IMPLICATIONS OF ORGANIC

FARMING TO THE COMMUNITY-

BASED FOOD SYSTEM:
THE CAPAS ORGANIC
FARMERS ASSOCIATION/CAPAS
ORGANIC FARMERS AND
PRODUCERS COOPERATIVE
EXPERIENCE

Asuncion David - Lapada

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
 ORGANIC FARMING

What is it?
a holistic view of agriculture that aims to reflect the profound interrelationship that
exists between farm biota, its production and the overall environment (Mannion,
1995).
The aim of organic farming is `to create integrated, humane, environmentally
and economically sustainable production systems, which maximize
reliance on farm-derived renewable resources and the management of
ecological and biological processes and interactions, so as to provide
acceptable levels of crop, livestock and human nutrition, protection from
pests and disease, and an appropriate return to the human and other
resources'' (Lampkin, 1994) (p. 5, as cited in Rigby & Caceres, 2001).
 COMMUNITY-BASED FOOD SYSTEM

What is it?
A sustainable community food system is a collaborative network that integrates
sustainable food production, processing, distribution, consumption and waste
management in order to enhance the environmental, economic and social
health of a particular place.
A community food system can refer to a relatively small area, such as a neighborhood, or
progressively larger areas towns, cities, counties, regions, or bioregions.
by including the word "community" there is an emphasis on strengthening existing (or
developing new) relationships between all components of the food system. This reflects a
prescriptive approach to building a food system, one that holds sustainability economic,
environmental and social as a long-term goal toward which a community strives.

(All From A Primer on Community Food Systems by Cornell University)

 COMMUNITY-BASED FOOD SYSTEM

What sets it apart?

Four aspects distinguish community food systems from the globalized food system
that typifies the source of most food [people] eat:
food security,
proximity,
self-reliance
and sustainability.

(All From A Primer on Community Food Systems by Cornell University)

 COMMUNITY-BASED FOOD SYSTEM

What are its goals?

Optimized Health
Dietary Change
Improved Access to an adequate, affordable, nutritious diet
Stable base of family farms that use integrated production practices to enhance
environmental quality
Marketing channels and processing facilities (farmer-consumer links; conservation of
resources in transporting food)
Food and Agri-business development Stronger community economies (re-circulation of
financial capital within the community)
Increased public participation in food and agri-policies that promote local food production,
marketing and institutional procurement.

(All From A Primer on Community Food Systems by Cornell University)

SIB AT: AN ORGANIZATION

History
Why SIBAT?
 SIBAT

Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya (SIBAT, Inc.) or Wellspring of Science and

Technology is a non-governmental and non-profit organization engaged in the
promotion and development of appropriate technology (AT) for village level
sustainable development in the Philippines.
Since its establishment as a network of rural and national based organizations
in 1984, SIBAT pioneered the development of community-based
appropriate technology applications in Philippine rural areas (Cebu,
Bohol, Tarlac, and Saranggani, amongst others).
 SIBAT

Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture initiatives premised on agro-

ecological conservation and enhancement.
Core technological approach in SIBATs model of sustainable food production: DIFS
DIFS: DIVERSIFIED AND INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEM
Its experiences have shown that DIFS proceeds even in rigorous resource-scarce
conditions, as in Central Visayas, Philippines, or in highly-chemical based farming
systems, as in Central Luzon, Philippines (Tarlac).

Note: information presented were gathered from SIBATs website

 DIFS: DIVERSIFIED AND
INTEGRATED FARMING SYSTEM

Varied Dimensions
see photo
COFA (Capas Organic Farmers Association) famers in Tarlac all of which
have undergone trainings under SIBATs facilitation, management and
administration prior and simultaneous to transitioning from conventional
farming to organic farming.
 DIFS

Varied Dimensions

COFA (Capas Organic Farmers Association) famers in Tarlac all of which

have undergone trainings under SIBATs facilitation, management and
administration prior and simultaneous to transitioning from conventional
farming to organic farming.
 Info lifted from the Provincial Commodity Investment Plan of the
Philippine Rural Development Project: Provincial Govt of Tarlac

WHY TARLAC?
 Entrance/Gate

MANG AR I TA OR G ANI C FAR M:

T H E SI B AT I NI T I ATI V E

Located in Brgy. Manga, Capas, Tarlac

What is it?
How does it work?
 HOW DOES IT WORK?

Serving thus as a technology extension center, the Mangarita Organic Farm

aims to demonstrate technologies on crop and animal integration including
diversification while highlighting the economic viability and ecological
soundness of sustainable agriculture in the lowland typology of Central Luzon.
At present, the farm has eight (8) operational SA components among the
eleven (11) built as demonstration facility on organic farming for
farmers of Brgy. Manga, Lawi and Sta. Rita.

Information gathered from http://sibat-inc.org/mof/

 Multi-purpose Hall

Farm Manager and Admin Office

 Rice Seedlings

Sustainable Agriculture Training Center (SATC)

From left to right: COFA/COFPC Member: Nanay Marlyn, Ate Niknik (Farm Manager;
Agriculturist) and Kuya Jun (resident mechanical engineer for CreaTECH)

Inside the Herbarium

1/3 of the Organic Vegetable Production

Livestock Filed/Goat Grazing

 COFA/COFPC members at the
Paraiso Farmers Market, DA Region III

THE COMMUNITY:
COFA/COFPC MEMBERS

Capas Organifc Farming Association/

Capas Organic Farmers and Producers Cooperative

Who are they?

