THE FOUR PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE (IFOAM)

1. Principle of Health – Organic agriculture should sustain and enhance the health
of soil, plant, animal, human and planet as one and indivisible.
2. Principle of Ecology – Organic agriculture should be based on living ecological
systems and cycles, work with them, emulate them and help sustain them.
3. Principle of Fairness – Organic agriculture should build on relationships that
ensure fairness with regard to the common environment and life opportunities.
4. Principle of Care – Organic agriculture should be managed in a precautionary
and responsible manner to protect the health and well-being of current and future
generations and the environment.

SOURCE: https://www.ifoam.bio/why-organic/shaping-agriculture/four-principles-organic

RESEARCH 1

First Philippine Republic, American Regime

The Department of Agriculture and Manufacturing was formed 11 days after the proclamation of the
Philippine Independence on June 12, 1898. The Department was one of the first agencies that
President Emilio Aguinaldo formed.

The Department was then headed by three directors, Jose Alejandrino (1898-1899), Graciano

Gonzaga, and Leon Ma. Guerrero, during the latter part of 1899.

In 1901 during the American colonial period, the Department was renamed Insular Bureau of
Agriculture under the Department of Interior and was headed by Americans, Frank Lamson-
Scribner (1902), W.C. Welborn (1904), and Dr. George Nesom (1907).

In 1910, the Bureau, under the supervision of the Department of Public Instruction, was headed
by Frederick Taylor (1911-1914) and Harry Edwards (1914-1916).

In 1917, the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) took over the functions of the
bureau and was led by Secretaries Galicano Apacible (1917-1921), Rafael Corpuz (1921-1923),
and Silvestre Apostol (1923-1928).

During the administration of Secretary Rafael Alunan, Sr. (1928-1932), the DANR became the
Department of Agriculture and Commerce. The Bureau of Agriculture was split into two bureaus, the
Plant Industry and the Animal Industry.
The following year, the Fish and Game Administration and the Fiber Inspection Service were
established under the leadership of Secretary Vicente Singson Encarnacion (1933-1934).

From 1934-1938, Eulogio Rodriguez, Sr. was appointed Secretary who was replaced by Secretary
Benigno S. Aquino, Sr. until 1941. During Aquino’s term, the Fish and Game Administration was
restructured and the Division of Soil Survey was created.

With the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific, President Manuel Quezon re-appointed Secretary
Rafael Alunan, Sr. (1941-1942) as Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce.

Postwar Period
After the country’s Liberation from the Japanese on July 4, 1945, the government rebuilt the country
and reconstituted the agencies including the Department of Agriculture and Commerce (DAC). With
the resumption of the Commonwealth Government, President Sergio Osmeña reappointed Vicente
Singson Encarnacion as Secretary of the DAC. Thereafter, Mariano Garchitorena (1946-1948)
was appointed by President Manuel Roxas.

In 1947, the Department was named again as the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources
(DANR). In September 1948, President Elpidio Quirino appointed Placido L. Mapa as its Secretary.

Two years later (1950), Vice President Fernando Lopez served concurrently as the DANR chief.
During his term, the Bureau of Agricultural Extension (now Agricultural Training Institute) was
established, along with the organization of the 4-H Clubs and Rural Improvement Clubs (RICs)
nationwide.

In 1953, President Quirino reappointed Placido L. Mapa to lead the Department. Under his tenure,
the Rice Economic Board was set up, making the rice industry the first commodity to benefit from an
integrated national planning.

Salvador Araneta (1953-1955) was later named as Secretary and three major agencies under the
DANR were created, namely: Agricultural Tenancy Commission, precursor of the Department of
Agrarian Reform; Philippine Tobacco Administration, forerunner of the National Tobacco
Administration; and Philippine Coconut Administration (now known as Philippine Coconut Authority).

During the latter part of his term, President Magsaysay appointed Juan G. Rodriguez (1955-1960)
as DANR chief, whose term was highlighted by several milestones: the Philippines became a
member of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); launch of the National Rice
and Corn Production Program; and creation of the Rice and Corn Coordinating Council, forerunner
of the National Agricultural and Fishery Council (NAFC).

DA Moved to Quezon City

On September 14, 1959, the DANR offices moved from Manila (at Agrifina Circle) to Quezon City
(along Elliptical Road in Diliman).

When Cesar Fortich became the DANR chief in 1961, the Abaca Development Board (forerunner of
the Fiber Development Authority) was created.  Jose Locsin, then concurrent Chairman of the
National Economic Council, succeeded Fortich from September to December 1961.

In 1962, President Diosdado Macapagal appointed Benjamin M. Gozon as Secretary. During his

term, two agencies were created: the Bureau of Agricultural Economics (forerunner of the Bureau of
Agricultural Statistics); and the National Rice and Corn Administration or RCA (now known as the
National Food Authority).

The following year, President Macapagal appointed RCA Administrator Jose Y. Feliciano as

concurrent Secretary of Agriculture. Feliciano launched the Agricultural Marketing News Service that
provided farmers and consumers prices of selected commodities regularly.

