Monitoring of mislabelled products eyed

BOARD Member Robert Namoro is looking into proper monitoring of goods in a bid to solve the mislabelling of organic products in Benguet.

While tackling the proposed ordinance institutionalizing the programs, projects and activities for the promotion and development of organic agriculture during Tuesday’s Provincial Board Session, Namoro expressed the problem of mislabelling of products.

“They will obtain a little amount of organic produce then they will label it all organically produced. And when it reached markets in Manila it will demand a high price because it is labelled as organic produce,” said the board member.

Namoro added organic farmers have been experiencing the problem and has sought the help of the province to intervene.

The lawmaker added one suggestion is to monitor the supplies going to Manila which could be included in the implanting rules and regulations of the proposed ordinance.

“We could suggest the governor to assign a person responsible for the monitoring of this produce and the importation of vegetable,” he added.

Namoro, who chairs the committee on agriculture, said the ordinance which has under- gone public consultation aims to expand the practice of organic farming in the province, educate stakeholders on the principles of sustainable organic farming and promote the development of organic practice.

Only a few are practicing organic farming in the province compared to the farmers involved in conventional farming.

The proposed ordinance gears to

strengthen organic farming, including all agriculture commodities from livestock and its by- products, crop production, food processing, aquaculture, produc- tion of organic farm inputs, and forest products.

In the list of learning sites of the organic agriculture in the Cordillera region, 12 are in Benguet, seven in Ifugao, and one each in Apayao, Abra and Mt. Province.

The municipality of La Trinidad in Benguet has the highest with 10 organic agriculture farmer groups and hosts the regional organic group named La Trinidad Organic Practitioners MultiPurpose Cooperative ( LaTop).