With the approval of RA 11511 otherwise known as an Act Amending the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 (RA 10068), the Agricultural Training Institute in MIMAROPA through the Organic Agriculture Program has conducted Training of Trainers on Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) on Organic Implementers and Identified PGS Organizations on May 26-June 08, 2022 at Dos Four Dos Farm, Aborlan, Palawan.

PGS is an alternative and complementary tool to third-party certification which plays a vital role in rural development and farmer empowerment through active engagement to the farmers in the whole process of verification, decision making, and marketing. With its recognition by law, organic farmers will be able to get training and certification for their produce, without incurring heavy costs.

“Ang pagsasanay na ito ay magbibigay ng malaking incentive sa ating mga organic farmers. Sa pamamagitan ng PGS, hindi na gaanong kamahal ang certification at accreditation services para makasiguradong organiko ang produkto”, Dr. Romeo M. Cabungcal, Provincial Agriculturist of Palawan said during his inspirational message. He also pledged the full support of Provincial Local Government Unit (PLGU) on organic agriculture program by allocating additional fund to support organic farmers in the province.

Two organic organizations from the Municipalities of Aborlan and Quezon, Palawan, namely, Aborlan (Ating Bayan Organic Land) Organics PGS Group and POFA Municipal PGS Group, respectively participated in the said TOT.
During the 10-day TOT, they were taught of the following standard provisions: Organic Agriculture Act as amended by RA 11511, Philippine National Standard on Organic Agriculture and other relevant standards, Establishment and Operation of Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), Accreditation of Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) Groups as Organic Certifying Bodies and Peer Review and Certification Protocols.

Moreover, in preparation for their application for accreditation, the group crafted their Internal Standards on organic rice, organic aquaculture, organic animal, organic vegetable, and organic pineapple. More so, the group drafted their Manual of Operations (MOO) as part of the training workshops.

One of the highlights of this training was the simulation of the actual peer review to Mr. Aquino Veran, Owner of BNC Farm, one of the participants on June 08, 2022. The participants demonstrated the conduct of peer review in accordance to recommended peer review protocols. Additionally, they assessed the compliances of their peer and generated peer review report based on the internal standards, policies, and procedures of the PGS group.

“Masaya ako dahil nagkaroon ng katuparan ang pangarap ko na sana ay maging abot-kaya ng magsasaka ang pagkakaroon ng organic na label ng kanilang produkto. Bilang isang organic practitioner, isa itong hakbang para mas maimprove pa natin ang ating produkto lalo na sa pagmamarket nito. Matagal na akong nag-oorganic at naniniwala ako na itong PGS ang magiging kasangkapan para ma-empower ang mga kagaya naming small farmers. Ito din ang isa sa paraan upang mapagkaisa natin ang mga grupo ng magsasaka tungo sa isang layunin, ang mas palakasin ang organic program dito sa ating probinsya”, Mr. Eduardo Jopson, one of the participants said in his impression.

After the TOT, the two (2) OA farmer organizations are expected to comply necessary documents and requirements for PGS application and undergo certification and evaluation as PGS Core Groups by the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standard (BAFS).

The training was made possible through close partnership of ATI with DA-RFO MIMAROPA, PGS Pilipinas, and Provincial/Municipal Local Government Units (P/MLGU) of Palawan.

A total of 26 participants graduated from the said training.