J-18 is a superior variety, which does well under organic farming conditions.

J-18 IS a long duration rice variety with excellent grain and straw quality, and it is ideally suited for organic farming. The quality of the grains improved when it was raised using organic methods of cultivation, and this fine quality rice fetches a premium price in the market, especially when it is grown organically according to Mr. S. S. Nagarajan, Senior Vice President (Agricultural Research), Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited (TAFE).

Developed at the `J-Farm' from the Wag-wag rice of the Philippines, J-18 has been found to be performing well in farmers' holdings in the last decade.

This tall variety responds well to organic nutrition, and endowed with thick and robust stem, it does not lodge unlike other ruling varieties. "This is an important trait, as it lends itself to mechanical harvesting especially in places of acute labour scarcity," explained Mr. Nagarajan.

One of the leading rice farmers of Pudupakkam village in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu, Mr. T. Radhakrishnan, has reaped very rich dividends from this promising rice variety. He has been raising the variety J-18 for the last six years, and he has found that its performance was far superior to the other popular varieties grown in that particular region.

He raised this variety with organic nutrients only in kharif (samba season). He raised a green manure crop of daincha ahead of the crop, and ploughed it in-situ.

After thoroughly preparing the main field and planting the well-nurtured seedlings, he applied about 62.5 kg powdered neem cake as top dressing on the 30th day after transplanting.

There were no major pests and diseases and his crop grew well. He harvested this crop 30 days after harvesting the other ruling variety.

The crop yielded an average of 3.75 tonnes a hectare, and the cost of cultivation per hectare worked out to Rs. 11,250. The conventional rice cultivation with other popular varieties using mineral fertilizers and plant protection chemicals worked out to Rs.14,000 per hectare, and the yields from those varieties were gradually declining.

The soil health was deteriorating and the environmental degradation caused by the chemicals was reflected by the absence of beneficial insects and birds.

Cattle relished the straw of this organically grown J-18, and the farmer realized straw worth Rs. 2000 from a hectare of this crop.

Organically grown J-18 rice fetched a premium price in the market.

A 75-kg bag was sold at Rs.1100 in the local market, while the other fine-grained varieties were selling at Rs. 900. J-18 had more grains per panicle, and there was no chaffness.

There was no grain discolouration, and the rice recovery was as high as 58 per cent with virtually no breaking of grain tips, according to the farmer.

J-18 is a low-cost and low-risk variety. The farmers could raise a healthy and vibrant crop with less cost, and earn quite a good profit with a premium price in the market, according to Mr. Nagarajan.

Organic farming is an old farming practice in the Cordillera. Indigenous farming practices in the region include organic farming practices that do not use synthetic pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers. More importantly, farmers operated their land following time-tested principles of soil replenishment, biodiversity and ecological balance.

It was unfortunate that many of the region’s indigenous farming practices have been lost through the years. But thanks to the Central Cordillera Agricultural Program (Cecap), the remaining indigenous rice farming practices are now preserved in a book titled Highland Rice Production Practices in the Philippines Cordillera. Such practices could yet become the basis for developing competitive and organic food production and marketing in this part of the country, said Brenda Saguing, Cecap director.

Her outlook for the rice terraces and the Cordillera as source of organic food products is bolstered by the emergence of a growing number of health conscious consumers in the food market. This view has not been lost though to many Cordillerans. In Benguet, some 100 local farmers have long been engaged in the production of organically-grown vegetables. In Ifugao, the local farmers should take pride in the vision of their provincial government to make the province a major source of organic rice, coffee and other food products.

Cecap’s pioneering efforts in documenting the region’s indigenous farming practices should prove helpful in the promotion and reawakening of organic farming in the Cordillera. If improved and enhanced, these farming practices can yet reinvigorate the rice terraces in the region as the young will appreciate its importance as source of income, livelihood, food and fiber, Saguing said.

Some of these indigenous farming practices include the inago, rice ratooning, rice-based cropping system, rice-vegetable farming system and rice-fish culture system, among others.

In the inago traditional cropping system, Saguing said that mulch mounds are established in the flooded rice paddies where vegetables, green onions and other condiments are grown. She explained that elongating the inago mounds will enlarge the area for producing vegetables and condiments in the rice terraces and thus enhance this practice.

She added the practice of inago should give two benefits: It will augment farmers’ income through the production of organic vegetables and condiments along with the rice and that it will correct zinc deficiency associated with the continuous flooding of the rice terraces.