What do they do?
PROBLEM STATEMENT
 OVERVIEW

The Philippines, despite it being an agricultural country, faces a lot of problems

regarding food production and food security (Habito & Briones, 2005).
Attributed to import-dependence and export-oriented characterisation of the
national economy. -- (Cubinar, Soliven & De Guzman, 2007)
Due to this, several alternative methods of farming surfaced in an attempt to
override the ill effects of our present agricultural system one of which is
organic farming (Setboonsarng & Markanndya, 2015).
 Many literature already looked into the technical aspect of organic farming and
multiple research has been made to study its implications to farmers, mostly
area-based such as in Africa and the tropics (Ton, 2013; Sreekumar, 2013).
However, there still exists the gap between academic literature and the
concrete experiences of the farmers.
 This study explores the implications of organic farming to the community,
specifically to its food system, in a participatory manner;
It seeks to follow and validate gathered data through exposition of the
experiences of the COFA/COFPC farmers with organic farming, the role it
played in the development of the community food system, be it positive or
otherwise, and so forth.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
 Using the experiences and perspectives of the farmers, this research aims to
identify the implications as well as the potentials and limitations of organic
farming to the community and to its local food system.
This study links organic farming to the three aspects of the food system,
namely, social, political, and economic.
 The following points summarize the objective of this research:
Identify the social implications of organic farming to the farmers of the organization.
Explore the changes in terms of political landscape after the implementation of
organic farming as an alternative method to conventional practices.
Study the evolution of the local economy with respect to utilizing organic farming.
Identify the limitations and disadvantages of organic farming in the context of the
target sample within the subject community.
WHY IS THIS RESEARCH
SIGNIFICANT?
 What are the studys potential benefits and intended overall impact?
//Why is it worth performing?//
Which specific groups of people can benefit from the research?
Non-Government Organizations, including SIBAT
Department of Agriculture
Farming Community
Community Development Practitioners and Students
Future Researchers
 How does this specific project fit within the developing body of knowledge
that is the Organic Farming discourse?
Local Case
SIBAT-Initiative is yet to be featured in substantive research
A case made for and about farming members of a specific established
cooperative/association COFA//COFPC and its people
Points the way toward further future refinement and study be it in the varying
fields of CBRM, Policy-making, Govt-Assistance Project Proposals, and so on.
BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE RRL
 FLOW OF REVIEW

Intro
Related Literature
Organic Farming Defined
Organic Farming: its emergence within dominant and sequential themes in rural
development
Narrowing down to the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (nature of SIBAT mission and
vision)
Organic Farming and the Question of Sustainability
Productivity and Sustainability: Hand-in-hand in the Community Food System Scheme
Organic Farmers and the Community-Based Food System: the Role of Certification in
Productivity
Related Studies
Foreign (Implications of the Practice in the context of other Developing Nations)
Local
 FLOW OF REVIEW

Intro
Related Literature
Organic Farming and the Community-based Food System Discourse
Organic Farming Defined
Organic Farming: its emergence within dominant and sequential themes in rural development
Narrowing down to the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (nature of SIBAT mission and vision)
Organic Farmers and the Community-Based Food System: the Role of Certification in Productivity
Productivity and Sustainability: Hand-in-hand in the Community Food System Scheme
Related Studies
Foreign
Local
 FLOW OF REVIEW

Revisiting the Research Questions/Objectives

Summary/Synthesis
METHODOLOGY
 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

A qualitative research design, simply defined, is the over-all strategy to address,

interrogate, problematize or explore the particular topic
In line with our topic, the study plans to make use of the following methods to gather
substantial data:
Case Studies/Document Analysis
Interviews with COFA/COFPC Members
Conversational Interviews
Structured-Question Interviews
Participant Observation (provides the context for development of interview guides)
 CHAPTER OUTLINE

Methodological Perspective: Phenomenology

Since the theory is concerned with the study of experience from the perspective
of the individual; also, since its nature is apt for understanding subjective
experience, gaining insights into peoples motivations and actions, and cutting
through the clutter of taken-for-granted assumptions and conventional wisdom.
Who
Purposive Sampling
According to Hycner (1999, p. 156) the phenomenon dictates the method (not
vice-versa) including even the type of participants.
Tools
Data Collection Methods
Triangulation: Interviews, Participant Observation, Existing Studies, [Field Notes]
Ethical Considerations
 CHAPTER OUTLINE

Annex I: Validation Plan

Annex II: Work Plan - Gantt Chart
Annex III: Budget
 TRIANGULATION OF DATA

Cohen and Manion (2000) define triangulation as an "attempt to map out, or

explain more fully, the richness and complexity of human behavior by studying it
from more than one standpoint."
According to ODonoghue and Punch (2003), triangulation is a method of cross-
checking data from multiple sources to search for regularities in the research
data."[

In this study, the methodology proposed would be triangulated:

Participant Observation
Conversational Interviewing
Structured-Question Interviewing
Case Studies
END