Organic agriculture is associated with good governance which addresses conflicts in the Philippines, according to The League of Organic Agriculture Municipalities, Cities, and Provinces of the Philippines (LOAMCP-PH).
Moreover, during the 12th General Assembly LOAMCP-PH , the local chief executives and local government unit focal persons were brought together to improve and sustain the organic agriculture in the country.
According to Rommel Arnado, national president of LOAMCP-PH, organic farming can decrease poverty incidence and resolve local concerns.
Further, the development of organic agriculture also addresses the establishment of farm-to-market roads, regeneration of the soil, and solid waste management.
“The thrust of the municipality on farming has addressed the root causes of conflict which are food, insecurity, poverty, among others,” Arnado, the municipal mayor of Kauswagan town of Lanao del Norte said.
“We were attacked twice by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The municipality was depressed. There is an economic stalemate, no work, the kids cannot go to school, and there is no production of food,” Arnado said.
The report from Philippine News Agency (PNA) stated that after 2002 when the government declared an “all-out-war” against the MILF, municipality has been affected by atrocities.
Arnado also emphasized that the program in 2010 named From Arms to Farms: Walking to the Paths of Peace. It is similar with Executive Order (EO) 70 or the whole-of-nation approach in ending the communist insurgency.
“The EO 70 of the President (Rodrigo Duterte) is to deliver the services of the government. Number one is food,” he said.
“If all the mayors addressing food in their municipalities, it addresses a lot of issues,” Arnado added.
With this initiative, Arnado encourages local chief executives to also become members of the LOAMCP-PH.
Respectively, the Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año released Memorandum Circular 2019-70 which urges all city and municipal mayors to become a member of the league.