How does the worsening climate change impact vulnerable sectors like farmers? In this #JuanOrganiko episode, let's talk about climate justice and building community resilience with Donald Cornelio, MASIPAG Mindanao CCR program point person. 

On the January episode of #JuanOrganiko, MASIPAG National Advocacy Officer Patrick Dela Cueva discusses what 2024 holds for Filipino farmers, including the prevailing challenges and emerging opportunities. Our network looks forward to a new year of promoting a genuine and lasting transition of our food systems through farmer-led agroecology.

As we reflect on the year 2023, MASIPAG Mindanao takes pride in the significant strides we've made as a network towards promoting agroecology and advancing farmers' rights in Mindanao. Join us in the journey as we continue to work towards a more sustainable and just future for our farmers and communities.

Organic Agriculture Month is celebrated every November in the Philippines. Listen to our latest podcast episode to explore the benefits of sustainable agricultural practices and challenges in expanding organic farming in the country with Jethel Kapunan, a long-time organic farmer from Sto. Nino, South Cotabato province, and the Mindanao Small Farmer Representative of the National Organic Agriculture Board (NOAB).

Healthy soils produce healthy food. Listen to how masipag farmer Gina Juanites maintain her farm's fertility using materials found within it. Also, Masipag's National Coordinator, Alfie Pulumbarit discusses the impacts of glyphosate use on soil fertility, the environment, and human health.

Farmers are the most vulnerable sectors during the worst onslaughts of climate change. Listen to how Masipag's farmers cope with the impacts of climate change, and what Masipag expects from the recently concluded climate talks in Egypt.

With Special guests Patrick Dela Cueva and Prof. Kim Gargar.

Golden Rice is simply a ‘band-aid’ solution to the wide, gaping wound of hunger and poverty. Worse, the issues that continue to hound Golden Rice further prove the point that it is unnecessary and unwanted

1. Negligible beta carotene content – The current version of the Golden Rice, GR2E contains a negligible amount of beta-carotene (from 3.57 ug/g to 22 ug/g), which the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) also acknowledged, making the product useless in addressing Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in contrast to existing and readily available food sources. Already minimal, Golden Rice’s beta-carotene was also found to degrade quickly after harvesting, storing, and processing, such as milling and even cooking unless the farmers vacuum-pack and refrigerate the GM rice. Farmers from developing countries, however, do not seal or store the paddy rice in vacuum packs, which will make the product more expensive. Electricity also remains scarce in remote farming communities so refrigerating the harvest is unrealistic bordering on the absurd.
2. No meaningful safety tests have been done – Even as the Golden Rice has been approved in the Philippines, there has been no testing done to ascertain if it is safe for human consumption. Meanwhile, the aforementioned beta-carotene degradation may result in toxic compounds causing oxidative stress damage which might lead to cancer. Dr. David Schubert of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, USA and Dr. Michael Antoniou of King’s College London, state that “there have never been short nor, more importantly, long-term safety testing in laboratory animals (of Golden Rice) and this must be done for several generations in rats to determine if it causes birth defects, which we consider a serious possibility.”
3. Contamination of other rice varieties and wild relatives of rice – Field trials conducted so far have only looked at the agronomic traits of Golden Rice, and not its long-term effects on the environment, including its possible effects on the genetic diversity of the thousands of rice varieties being cared for by small scale farmers and indigenous peoples. While rice is a self-pollinating crop, cross-contamination is still inevitable Contamination can also occur through seed mixing. Such contamination has already happened in the US with the Liberty Link rice scandal back in 2006 that caused US farmers millions of dollars in losses because of the inadvertent contamination of the yet unapproved GM rice.
4. Safer sources of beta-carotene – Being some of the mega-diverse countries, vegetables and fruits that are high in beta-carotene are found in abundance in the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, and other target countries for Golden Rice. These foods are available and accessible for people, and contain much higher levels of beta-carotene than Golden Rice.

The worsening land-grabbing and land conversion cases, liberalization of agricultural commodities and increasing control of corporations over agriculture and food, however, are preventing farmers and their communities from having access to these safe and nutritious foods. In developing countries, the challenges described above remain the main culprit of food insecurity and malnutrition. Both the development of biofortified crops like Golden Rice for solving health issues and corporate-led projects in agriculture as ways to ensure food security represents a worrisome push for top-down and anti-diversity approaches to food and health that will ultimately undermine people’s capacities to strengthen their local food systems. By emphasizing dependence on just a few market-based crops biofortification actually promotes a poor diet with little nutritional diversity

Golden Rice is a failed and useless product, and that is why we continue to resist and oppose it. Time and again, huge agrochemical companies, philanthrocapitalists, and pseudo-public agencies have done everything in their power to deny the people’s right to participate in decisions about their food and agriculture. Already, zinc and iron GM rice and thirty other GM rice are in the pipeline, with Golden Rice serving as the Trojan Horse to lure the people into social acceptance and false security.

