The option for organic agriculture could be hard and tedious but, when done right, will produce the same harvest as that of the farms with chemical fertilizers, but puts premium on the environment.

Marissa Tuazon, of the Pambansang Kilusan nga mga Magsasaka (PAKISAMA) pointed out that in farms, the experience of lessening the use of chemical inputs in the farms to save a little on will always have ill effects on the harvest, so they would have to bombard inputs to produce.

This ultimately produces that vicious cycle that would be endlessly binding the farmers to inputs and fertilizers to be able to produce, of a failure in cropping happens, she explained.

We are into local developments in the towns, using the old ways, considering that we have proven it; an organic farmer is now able to harvest 150 cavans per hectare, which, according to Tuazon is equal to the harvest of a farm using chemical fertilizer.

Themselves striving to effect asset reforms in the farms, PAKISAMA starts from issues in social justice to social enterprises, are now into building agri-based social enterprises in Carmen Bohol.

The plan is to help farmers wane themselves from the shackles of inorganic farm inputs so that the investments can be saved for the family.

PAKISAMA as well as other organic agriculture advocates in Bohol, relentlessly push for the return to the adoption of the more environment friendly fertilizers and pesticides or herbicides to make a statement on helping the campaign for climate change mitigation.

It is always survival of the fittest, so when farmers use synthetic herbicides to weed the farm and pesticides to rid the farms of pests, much of the chemicals are retained in the food, which is eaten, or are being washed out during rains, contaminating other farms and the water systems.

Zen Darunday, member of the Bohol Nature Conservation Society (BONACONSO) and a key officer of the Bohol Initiators of Sustainable Agricultural Development (BISAD) shared research that showed that of the 60% of the greenhouse gasses come from agriculture.

These gasses include methane from rotten leaves and animal wastes, nitrous oxides from chemical fertilizers and other soil demineralizers.

She said nitrogen-based fertilizers are 300 times more potent in racking heat, contributing to the climate change.

With chemical fertilizers clearly contributing to climate change despite the fact that it also leads to serious pollution issues which compound environmental destruction, groups like BISAD, PAKISAMA, Hugpong sa mga Mag-uumang Bol-anon (HUMABOL) and BONACONSO push therefore, for a serious organic farming adoption in Bohol.

We need to make true to our adopted green-development agenda, this time, it should not just be a mouthed promise but translated to reality, they urged.

In the advent of ASEAN integration, Tuazon picks on the edge for organic products which would be highly competitive when products from other countries start to flood the local markets.

Organic agriculture is our economic edge, and this helps the environment, so this must be seriously implemented by Bohol, who professes to be a province whose development is guided by the considerations of a sustainable environment, the groups said. (rac/PIA-7/Bohol)