With the aim of identifying qualified cooperatives that will help establish the “Organik Konek” or the regional organic agriculture hub in the region, a consultation with organic agriculture practitioners was conducted by the Regional Organic Agriculture Program of the Department of Agriculture Region IV-CALABARZON on June 16, 2020 at Southern Tagalog Integrated Agricultural Research Center in Lipa City, Batangas.
“The Organik Konek will integrate existing trading posts and organic farms in the region; offer sources of organic inputs; provide agricultural production, processing, and marketing services to organic farming practitioners; and serve as a learning site on organic farming and the operation and maintenance of agricultural machinery,” said Ms. Eda F. Dimapilis, Regional Organic Agriculture Program Coordinator.
In addition, data on production could be collected and monitored through the organic agriculture hub, and jobs would be created. It will also serve as a center for the application and processing of the Participatory Guarantee Systems; and a training for future operators of provincial, city, and municipal organic agriculture spokes.
Implementing guidelines for the establishment of the same were also discussed.
Some 35 participants attended the meeting, including officials and sub-groups of the CALABARZON Organic Exchange (CORE), an organic stakeholders’ network in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon. ● (ARC, DA-RAFIS)
[Photos Courtesy of Ms. Eda Dimapilis & Mr. Glenn Blue Alianza]
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