Connect with us

News

DA eyes incentives for organic farmers

Published

on

FILE: “Our farmers need more information, more technology, more support because it’s not easy to shift from traditional to organic method of farming,” Piñol said. (PNA photo)

FILE: “Our farmers need more information, more technology, more support because it’s not easy to shift from traditional to organic method of farming,” Piñol said. (PNA photo)

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The Department of Agriculture (DA) is mulling on giving farmers who switch to organic farming extra perks to encourage them to contribute to the country’s growing number of advocates of non-traditional method of agriculture.

“We are looking at giving tax incentives to organic farmers,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said in an interview at the sidelines of the agri-related events, the 3rd Climate Change and Agriculture Summit (CCAS) and the 14th National Organic Agriculture Congress (NOAC) held in this city on Tuesday (Oct. 24).

Among the incentives being eyed for farmers adapting organic agricultural practices, Piñol said, is the provision of equipent and tools necessary to increase yield.

“Our farmers need more information, more technology, more support because it’s not easy to shift from traditional to organic method of farming,” Piñol said.

He said organic agriculture is slowly gaining ground in the country as consumers are now more aware of the food they eat and preference for safe and healthy produce is now becoming the norm.

As of December 2016, DA said the land area devoted to organic agriculture is now at 349,041 hectares of the total 9.671 million hectares of the country’s agricultural land.

The agency also reported that about 525,863 metric tons of organically grown products were produced by 116,558 famers and were distributed to 106 local and foreign destinations as of December 2016.

Piñol said farmers will have more flexibility to use government funds according to their own needs.

“We will give them the money, and they can buy the kind of equipment they need,” he said, adding this approach is more practical. (PNA/Jigger J. Jerusalem)

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest

Health5 hours ago

Lessons from COVID-19: Preparing for future pandemics means looking beyond the health data

The World Health Organization declared an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 5, 2023. In the year...

News5 hours ago

What a second Trump presidency might mean for the rest of the world

Just over six months ahead of the US election, the world is starting to consider what a return to a...

supermarket line supermarket line
Business and Economy5 hours ago

Some experts say the US economy is on the up, but here’s why voters don’t think so

Many Americans are gloomy about the economy, despite some data saying it is improving. The Economist even took this discussion...

News5 hours ago

Boris Johnson: if even the prime minister who introduced voter ID can forget his, do we need a rethink?

Former prime minister Boris Johnson was reportedly turned away on election day after arriving at his polling station to vote...

News5 hours ago

These local council results suggest Tory decimation at the general election ahead

The local elections which took place on May 2 have provided an unusually rich set of results to pore over....

Canada News5 hours ago

Whitehorse shelter operator needs review, Yukon MLAs decide in unanimous vote

Motion in legislature follows last month’s coroner’s inquest into 4 deaths at emergency shelter Yukon MLAs are questioning whether the Connective...

Business and Economy5 hours ago

Is the Loblaw boycott privileged? Here’s why some people aren’t shopping around

The boycott is fuelled by people fed up with high prices. But some say avoiding Loblaw stores is pricey, too...

Prime Video Prime Video
Business and Economy5 hours ago

Amazon Prime’s NHL deal breaches cable TV’s last line of defence: live sports

Sports have been a lifeline for cable giants dealing with cord cutters, but experts say that’s about to change For...

ALDI ALDI
Business and Economy5 hours ago

Canada’s shopping for a foreign grocer. Can an international retailer succeed here?

An international supermarket could spur competition, analysts say, if one is willing to come here at all With some Canadians...

taekwondo taekwondo
Lifestyle6 hours ago

As humans, we all want self-respect – and keeping that in mind might be the missing ingredient when you try to change someone’s mind

Why is persuasion so hard, even when you have facts on your side? As a philosopher, I’m especially interested in...

WordPress Ads