Organic farmers to meet in Tarlac

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga ,Philippines  –  Some  800 organic farming practitioners, advocates and enthusiasts from all over the country will converge in Tarlac City next week for the 8th National Organic Agriculture Conference (NOAC).

The  Tarlac Provincial Media Affairs Office said the converence will be held from  Nov.  8 to 11 and will consist of plenary and breakout sessions  anchored on the theme “Organic Farming: Towards Food Sufficiency and Healthy Environment.”

Topics to be discussed in plenary sessions : The Global Organic Market Access (GOMA) Project, State of Organic Farming in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, RA 10068 (Organic Agriculture Act of 2010) Status of Implementation and Introduction of the new National Organic Agriculture Board (NOAB) Non-Government Members, Organic Farming in National Convergence Initiative Sites, Organic Farming in Luzon, Organic Farming in Visayas, Organic Farming in Mindanao, and Updates on the Formulation of the Organic Agriculture Roadmap.

For the breakout session, the topics are: Management of Pests in Organic Agriculture with Emphasis on the Biological Control Agents and Bio Pesticides, Biotreatment for Sewage Disposal, Updates in Vermi Composting, Biocontrol of Non Chemical Bananas Export to Japan, Study on Yield Reduction During Conversion Period, Success of Lao Integrated Farm in Organic Farming, Facts and Myths in Organic Agriculture.

Also to be tackled are:  Alternative Medicine, Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project, Department of Agriculture-Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (DA-AMAS) on Market Opportunities for Organic Products, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on International Trade of Organic Products, and Quality Assurance System in Organic Production and Processing.

Tarlac Gov.  Victor Yap said Tarlac’s hosting of the NOAC will boost organic farming in the province.

“This will definitely improve our organic way of farming in the province. The technology we can gather from the best farmers in the country is to our advantage,” he said.