certification Registrationand

Currently or Has Been

Certified Once but Has not Registered

Has not Been Certified nor

Registered

Importer 0 2 3 0 1 5

Private Manufacturer/ Trader 3 3 3 2 8 16

Government Producer 1 0 0 1 6 5

Total 4 5 6 3 15 26

Table 1. Organic input producers by input category Location and Input Category No. Percentage

Luzon (n=37)

Soil Amendments 34 92

Organic Seed 7 19

Biocontrol Agent 23 62

Visayas (n=14)

Organic Seed 2 14

Mindanao (n=10)

Organic Seed 1 10

Multiple answers

Reasons for Engaging in Organic Input Production

Producers identified various reasons for engaging in organic input production, and among them were the consumption of safe and healthy food (30%); environmental sustainability (i.e., enhancing soil condition, zero waste production) (20%); and insufficient supply of organic inputs (10%).

Types of Inputs Produced

Majority of the respondents produced soil amendments such as organic fertilizer; soil conditioner (vermicompost);

and organic plant supplements including fermented plant and fruit juice, oriental herbal nutrients, calcium phosphate, and fish amino acid. For organic seeds, major producers were DA-Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) stations and DA regional field offices in Luzon. Similarly, majority of biocontrol (biopesticides) producers were in Luzon. Among the three inputs, Table 1 shows that organic seeds had the least number of producers in the three island groups.

Registration and Certification Status of Input Producers and Suppliers

Among the 61 organic input producers and suppliers interviewed, 26 had no OCB certification and BAFS registration at the time of the study. Whereas, 15 producers had certification but no registration. OCB certification is needed for agricultural inputs to be considered organic, while BAFS registration is needed for expanded marketing (i.e., import and export) as stipulated in the OA Act.

Inputs Applied for Certification and Registration

Input producers would usually apply for certification and registration the fertilizers that are intended for sale.

Other producers adopted an internal control system (ICS), claiming that they also observe organic standards similar to that of OCB certification. However, some key informants remarked that subjecting an input to ICS alone does not qualify for organic certification.

Technical Assistance Received

Producers received technical assistance mainly from DA and LGUs. This includes efficacy trials of inputs, (29%); machinery, tools, and facilities (27%) (i.e., for vermicomposting); and certification subsidy (12%).

(5)

4

Emerging Issues on Input Production

Lengthy, Stringent, and Costly Certification Process

Some input producers took more than a year before their inputs were certified and registered due to the tedious, strict, and dreary process that involves submission of documents or records on their activities, organizational resources, location and number of farms, and processing facilities.

Aside from the lengthy and stringent process, majority of input producers also complain about the high cost of certification and registration. The certification fee itself is not expensive but the additional costs incurred in the certification process (i.e., efficacy trials, travel expenses of inspectors) makes organic certification costly. Producers pay as much or more than PhP 100,000.00 before their inputs are certified.

Mislabelling Practices

Some producers rely on second party or participatory guarantee system (PGS) and label their products as

‘organic’. PGS, according to the OA Act, is a locally- focused assurance system that is developed and practiced by people engaged in organic agriculture and is built on the foundation of trust, social network, and knowledge exchange. Others mix non-organic ingredients in their products without proper labeling, thus jeopardizing its quality and misinforming the buyers.

Sporadic Data on Organic Input Production

The absence of an integrated or centralized databank of production volume makes it difficult to accurately assess the organic input market situation.

Shortage of Raw Materials, Lack of Manpower and Modern Production Equipment and Facilities, and Limited Training on other Organic Inputs

The existing rules and regulations on inter-island shipping of raw materials (e.g., animal/poultry manure) from other areas resulted to shortage in raw materials and constrained input producers to manufacture commercially. Other problems that affect organic input production and post- harvest processing are the lack of modern equipment and facilities (e.g., shredder, storage, multi-crop thresher and vacuum sealers) and shortage in manpower. Furthermore, majority of trainings conducted are on organic fertilizer production, while other inputs such as organic pesticides are not given much attention. Thus, the lack of training on these inputs results to its production in micro-scale.

Unstable Fund Allocation and Slow Procurement Process Government institutions producing organic inputs are affected by the unstable budget allocation from the national

government over the years. Allocation of funds depends on the priority programs of the current officials of the national and local government. Furthermore, the slow procurement process in the government due to red tape also delays OA program activities, for instance, the distribution of organic seeds and equipment to organic input producers.

Policy Measures to Enhance

the Organic Agricultural Input Sector

Improve the Incentive System

Certification subsidy should be widely promoted and producers should be assisted to meet qualifications.

Likewise, large farms should be encouraged to engage in organic agriculture by improving their access to organic inputs.

Reconcile theValidity of OCB Certification and BAFS Registration

The validity of OCB certification can be lengthened from one year to three years, similar with the validity of BAFS registration. However, to prolong its duration, the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the OA Act should be amended. Once the duration of certification is amended, regular monitoring should be conducted to assure quality and integrity of the organic inputs produced.

Organization of Community-Based Input Production

The salient provision of the OA Act and its IRR provide for the encouragement of community-based and communal farming. As such, production of organic agricultural inputs at the village or community level should be organized.

This may be in the form of compartmentalization of production, through assignment of seed banking, village- level biological control laboratory and community-based fertilizer center. Organizing the community also centralizes funding of start-up for these initiatives as small farmers have limited capital and thus, resources should be pooled.

Establish a Database System

The organic agriculture plan of the provincial LGUs must include the database of organic input producers as well as the volume of input production and volume of disposal.

Strengthen Monitoring and Feedback Mechanisms

There should be an expressly designated agency that has the capacity and police power to improve regulatory compliance with the ‘organic’ standards.