The practice of rice ratooning, meanwhile, aims to increase rice production and cropping intensity. Ratooning is the ability of the crop to re-grow and produce a second crop. Its purpose is to harvest a second crop without seeding, lengthy land preparation and replanting activities. Aside from shorter crop maturity, this practice uses lesser fertilizer, water and labor compared to the usual replanting and transplanting operations.

Rice-camote cropping system is undertaken in the terraces where camote is produced as alternate crop to rice. Like the inago, the rice-camote system also helps in easing the zinc deficiency problem in the terraces. The dry land cultivation of camote aerates the soil and makes zinc available to rice plants.

Growing rice with fish is another old practice in the rice terraces. Before the outbreak of the war, almost all rice fields in the Cordillera had mudfish, shells and edible water insects. The brooks also teemed with eels, crabs and edible frogs. Later, tilapia culture was introduced in the terraces. The successful culture of fish in the rice fields will depend on the decision of the farmers to continue and improve on the proven indigenous practices that is so fitted to farming in the rice terraces.

Integrating fish with rice in the terraces will provide the following opportunities: increase cash and non-cash income, provide fish for home use, ensure readily available fingerlings and control weeds, insects and snails in the field.

The growing of livestock also plays a great role in rice terraces farming. Carabaos remain as the beast of burden and cattle is used for food. Both provide fertilizers through their droppings. Pigs and fowls are utilized mainly for food and for social ceremonies. Their waste are also used as fertilizers.

It is half of all that we eat. It is a grace we dare not waste. The white crystalline grains fuel our actions and provide substance to every viand. Rice defines our culture, our economy and even our own Asian proportions. We take it for granted that the fluffy steaming rice on our dinner tables are threshed, dried, pounded and boiled from lowly swamp weed. It is a testament to our farmers' genius that they recreate the annual flooding and draining of a marsh on every rice paddy, even ones cradled by giant ancestral stone terraces in the highlands. And yet despite its importance in the lives of Filipinos, rice growing has today become an oppressive and environmentally damaging practice. The Organic Rice Festival reintroduces Filipinos to an environmentally sound and economically empowering way of growing rice more familiar to our ancestors. To patronize organic rice is to sustain our rice culture.

The Organic Rice Festival at Ayala Activity Center, Glorietta aims to focus consumer attention on organic rice as a superior product that tastes better, is more nutritious and benefits farmers directly.

Chemical addiction

To understand the need for organic rice we must contrast it with conventional methods of growing rice. The green revolution ushered in by the seventies has been a bane to both the farmer and his field. "Miracle" rice varieties were heavily reliant on often-toxic chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Though touted for their high yields, production from these nutrient greedy rice strains would go down after several harvests after they had exhausted the once fertile lands. The reliance on costly chemicals supplied by multinational corporations had many farmers spiraling downward into debt. These chemicals also killed beneficial and profitable organisms within the paddies such as fish, frogs and crabs. These chemicals make their way to our drinking water through run-off from the fields and into our foods through residue.

Adding to the farmers' misery were the rice trading cartels that hoarded this basic commodity. These powerful middlemen manipulated prices and prevented profits from trickling down to the farmers. The introduction of fast-growing varieties has also upset indigenous belief systems based on the annual growth cycle of traditional strains of rice.

What organic farming is

Organic farming uses resilient rice varieties that are not dependent on chemicals. Organic fertilizers from plant and animal refuse are utilized, making the farm more self-sufficient. Natural predators such as frogs and spiders are used against pests. But organic farming is more than just the use of certain plants, fertilizers and methods of pest control. Allied with these methods are farming cooperatives that provide capitalization, infrastructure, technical assistance and marketing. By being part of the very community organization that mills his rice and packages his products, cooperative farmers directly profit from his toils. Unscrupulous lenders and hoarding rice cartels play no part in this new scheme for organic farmers.

Organic rice cooperatives have already proven themselves to earn more for their farmers than conventional farming. Farmers that participate in organic farming programs have broken free from the cycles of debt that still plague those who engage in conventional farming.

In Nueva Ecija, the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) has helped the Cooperatibang Likas ng Nueva Ecija (COOL-NE) successfully grow, process and market their brand of organic rice called "Kalikasan." After 7 years of partnerships and countless trials and errors, there are now over a hundred farmers with an aggregate of nearly 200 hectares that benefit from the program. Institutional markets such as restaurants have been found for their brand of premium rice. Such establishments appreciate the unique rice varieties organic farmers make available and know it adds value to their restaurant.

