Zambo Sur town hosts Organic Leadership for Southeast Asia

Video from 9 News TV Cebuano (Aired Monday Sept.22,2014)

By Hirohito D. Cadion

DUMINGAG, Zamboanga del Sur, Sept. 22 (PNA) – A total of 26 farmers and community leaders coming from 13 Southeast Asian countries are presently undergoing a week-long Organic Leadership Course for Southeast Asia (OLC-SEA) in this municipality.

The participants of the week-long OLC-SEA hands-on study arrived here Saturday.

The field study, which ends September 28, is being spearheaded by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM).

Municipal Administrator Richard Butch Cabilan said Monday the week-long field study is part of the OLC-SEA 2014-2015 Class.

Cabilan said the participant, after the field study, will return to their respective countries for their Webinar classes and community activities. They will graduate from the course next year and the graduation ceremony will be held in Thailand.

Cabilan said that 20 of the 26 participants are foreign nationals while the remaining six are from the Philippines. Five of the six are from Luzon and one from Mindanao.

The foreign nationals are the following: Sovorn Chan, Pros Phan and Norin Din, Cambodia; Sutharthip Garnrugsar, Salinrat Wichaipanich, Danupa Yoounapanao, and Neil Willman, Thailand; Than Hlaing and Phyo Wai Aung, Myanmar; Baokun Lei, China; Hong Hanh Nguyen and Xuan Diep Nguyen, Vietnam; Mohammed Sarker, Bangladesh; Aastha Dua, India; Afi Soedarsong, Indonesia; Zarina Ramli, Malaysia; Seonyoung Jang and Jung Man Chul, South Korea; Yue-Wen, Taiwan (Assistant trainer, IFOAM); Konrad Hauptfleisch, South Africa (Trainer, IFOAM Program Director).

The Filipino participants are Alan Si, Cleofe Baldon, Maria Frieda Brizi, Paula Abarasturi, Librado Navarro and Patrick Belisario.

Cabilan explained the IFOAM decided to conduct the week-long study here since this municipality under the leadership of Mayor Nacianceno Pacalioga is known to be a champion of organic farming.

Municipal Administrator Richard Butch Cabilan

Pacalioga is the founding-president of the League of Organic Agriculture Municipalities of the Philippines (LOAM-Ph).

Pacalioga received One World Award (OWA) on September 14, 2012 in Germany for championing organic farming.

Pacalioga expressed his heartfelt appreciation to the IFOAM for the recognition to the efforts and programs of the local government in converting the agricultural program into “a community healthy way of life through the adoption of organic farming.”

Municipal Administrator Richard Butch Cabilan

“The people of Dumingag are very proud and honored for giving them the opportunity of sharing their expertise in organic farming globally and also for choosing our municipality as the venue of Organic Leadership Course for South East Asia 2014-2015,” Pacalioga said.

Governor Antonio Cerilles also expressed his gratitude to the IFOAM for placing Dumingag into the global picture as far as organic farming is concerned.

Dumingag is a second class municipality of this province with a total irrigated rice land area of 2,000 hectares and rain-fed rice land of 1,800 hectare. It comprises of 44 barangays with a population of 46,500 based on the 2010 census on population. (PNA)
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