BOHOL – The Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS) in collaboration with the Agricultural Training Institute-Central Visayas (ATI-CV), Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA), and the Department of Agriculture - Regional Field Office VII (DA-RFO VII) conducted its Surveillance Audit to the Core Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) group on November 07-09, 2023.
BAFS awarded the Participatory Organic Certificate (POC) to five members of the Bohol Participatory Guarantee System Association (BPGSA). This recognition was given during the closing program of the 2023 Bohol Agri Fair held at the Old Airport, Tagbilaran City, Bohol on July 19, 2023.
The five recipients of the POC are Jomer M. Balag, Rona C. Deque, Efrenia C. Holt, Marilou M. Escalona, and Emmanuel A. Gamonez. Each member has received the POC for a specific scope. Jomer M. Balag focuses on crop production and beekeeping, Rona C. Deque specializes in special products, particularly mushroom cultivation, Efrenia C. Holt focuses on crop production and processing, Marilou M. Escalona is in both animal and crop production, and Emmanuel A. Gamonez is on agricultural input, crop production, and processing. With the POC, these five farmers are now given the privilege to label and sell their products as organic.
Moreover, four of these five certified organic farms are learning sites of the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) in the region: the Green Garden of Hope which is owned by Mr Gamonez, the Egay’s Farm which is owned by Ms. Escalona, the Green Thumb Farm which is owned by Rona C. Deque, and the Jolit’s Eco Garden Integrated Farm which is owned by Mr. Balag. This is a significant milestone to the learning sites for agriculture of ATI.
The PGS core group audit is in compliance with BAFS guidelines in maintaining the integrity and quality of the members organic practices with regards to the Philippine National Standard (PNS) on Organic Agriculture.
The five members of the PGS group underwent farm inspections headed by Mr. Vincent Limsan from BAFS-Central Office. The Accreditation Certificate issued by BAFS has a validity of five (5) years and is subject to annual surveillance.
The PGS certification offers a more accessible and cost-effective avenue for these farmers to penetrate the organic market while fostering trust and building relationships with consumers and the local community. PGS is considered an alternative approach to the traditional third-party certification systems provided by international organic organizations.