Getting more for your rice

Those who benefit most from organic rice are the consumers. The superiority of organic varieties in flavor, aroma and consistency is distinct. The safety of eating pesticide free produce as well as the health benefits of whole grain variants high in fiber are well documented by studies abroad.

Letting consumers know of these benefits is the primary goal of the Organic Rice Festival. The festival brings together the different proponent organizations tending this budding industry. Increasing the demand for organic rice will lower its cost making it even more competitive in the market.

Organic rice is currently more expensive than conventional rice. It has all to do with the economy of scale and the cost of marketing a product for which there is little consumer awareness. As demand for organic rice increases the cost of production should go down and there will be less need for marketing. Consumers who lead the way and patronize organic rice will reap the benefits from healthier and tastier meals right away.

Organic rice is already available in many of the more established supermarkets and grocery chain outlets. In Metro Manila Ever, Isetann, Glori's, Unimart, Cash & Carry, Rustan's, Masagana and many others stock such products.

The real deal

Just this year, the Department of Agriculture issued an administrative order mandating the accreditation of private companies that would certify safety and authenticity of organically grown farm products. This certification assures consumers that they are getting the quality and safety they are paying for. Currently, all organizations engaged in organic rice farming are working towards being certified under this newly signed administrative order.

Farmers and nongovernment organizations point out that the department can do more for this emerging industry by providing insurance, credit programs and infrastructure such as mills and storage facilities.

"ORGANIC ang pag-ibig ko sa iyo, Hindi genetically modified ako..." Thus sang Joey Ayala at the opening of the one-week Organic Rice Festival at the Glorietta in Makati last Monday.

What is organic? All living things are organic. I had one semester of Organic Chemistry which I barely passed, but looking back now, it certainly was more understandable than the other chemistry courses I had taken. I can still remember all those hydrogen chains on the blackboard and then floating in my mind at night. But until now I have not ceased asking the impertinent question: How did anyone know they looked like that?

When I hear someone saying organic rice, I am tempted to say, "Of course, it is organic." Imagine eating something in-organic, like pebbles or motor oil.

Organic refers to living organisms or anything derived from them. Water is a major component of all living matter. When true believers say organic this or organic that, they're not saying there is such a thing as non- or inorganic rice or veggies. It's just a way of saying that the food they are referring to, as well as the fertilizers, pesticides and animal feeds used to make them grow, have not been tainted with synthetic and toxic chemicals. Meaning, all-natural, from nature, organic. Not genetically altered too. The meaning of the word organic has now expanded.

Straightaway I must say that the problem with so-called organic rice is not in semantics but in its price. It is more expensive than the "not organic" (meaning not grown in the all-natural way) because it takes more effort and resources to grow it. Also, poisoned land has first to be brought back to its natural condition. It was not like this before the advent of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

The good news is that many people's organizations, NGOs and environmentally correct institutions all over the world are helping bring back the ancient way of growing things and in a more scientific way.

Organic rice farming as part of sustainable agriculture has been wrongly called "alternative" (because marginalized?) while the high-yielding, chemical-dependent technology propagated by the (un)Green Revolution is called "conventional." It's time to turn this around.

The Organic Rice Festival at Glorietta is one way to push this, to make people support the efforts by buying organic. When organic becomes thoroughly mainstreamed and sustainable, the economics part will fall into place. We will pay less, eat well and live healthily.

Since 1997, the Philippine Development Assistance Programme (PDAP) has been into Promoting Participation in Sustainable Enterprises (PPSE). PDAP says it is now "refocusing its thrust to fulfill the upscaling of four anchor enterprises," etc. A journalist would simplify this corporate jargon by saying that PDAP is now shifting its focus on four main areas: production of organic rice and organic fertilizer, food processing and handicrafts. Of the four, organic rice production has the highest potential of becoming full-scale.

PDAP is composed of Filipino and Canadian NGOs involved in poverty alleviation. These NGOs have been working closely with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for more than 16 years.

PDAP points out that the government's rice productivity programs that use high-yielding varieties and high chemical inputs have not resulted in rice sufficiency. Studies have shown that the Green Revolution technology has wreaked havoc on farmlands.

For organic rice yield and income to increase, small farming households must be supported and protected from external pressures. Locally available technologies must be promoted and indigenous farming practices must be preserved.

