Organic agriculture stakeholders on Wednesday convened in this highly urbanized city for the opening of the 11th regional congress.

“Organic agriculture remains a key driver for resiliency of agri-food systems, and it is also a pathway for enhancing local communities because our focus is rural communities, the small holder farmers,” Agriculture Regional Technical Director for Research and Regulation Zarlina Cuello said in a media conference.

Cuello said organic agriculture accounts for a certain percentage of the sector as a whole, and serves as a “platform to promote environmental stewardship and advance food and nutrition security across the region and also in our country.”

“Under the environmental and social governance, this organic agriculture is very important for the health of the people as well as the economic stability of the region,” she added.

Currently, 7 percent of the total effective agricultural area in Western Visayas is engaged in organic agriculture, higher than the minimum 5 percent provided for in the law, she said.

Under the National Organic Agriculture Program, farmers are provided support in terms of training, registration with the participatory guarantee system farm association or groups and the organic agriculture livelihood program.

She added that farmers are provided with information to entice innovation and for them to determine if their area is suited for organic agriculture.

Meanwhile, Western Visayas Regional Agri-Fishery Council head Buen Mondejar urged the Department of Agriculture to come up with a comparative study of the same commodity, area and ecosystem, but with different technologies and quantify and show their benefits.

He said it is a question of balancing, as they are looking into the overall food security and food sufficiency of the region.

“As of now, we are proud that we are one of the regions that is sufficient, especially in rice. So, I think we can afford to practice organic farming because we are a self-sufficient region,” he said.

An exhibit of various organic products was also opened at the Casa Real Iloilo as part of the conference which will run until May 22. (PNA)