Bayanihan among the farmers, local government unit (LGU), and government agencies led to the success of the fifth class municipality of Tublay in the province of Benguet to produce the first-ever participatory guarantee system (PGS) organic certifying body (OCB) core group.

The five members of the PGS OCB core group are: Concepcion M. Sotero (Peer Review Committee Chair), Agnes F. Duyao, Anita P. Sinakay, Ben S. Domingo, and Isko C. Buslay.

PGS, in accordance with the Republic Act (RA) No. 11511 or the “Amendment to the Organic Agriculture Law of 2010,” is a locally-focused quality assurance system that is developed and practiced by the people involved in organic agriculture. The difference and especially the most benefit of PGS is that it is a lot cheaper compare to third-party certification. Also, certification from PGS OCB can last up to three years.

Having the PGS OCB core group, organic practitioners in Tublay and other nearby municipalities in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) have the advantage of getting their organic products certified with lower expense and easier certification process.

But the journey of the five core group members towards their accreditation as PGS OCB didn’t come that easy. Farming itself is quite challenging to them because of the two factors that seem out of control: climate change and infestation of pests and diseases.

They combat pest and disease infestations in the field through the utilization of the highly effective, credible, and safe organic concoctions such as fermented plant juice (FPJ). They have learned this from attending trainings on organic agriculture conducted by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI-CAR) and Organic Agriculture Program of Regional Field Office (RFO-CAR) way back 2011 when they were just starting as organic practitioners.

In order to adapt to climate change, the group controls the production of its organic products. They believe that less production is equal to less damage, which is also highly recommended by the LGU of Tublay to avoid overproduction of organic products.

They market their products within the region and across the nation through social media and building communication with established buyers such as ABS-CBN and Caritas Manila.

With these challenges, the core group remains optimistic for they know and feel that the LGU and DA RFO CAR are by their side.

The LGU is also very supportive of promoting organic agriculture, wherein in 2014, a municipal ordinance was created and implemented, with the goal of strengthening organic agriculture in Tublay.

The LGU allotted funds for the training of organic farmers and established a specific area near the municipal hall where organic farmers can sell their products.

“Nakita namin ang kahalagahan ng organic hindi lang sa ekonomiya, bagkus sa kalusugan. Kaya may ordinance na nag-i-institutionalize na pahalagahan ang organic agriculture. May pondo para sa training ng organic farmers, for establishing of farmers cooperatives and associations, and for lending of vehicles,” Tublay Mayor Armando I Lauro explained.

On the other hand, DA RFO CAR supports organic farmers by providing farm interventions such as organic seeds, organic fertilizers, greenhouses, and machinery. They were also very eager to help the core group and support the group’s journey toward PGS OCB accreditation, from the ten-day PGS training led by ATI to editing and finalization of the operations manual.

Sotero admitted that the most challenging part of their journey towards PGS OCB accreditation is the documentation and monitoring of farm activities and drafting of operational manual, which are some of the main requirements of the DA – Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS) for accreditation, but they are very thankful to the staff of DA RFO CAR Organic Agriculture Program, led by its focal person Ms. Precil Marcelo Sales, for being hands-on in helping them accomplish all of the requirements.

The first PGS OCB core group members are honored and willing to extend the bayanihan they experienced from the LGU and DA RFO CAR to the other organic farmers in the region by certifying one organic farm at a time.

“Nagpapasalamat kami sa DA, sa LGU, at sa lahat ng agencies dahil sa assistance na ibinigay nila sa grupo. Napakalaking tulong nila sa aming organic practioners. Kami ay tutulong sa iba pang organic practioners na makapagpa-cerifiy. Ia-assist namin sila,” Sotero assured. #### Reina Beatriz P. Peralta, DA-NOAP