Major win! Antique adopts resolution promoting regenerative agriculture
Margust Dela Cerna | August 19, 2024
The province of Antique recently made a major milestone as it adopted a resolution promoting the use of regenerative agriculture for all sectors of its agricultural industry.
The resolution, introduced by Pio Sumande Sr. of the provincial board of Antique, and co-sponsored by several other provincial board members, underscored the role of regenerative agriculture in maintaining a sustainable and productive farming ecosystem, while providing enhanced resilience to climate change.
It can be recalled that Biotech for Life, a project under the DA-BPO, held a forum in Antique focusing on agriculture and food security.
During the event, Biotechnology expert Dr. Saturnina Halos, president of the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines, gave an in-depth presentation on regenerative agriculture and explained that the method takes the best of traditional and modern agricultural practices and blends them together for optimum productivity and sustainability.
For many, regenerative agriculture is a relatively new concept. But it has actually been around since the 80s. In the early 2010s, it experienced a resurgence in light of the increasing impacts of climate change.
According to Dr. Halos, regenerative agriculture maximizes productivity and sustainability by promoting practices that improve soil health, and reduce the volume of harmful emissions such as greenhouse gases.
For its part, the province of Antique plans to follow up the resolution with an official ordinance to codify the integration of regenerative agriculture into its industry practices. This will involve increasing the use of natural, or organic biofertilizers and biopesticides and decrease the use of their synthetic counterparts. When asked for her recommendation, Dr. Halos said she hopes the provincial officials would coordinate with the Department of Agriculture to set up test farms in the region to better assess the needs of farmers and implement ideal methods of integrating regenerative farming practices.
The resolution, introduced by Pio Sumande Sr. of the provincial board of Antique, and co-sponsored by several other provincial board members, underscored the role of regenerative agriculture in maintaining a sustainable and productive farming ecosystem, while providing enhanced resilience to climate change.
It can be recalled that Biotech for Life, a project under the DA-BPO, held a forum in Antique focusing on agriculture and food security.
During the event, Biotechnology expert Dr. Saturnina Halos, president of the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines, gave an in-depth presentation on regenerative agriculture and explained that the method takes the best of traditional and modern agricultural practices and blends them together for optimum productivity and sustainability.
For many, regenerative agriculture is a relatively new concept. But it has actually been around since the 80s. In the early 2010s, it experienced a resurgence in light of the increasing impacts of climate change.
According to Dr. Halos, regenerative agriculture maximizes productivity and sustainability by promoting practices that improve soil health, and reduce the volume of harmful emissions such as greenhouse gases.
For its part, the province of Antique plans to follow up the resolution with an official ordinance to codify the integration of regenerative agriculture into its industry practices. This will involve increasing the use of natural, or organic biofertilizers and biopesticides and decrease the use of their synthetic counterparts. When asked for her recommendation, Dr. Halos said she hopes the provincial officials would coordinate with the Department of Agriculture to set up test farms in the region to better assess the needs of farmers and implement ideal methods of integrating regenerative farming practices.