PDAP's PPSE programs have resulted in successful organic ventures in Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Bukidnon, meaning that a turnaround has been made. Those using organic fertilizer and who refrained from using pesticides have earned higher net income than those practicing conventional (pesticide-dependent) agriculture. And when compared with national averages (for both rain-fed and irrigated farms) farmers practicing sustainable agriculture fared better.

But there are still many blocks to hurdle. The organic rice industry needs more access to mainstream markets. It needs more linkages and networks with the private sector and the government. Organic seed varieties need to be recognized by the government so that farmers can get support services. Organic rice certification by the government is still being processed.

Then there is the issue of packaging as well as the sustainability of supply and quality. NGOs and local communities are just learning marketing skills. But the biggest threat comes from trade liberalization and rice imports.

PDAP's initial survey showed that about 18,000 hectares in 15 provinces are now producing more than 82,000 metric tons of organic rice per year. More than 35,000 farmers are now practicing organic farming.

PDAP believes there is a big market out there for organic rice. Two organizations-the Upland Marketing Foundation Inc. and Bukidnon Organic Products Corp.-have already begun marketing organic rice in about 50 major outlets in Metro Manila, Pampanga, Laguna, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo and several other places. Landmark in Makati gets about 50 sacks of organic rice every month.

PDAP executive director Roel Ravanera thinks that given more exposure, organic rice will capture a big slice of the market. It is more nutritious, chemical free, environment friendly and helps small farmers earn more, he says.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

Now that the lure of organic premiums is convincing some of them to give it a try, we should be glad, right? On the other hand, organic markets are somewhat fragile and can easily be overwhelmed, leaving us in the same low-price trap that conventional commodity production has been in for years.

There is, however, a deeper issue here than which chemicals are used or not used on an organic farm. If we can address this deeper issue, we can protect both the integrity of organic farming and our organic markets.

Organic farming in the mid-1970s, had almost no organic markets. Organic farming was something one did out of a passion for it — in spite of the public ridicule that came with the territory. Organic farmers then put as much emphasis on farming as an ecological system as they did on what materials were acceptable for organic production. They did a lot of experimentation with rotations, tillage methods, cover crops, and other practices that would conserve soil and build fertility, increase productivity, and keep crops and animals free of pests and disease, while protecting the environment.

INPUT SUBSTITUTION

Now that organic farming is coming into vogue, a whole new breed of farmers is taking up organic production. They often approach it as just another specialty crop. The result is an increasing emphasis on “farming by input substitution.” That means substituting conventional farming inputs with inputs that are approved for organic production, rather than using an array of cultural and biological practices to build soils, control pests and grow nutritious, productive crops — as had been the tradition in organic farming.

Another approach common among farmers who see organic production as a specialty crop is “farming by neglect” — that is, using neither any inputs nor any additional cultural or biological farming practices. The result, not surprisingly, is decreasing yields and increasing weed and pest pressures. These farmers usually give up “organic” production within a few years, convinced that it doesn’t work.

Is organic farming by input substitution or by neglect really organic farming? Technically, yes, by today’s working definitions — but not really, by the standards of traditional organic farmers.

As an aside, it is not surprising that studies comparing the nutritional value of organic and conventionally grown food are inconclusive. Clearly, that is because a lot of so-called organic food is essentially conventionally grown — the only difference being input substitution or neglect methods. It is not likely to be nutritionally different from conventional food because it is grown under conditions that mimic conventional production. I suspect, however, that if we were to test food grown on an organic farm that utilized generous amounts of green manure and compost in comparison with food from an NPK conventional farm, the organic food would be found to be superior in both taste and nutritional value.

CROSSROADS

A crossroads at which we now find ourselves is whether we will allow organic farming to become wholly defined by the materials that are allowed or not allowed in production. Can we instead take organic farming to a higher level, also defining it as an ecological production system that utilizes a range of biological and cultural methods to build soils, defend against pests, and achieve our production goals? The benefits of such a system should include more nutritious food, increased biodiversity, better protection of the environment and enhancement of the natural resource base, and greater prosperity for organic farmers and for rural communities.

Some claim that the National Organic Program has set us on a course of input substitution and industrialization of organic farming. That does not have to be the case. The NOP Final Rule defines organic production as a production system that integrates “cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity.” Clearly, then, the NOP holds the possibility that organic farming can and should be more than merely following a set of rules regulating the inputs to be used and those that are outlawed. Obviously, such rules are important, but they are only the starting point for defining organic agriculture.