Today, October 2, is the World Farm Animals Day. Though it has sad origins, as it was founded to highlight the poor conditions suffered by farm animals especially in the commercial model of livestock production.

In line with Green Action Week, Juan Organiko and special guest, Dr. Rose Sambo will discuss the antithesis practiced by organic farmers - Diversified and Integrated farming.

Livestock plays a very crucial role in the natural systems of organic farms. Together with the crop components of organic farms, it helps the natural food-producing machine keep going, helping boost the incomes of resource-poor farmers.

Organic production systems have a lot of advantages over conventional ones. For example, conventional rice production uses over 40 different pesticides to control weeds and insects—pesticides that contain such toxic chemicals. Organic rice paddies also use environmentally friendly soil amendments such as compost, which helps increase soil health and decrease nutrient run-off.

Listen as in this episode, we will be talking about Masipag's guide to the cultural management practices of Organic paddy rice.

Seeds, the self-replicating system which has powered societies since the first agricultural revolution, are the foundations of every agricultural program. 

In this episode, we will be talking about its importance and how small farmers and producers can improve their local seed diversity by trying out these practical seed-saving tips given by Arnulfo Palma, Organic Farmer and Farm Manager of Imulayan Organic Resource Center. 

It's World Consumer Rights Day,

This year's theme talks about sustainable consumer and plastic wastes. In this episode, we will talk about how organics can help curb plastic pollution by enhancing local production all the way to ensuring consumer rights by highlighting the importance of the organic seal!

Check this out!

It's our Women's day Episode.

Our guest is Anita Morales, an organic farmer, woman leader, and executive director of the non-profit METSA Foundation.

Nay Nena, as we fondly call her, believes that the involvement of more women in organic agriculture will be a vital component in our drive towards a more sustainable future. Kol-os Ning Bi Libo - Women possess unique strength.  

GMOs are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated in a laboratory through genetic engineering. This creates combinations of plant, animal, bacteria, and virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.

In the Philippines, thousands upon thousands of agricultural lands have been planted with GM Corns. Used primarily as livestock feed, unfortunately, several communities have taken it for food. To make it worse, it has caused disastrous contamination to Farmer's traditional corn varieties.

The question is, is it safe? Tatay Cris Genosas, Masipag's pioneer corn breeder explains this to us.

Corn is one of the oldest and most versatile crops as of today. It has fed billions of humans as well as animals, not to mention its vast industrial applications. It is not a reach to say that it has fueled the rise of civilization from the first agricultural revolution until today.

This episode, we are honored to welcome Masipag Mindanao's pioneer corn breeder Tatay Cris Genosas as he talks about the technical process of corn production and corn breeding.

TS Auring is barrelling through the island of Mindanao. Masipag Mindanao Advocacy Officer, Gary Ben Villocino and Imulayan Organic Resource Center Farm Manager, Arnulfo Palma discuss ways for resource-poor farmers to prepare for the storm. Also, Arnulfo outlines the crops that must be planted and the farming activities that must be done during the rainy season.

The organic agriculture movement in the Philippines celebrated a significant event on 23 December 2020. It was on this day that the Republic Act 11511, or Amendments to Organic Agriculture (OA) Act of 2010, was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte.

After almost a decade of dialogue and lobbying with the national government, PGS Pilipinas, the national network of participatory guarantee systems (PGS) practitioners, receives this news with elation. This is because finally an organic agriculture law was enacted that is inclusive and recognizes the role of small farmers in ensuring safe, affordable, and accessible food. 

With appropriate and suitable implementation, the law would primarily help build a sustainable food system, which is imperative during crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic. It is for this reason that PGS Pilipinas believes that the law must prioritize small farmers in their recognition and support, and must create a favorable environment to catalyze the adoption of organic agriculture.

The task of building a better, more sustainable future is at hand. The passing of the law is just a mere step, but it is certainly a step in the right direction. In the long run, empowering the small farmers’ sector through organic agriculture capacitation will help foster inclusive progress and rural development.

It's the new year! Yet here in the Philippines we are still deep into the lockdown. For Philippine Agriculture, the prospects far outweigh its challenges.

This has been a challenging year no doubt, but thanks to our medical and food security frontliners - we are ready. Filled a greater enthusiasm and sense of mission - Build the foundations of the "Better Normal" through agroecology!

Before you eat your meal today, take a moment to ponder if whether you have thanked a farmer today. They provide the fuel that powers the entire humanity - our food! listen and know how we at masipag uphold their rights.

Garden pests are a headache! Listen and learn how to regulate their populations in your gardens.