December 14, 2020. Following the successful debut of the BAFS Online Academy last November 2, 2020, the Bureau utilized this newly launched platform to conduct the awareness seminar on the Philippine National Standard (PNS) and the National List of Permitted Substances for Organic Agriculture (OA) which ran from December 1, 2020, to December 11, 2020.
The awareness seminar was conducted to increase knowledge and deepen comprehension of the provisions of the PNS for Organic Agriculture (PNS/BAFS 07:2016) – particularly on the requirements for crop production. As a result, stakeholders will be able to conform to OA-related standards and comply with relevant regulations towards achieving third-party organic certification.
The online activity facilitated effective information dissemination among the OA personnel of DA Regional Field Offices (DA-RFOs), implementing agencies, and institutions, to improve the conduct of pre-assessment and ensure that only qualified OA entities can avail of the certification assistance. The breakdown of participants as well as other relevant information are as follows:
|
Demographics |
Number |
||
|
Male |
Female |
Total |
|
|
Academe |
8 |
10 |
18 |
|
Certified Organic farmers |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
Organic practitioners |
9 |
6 |
15 |
|
National Government Agencies |
20 |
33 |
53 |
|
Local Government Units |
11 |
14 |
25 |
|
Grand Total |
48 |
65 |
113 |
The awareness seminar was considered a success as it reached a total of 113 participants from across the country and from various demographics. This shows that the online platform is an effective tool to address previously encountered challenges like limited participation. The online event also became a venue to connect various stakeholders and supporters of the OA Program and encourage knowledge sharing towards skills enhancement.
Participants who finished this online seminar can now access the next training on PNS for Organic Bio-control Agents (PNS/BAFS 182:2016) and the Conduct of Risk-based Inspection during pre-assessment of certification assistance applicant or organic farm management. The training will be available from December 16, 2020, to December 28, 2020.
Indeed, the BAFS Online Academy facilitates the efficient learning and transfer of knowledge to our intended stakeholders. ###