Going Green in Philippines

Manilla
Correspondent

Edited by: James M. Kelly
Despite the harsh economic climate the organic industry is still managing to maintain a steady growth rate. A group of green minded growers gathered together at the EchoStore in Serendra Piaza, Taguig City to try and convert industry leaders to the green side with some fresh ideas.
Mara Pardo de Tavera, who started the organic buzz in the metro 15 years ago with her company, the Organic Galaxy explained how the business is still booming and how many people are now going for quality to get the full value of their money.
And there’s room for 30 to 40 per cent growth so far, she added.
Rosalina Tan, an organic fertilizer producer also for the last 15 years, shares the same sentiment, although she prefers to focus by region.
“Mommy Lina,” as Tan is fondly called, is the founder of the Organic Producers and Trade Association with nationwide organic farmer members.
She adheres to the organic marketing principle to “buy organic produce closest to the community and meet the local demand.”
Tan explained how she wanted to concentrate on the regions rather than the whole of Manila.
Escaping from the middlemen
Pardo de Tavera tells how they can help the farmers if they wish to avoid the middlemen. The organic industry can easily set up a system where the farmers can supply to a local market on a regular basis themselves.
If organic produce is made accessible in every region, it would mean that the carbon footprint would lessen because it would be less fuel in transporting the harvest to different regions.
The Philippines is already known to be a huge exporter its processed organic products to India, China, Vietnam, and even the United States, Japan and Europe.
However, it has been reported that the main carrier of the Philippine harvest was down this year due to the economic crisis.