Organic Farming Is Green

Filipino scientist taught farmers and wanna-be's about microbial farming in his Intensive Microbial Farming Training/Seminar, held last January 29-30, 2011 at Herbana Farms, Burol, Calamba, Laguna, PH.

Gil Carandang, the resource speaker of the event, ushered the participants into his farm to teach them about the methods of intensive gardening and the concept and techniques of culturing beneficial indigenous microbes, also called as BIM. Fifteen participants marveled as Carandang revealed to them the underlying principles of the effectiveness of using BIMs in their farms and gardens.

On the first day of the seminar, Carandang taught them about intensive gardening. This is a method of designing the garden in such a way that the use of the land area is maximized, and the most produce possible from a given space is yielded with less labor. Various techniques for this type of gardening include raised beds, vertical gardening, interplanting, and "key-hole" gardening.

The second day of the seminar was spent for learning how to culture and cultivate beneficial indigenous microorganisms or what we call BIMs. The participants experienced firsthand the cultivation of BIMs using several modes such as attracting microorganisms or planting specific microorganisms.

"Malaki ang maitutulong sa amin ng paraan ng pagtatanim na ito dahil mura at madali lang," Mang Tonio, a 54-year-old participant of the training/seminar said. He farms a tract of land just beside the Herbana Farms and he has been enthusiastic in learning a new, easy, and affordable way of farming. "Yung mga pertilaysers kasi na nabibili ay mahal, at minsan napapasama rin ang halaman kung masyadong maraming mailagay", he furthered.

The event, which was open for everyone who is willing to learn and pay the Php 4000 fee, lasted for two days.

As a Fulbright scholar and considered by colleagues and students in the agricultural community as the "Father of Philippine Organic Farming", Carandang travels around the world to spread the word of organic farming as a tool for achieving sustainable agriculture. He has seen organic products used in farms in other parts of the world, but the farmers buy these products, therefore they do not have control over them. "I conduct these seminar-workshops to empower farmers to produce their own important organic inputs for their farms".

Sustainability is a concern in agriculture that gained more attention as climate change and other environmental problems affected the yield of agricultural crops. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization or FAO, "sustainable development (agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors) conserves land, water, plant and animal resources, is environmentally non-degrading, technically appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable". In a simple note, sustainability integrates three main goals: environmental stewardship, farm profitability, and prosperous farming communities.

As was mentioned earlier, organic farming is an instrument to achieve sustainable agriculture.

As Carandang puts it, "For organic farmers, the goal and direction is to sustain agricultural productivity.

The task is not just to produce chemical free crops but sustainably produced crops." But what exactly is his principle behind organic farming?

Organic farming - all about the soil

"The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself." This statement by Franklin D. Roosevelt speaks a lot about the principle behind organic farming - soil fertility. It is not on the amount of organic fertilizers or pesticides you put in the plant; rather, it is about "growing the soil", nurturing and maintaining it. If the soil dies, everything it supports goes with it.

Soil dies or loses its fertility because of over-application of chemical fertilizers. If supplied too much, the left-over fertilizers will travel into the soil, groundwater, stream, lakes, and ponds due to rainfall. This causes adverse effect to the environment.

Organic fertilizers and pesticides, such as cultured beneficial indigenous microorganisms, do not offer these dangers. Microorganisms are what make the soil alive. Without these, the soil will not support as much life forms such as plants and animals. Beneficial indigenous microorganisms, or BIMs, are simply the naturally-occurring microorganisms found in the immediate surrounding of the farm. These microorganisms are added to the compost pile to hasten the decomposition processes in the soil, and thereby hasten the fertilization of the soil. In our country, BIMs can be found in the simplest foods and substances around us, such as fruits, ginger-garlic extracts, water lettuce, bamboo, and the soil itself.

Carandang believes in the phrase "Feed the soil and let it feed the plants". What does this mean? Rather than grow plants, Carandang believes in growing the soil to assure sustainability. Growing the soil does not mean multiplying dirt, rather "building up the soil's life and diversity". This is the foundation of the system. And the building blocks are microorganisms, whose most essential function is to break