By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Bernadette Romolu-Puyat, who represented Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol during yesterday’s opening of the 12th Negros Island Organic Farmers’ Festival at the Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol grounds, revealed the Philippines is the world’s fifth-largest producer of organic goods.

“It’s still growing,” she noted. “Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr. told me the organic market in the whole Negros island grows by 18 percent every year.”

According to 2006 data from the Asia division of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), the Philippines had a total 14,140 hectares of organic farms. Romolu-Puyat said, today, there are a total 234,642.15 hectares of organic farmland in the country.

“Our goal is to increase the number of organic farmers,” she said, noting Negros Occidental has been the leader in organic farming since 2005./DGB, WDJ