CONSUMER PERCEPTION

At this point, most organic consumers have likely not thought much about the possibility of industrialized organic food production. If anything, they probably assume that organic food is not only produced without the use of synthetic materials, but that it also is produced by family farmers in an environmentally sound manner. Indeed, consumer polls show that one of the main reasons consumers buy organic food is the perceived benefits of organic production for the environment. Can we build off that perception to make it a reality?

If not, if we allow organic production to go down the road of industrial agriculture, we will end up bankrupting our profits, environment, and rural communities as surely as conventional agriculture is accomplishing that today. The consolidated agribusiness corporations are waiting in the wings to find ways to take control of the rapidly growing organic trade, to squeeze out its profitability and send organic farmers down the road to serfdom, right behind our conventional farmer friends.

THE REAL COST OF FOOD

Let’s compare the real cost of conventional food to the cost of food grown locally by organic methods that are ecologically sound and protect the environment. The organic food costs more at the point of purchase, if the full cost of producing the food is charged. The conventionally produced food may appear to be cheaper, but really is not if you consider all the ways we pay for that food. When you pay for conventional food in the grocery store, you are only making your first installment. You also pay for it in taxes that go to the massive subsidies for conventional agriculture. You pay for it in subsidies for transporting it (the average piece of food travels 1,500 to 2,500 miles).

You pay for it in taxes for the military to secure oil from foreign lands to make fertilizer, pesticides and fuel. Then you pay for it in government programs to remove the pesticides and nitrate that were used to grow it from the drinking water they have contaminated. You pay for it through soil erosion and resultant sediment pollution. You pay for it when massive manure spills pollute rivers and kill fish. You pay for it with the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico and in damage to estuaries and lakes. How cheap is this conventional food, really?

We should not be reluctant to charge a reasonable price for organic food — if it is more than just warmed-over conventional food produced by input substitution or neglect. We are not going to be able to make a living trying to produce organic food at a price that competes with conventional food, which is made cheap by externalizing costs of production and keeping farmers on the public dole.

If there is to be a future for organic family farmers, we must convince consumers that there is value and benefit to buying organic food that is produced by family farmers in an environmentally friendly manner — and produced locally, if possible. We must point out to consumers how industrialized food production — both conventional and organic — externalizes production costs, which they have to pay for later.

If we do not proactively promote organic farming as a production system that is friendly to family farmers, to our natural resource base and to farm animals, organic consumers will not be able to distinguish ecologically produced organic products from those produced by industrial methods. Worse yet, consumers will wake up one day and realize that the cows producing the milk that is in the organic milk carton — with the picture of cows grazing in a pasture — are really in a concrete confinement facility, that the organic chickens they have been buying are raised in crowded conditions without access to the outdoors, and that their organic tofu is made with soybeans that are grown under conditions that cause excessive soil erosion. Then they will question the integrity of all organic products.

ECOLOGICAL ORGANIC AGRICULTURE

Small and moderate-sized organic farms have an advantage over industrial- scale organic producers. It is easier for us to diversify and integrate crop and livestock systems in ways that actually enhance the natural resource base, rather than degrade it. It is easier to design a sound grazing system for 50 to100 cows than for 4,000. It is easier to provide outdoor access for 500 to 1,000 chickens than for 40,000. It is easier to rotate soybeans with soil-building crops on a diversified farm than on an industrial-scale farm that grows only cash row crops.

We have the opportunity now to take the definition of organic farming beyond the discussion of which inputs are acceptable and which are not. To protect the future of organic family farmers, of our natural resource base and of our communities, we should create the perception — and the reality — that organic farming is truly an ecologically based system of farming that provides all the economic, environmental, and social benefits that consumers would like to believe it does.

Oryza Summary of Acres U.S.A.

However, the food industry cites consumer research to support its concern that the proposed “USDA Certified Organic” seal that would go on the labels of organic products may lead consumers to believe that the organic products are preferable to food made with conventionally grown ingredients. The National Food Processors Association wants the department to add a disclaimer saying, “This symbol does not signify that the food is superior with respect to safety, quality, or nutrition, compared to a food that does not bear the symbol.” Although Glickman did not indicate how he would address the industry’s concern, he said that the final regulations would not disparage any other kinds of foods.

The Department of Agriculture first proposed a set of national organic standards in 1997, but withdrew them after farmers and others in the $6 billion-a-year organic industry strongly objected to allowing biotech crops, irradiation and sewer sludge.

The director of the Organic Trade Association said that it is only the beginning of the National Organic Program, and that there is much work to be done on the farm, in processing facilities and at USDA to ensure a viable organic sector in U.S. agriculture.