In 1965, President Ferdinand Marcos named Vice Pres. Lopez as Secretary, serving for the second
time in a concurrent capacity. Considered as the “rice czar,” he successfully implemented a
production program that enabled the Philippines to export rice for the first time in 1968.

During the early years of Martial Law, in May 1974, President Marcos reorganized and split the
DANR into two agencies: Department of Agriculture (DA); and Department of Natural Resources
(DNR). Arturo R. Tanco, Jr. was named DA Secretary.

DA Renamed as Ministry of Agriculture

Four years later, government departments were transformed into ministries with the country’s shift to
parliamentary form of government.

With Tanco remaining at the helm of the Ministry of Agriculture (MA), the Masagana 99 rice

production program was launched which made the country self-sufficient and a rice exporter. A
similar program on corn also made the country self-sufficient in white corn.  In June 1978, the MA
established 12 regional offices nationwide.

Six years later, in June 1984, the agency was renamed Ministry of Agriculture and Food (MAF). The
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources was transferred from the Ministry of Natural Resources.

In 1984, under a parliamentary government, Assemblyman Salvador H. Escudero III — former

Director of the Bureau of Animal Industry and MAF Deputy Minister — served as MAF Minister.
Escudero implemented the Intensive Rice Production Program (IRPP), an import-substitution
program, expanded government’s animal dispersal program, particularly the Bakahang
Barangay (cattle raising the at village level) and Pagbababuyan (swine raising).

People Power, Renamed to DA

Ramon Mitra
(1986-1987)
Carlos Dominquez
(1987-1990)

On February 1986, as a result of the ‘EDSA People Power Revolution,’ Corazon C. Aquino was

catapulted as President. She named Ramon V. Mitra, Jr. as MAF Minister who implemented policy
and institutional reforms that freed the agriculture markets, enabling farmers to enjoy higher
farmgate prices.

In 1987, MAF Deputy Minister Carlos G. Dominguez was appointed to replace Mitra who opted to
run for Representative of the second district of Palawan

On January 30, 1987, President Aquino signed and issued Executive Order No. 116, which renamed
and reorganized the MAF into the Department of Agriculture.

Under DA, Dominguez introduced reforms in the rural credit system and established the
Comprehensive Agricultural Loan Fund (CALF).  In 1988, he also launched the Livelihood
Enhancement for Agricultural Development (LEAD) program to speed up farmers’ organizations
access to financing, management expertise, and marketing. Agriculture and Fishery Councils (AFCs)
were set up at the sectoral, regional, provincial and municipal levels to provide inputs on major
programs and policy decisions and help plan and monitor DA projects. Senen C. Bacani, appointed
in January 1990, implemented the Rice Action Program (RAP) and Corn Production Enhancement
Program (CPEP).

President Aquino appointed Senen Bacani as Secretary in 1990-1991. His leadership enabled the
private sector to take the lead in further developing fresh fruits business in the resource-rich
Mindanao. 

In 1992, President Fidel V. Ramos named Roberto S. Sebastian as DA chief who introduced the
Key Production Approach (KPA) which became the basis of the Medium-Term Agricultural
Development Plan (MTADP).

In 1996, President Ramos appointed Dr. Salvador H. Escudero III as DA Secretary, for the second
time. During his two-year tenure, he launched the Gintong Ani food production and security
program.

Dar’s First Stint

In July 1998, President Joseph Ejercito Estrada designated William D. Dar as Acting DA Secretary
who introduced the Estrada administration’s 10-point agenda in agriculture and fisheries under
the Agrikulturang Makamasa program.

In March 1999, President Estrada named former Senate President Edgardo J. Angara as DA

Secretary who authored the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997 or AFMA (Republic
Act No. 8435). He put into motion the law’s vision of modernizing the country’s agriculture and
fisheries sector.

Domingo F. Panganiban continued the implementation of AFMA as the government’s

comprehensive framework and platform for rural development when he assumed office in January
2001.  
A month later, he was replaced by Leonardo Q. Montemayor who implemented the AFMA with
special emphasis on its social equity aspect. He launched the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani
Countrywide Assistance for Rural Employment and Services (GMA-CARES).

Secretary Luis P. Lorenzo Jr., took the helm at the Department in December 2002 and
spearheaded the launching of the Roll-On, Roll-Off (RORO) transport program. The hybridization
programs of the Department were intensified and interventions were focused on the Mindanao
regions.

Secretary Arthur C. Yap, appointed on August 23, 2004, continued to uphold the vision of
agricultural modernization.  During his first term, he unveiled the GMA Goal 1 (develop two million
hectares of new lands for agribusiness to contribute two million to the 10 million jobs targeted by
2010) and GMA Goal 2 (make food plentiful while keeping the price of “wage goods” at low prices).

During Panganiban’s second term as Secretary, a total of 203,000 hectares of idle lands and

313,000 jobs were developed under Goal 1 and 10 Huwarang Palengke (outstanding markets) were
identified under Goal 2.

When Yap returned to the DA in October, 2006, he implemented various projects and policies
towards the attainment of food security and self-sufficiency. Upon Secretary Yap’s decision to run as
Representative of the 3rd District of Bohol, Secretary Bernie Fondevilla took over in March 2010.

On June 30, 2010, President Benigno S. Aquino III appointed two-term congressman of Quezon and
civil engineer by profession Proceso J. Alcala as Secretary. One of the principal authors of
Republic Act 10068, or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, he also aimed to achieve self-sufficiency
in rice during his term. 

Dar’s predecessor, Emmanuel F. Piñol was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte on July 1,

2016. He vowed to bring agriculture and fisheries program to basic by addressing food production
and poverty. Under his watch, efforts were geared towards production and trade of staple food
commodities to ensure food sufficiency and security; and high-value crops to generate jobs and
foreign earnings. ###

Source: https://www.da.gov.ph/history/
RESEARCH 2

Philippines - Agriculture

The Philippines is still primarily an agricultural country despite the plan to make it an
industrialized economy by 2000. Most citizens still live in rural areas and support
themselves through agriculture. The country's agriculture sector is made up of 4 sub-
sectors: farming, fisheries, livestock, and forestry (the latter 2 sectors are very small),
which together employ 39.8 percent of the labor force and contribute 20 percent of
GDP.
The country's main agricultural crops are rice, corn, coconut, sugarcane, bananas,
pineapple, coffee, mangoes, tobacco, and abaca (a banana-like plant). Secondary
crops include peanut, cassava, camote (a type of rootcrop), garlic, onion, cabbage,
eggplant, calamansi (a variety of lemon), rubber, and cotton. The year 1998 was a bad
year for agriculture because of adverse weather conditions. Sector output shrank by 8.3
percent, but it posted growth the following year. Yet, hog farming and commercial
fishing posted declines in their gross revenues in 1999. The sector is burdened with low
productivity for most of its crops.
The Philippines exports its agricultural products around the world, including the United
States, Japan, Europe, and ASEAN countries (members of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations). Major export products are coconut oil and other coconut products, fruits
and vegetables, bananas, and prawns (a type of shrimp). Other exports include the
Cavendish banana, Cayenne pineapple, tuna, seaweed, and carrageenan. The value of
coconut-product exports amounted to US$989 million in 1995 but declined to US$569
million by 2000. Imported agricultural products include unmilled wheat and meslin,
oilcake and other soybean residues, malt and malt flour, urea, flour, meals and pellets
of fish, soybeans and whey.
One of the most pressing concerns of the agricultural sector is the rampant conversion
of agricultural land into golf courses, residential subdivisions, and industrial parks or
resorts. In 1993 the nation was losing irrigated rice lands at a rate of 2,300 hectares per
year. Small land-holders find it more profitable to sell their land to developers in
exchange for cash, especially since they lack capital for seeds, fertilizers, pesticides,
and wages for hiring workers to plant and harvest the crops. Another concern is farmers'
continued reliance on chemical-based fertilizers or pesticides that have destroyed soil
productivity over time. In recent years however, farmers have been slowly turning to
organic fertilizer, or at least to a combination of chemical and organic inputs.
Environmental damage is another major concern. Coral-reef destruction, pollution of
coastal and marine resources, mangrove forest destruction, and siltation (the clogging
of bodies of water with silt deposits) are significant problems.
The agriculture sector has not received adequate resources for the funding of critical
programs or projects, such as the construction of efficient irrigation systems. According
to the World Bank, the share of irrigated crop land in the Philippines averaged only
about 19.5 percent in the mid-1990s, compared with 37.5 percent for China, 24.8
percent for Thailand, and 30.8 percent for Vietnam. In the late 1990s, the government
attempted to modernize the agriculture sector with the Medium Term Agricultural
Development Plan and the Agricultural Fisheries Modernization Act.
The fisheries sector is divided into 3 sub-sectors: commercial, municipal, and
aquaculture (cultivation of the natural produce of bodies of water). In 1995, the
Philippines contributed 2.2 million tons, or 2 percent of total world catch, ranking it
twelfth among the top 80 fish-producing countries. In the same year, the country also
earned the distinction of being the fourth biggest producer of seaweed and ninth biggest
producer of world aquaculture products.
In 1999 the fisheries sector contributed P80.4 billion at current prices, or 16 percent of
gross value added in agriculture. Total production in 1999 reached 2.7 million tons.
Aquaculture contributed the most, with 949,000 tons, followed closely by commercial
fishing with 948,000 tons, and municipal fisheries with 910,000 tons. Domestic demand
for fish is substantial, with average yearly fish consumption at 36kg per person
compared to a 12kg figure for consumption of meat and other food products.

SOURCE: https://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-Pacific/Philippines-
AGRICULTURE.html
RESEARCH 3