Extreme heat, droughts, and flashs flooding are now annual occurrences for villagers in Mindanao, once known as the food basket of the Philippines. They do not enjoy anymore three planting seasons a year. Generating bountiful crops from their fertile soil is almost impossible. Nowadays, villagers are battling against regular pest infestations and unpredictable weather, malnutrition is rising, and some villagers are forced to survive on bananas.

Majority of the farmers in Central Mindanao work in less than one to two hectares of land for production. Synthetic pesticides and fertilizers are widely used. Farmer–trader tie up is very common. Mostly, they suffer crisis of three to seven months annually because of high cost of farm inputs and high interest rate of credits that resulted to dropping of income.

Based on the situational analysis done by some of the communities, each farmer will cost an estimated PhP7,000 farm inputs per hectare for every cropping. For the last harvest season, many farmlands were devastated by the drought and flash flooding. Thus, there are increased debts because of high cost of farm inputs, very minimal harvests, and storm of increasing food prices. Usually, harvesting comes into 70–100 sacks per harvest season, but now with prevalence of variety of pests, and lack of capability to afford the farming inputs, they can only harvest 30–60 sacks during lucky seasons. In most cases, they get nothing but a can of rice kernels only. So, availability of food is a problem because there is no alternative means of income in many of the villages.

In this case, farmers have very limited choice but to divert away from serving local food markets to the production of high–valued crops like African palm oil, jathropa, and alike which is being promoted by the government and many of the influential families. Some have to take the risks of diverting their rice/corn farm into high–valued crops without knowing the disadvantages. Whilst others remain reluctant, most of small farmers were forced to rent their lands to influential families venturing into high–valued crops.

With the following local progress, as of today, 80% of estimated 845 million hungry people globally, are small farmers, according to Against the Grain. Whilst the price hikes, an additional 100 million people can no longer afford to eat adequately. People are in hunger, and worst, the small farmers themselves can no longer provide their families the basic necessities they need. As support to small farmers, organic farming is introduced and promoted by several organizations in Mindanao.

Organic farming is a natural farming system that lower input costs, utilizing local material inputs, and conserves our environment. It is a system that is "farmer–friendly" – increases food availability and diversity, quality, and income. The objective of sustainability lies at the heart of organic farming and is one of the major factors determining the acceptability or otherwise of specific production practices. The term "sustainable" is used in its widest sense, to encompass not just conservation of non–renewable resources (soil, energy, minerals) but also issues of environmental, economic and social sustainability. The term "organic" is best thought of as referring to the concept of the farm as an organism, in which all the component parts – the soil minerals, organic matter, micro–organisms, insects, plants, animals and humans – interact to create a coherent and stable whole.

There are still many who are reluctant from growing rice/corn out of organic farming inputs. There are many who are still skeptics to the reliability of organic farming inputs. But an enticing support from the government can lead farmers to practice organic farming rather than shifting into biofuel source raw materials which is not Filipino's staple food.

Villages in Central Mindanao are gradually shifting from chemically–based farming system into naturally–based farming system. In the past years, the introduction and promotion of the chemical farm inputs caught small farmers by posting abundancy of harvests when used. In longer–term development, this has proven only debts, bankruptcy, eroding soils, health risky in the process.

"I now realized the importance of natural pest management especially what plants are useful for preventing pests in my farm," says Mastura, 37, from a small village of Lipao, Datu Paglas, Maguindanao.

He attended the re–echo training of organic farming system facilitated by an international non–government organization. Both men and women who attend it, mostly are beneficiaries of vegetable seeds and farm seeds. Homemade organic fertilizers and pesticides processing and usage are taught to the villagers.

Nandong Kamid, a farmer, says "I am thankful because I am chosen as one of the recipients of a sack of organic rice seeds. Now, I have grown them up to seven (7) inches tall and robust. With the knowledge of making homemade fertilizers, I am confident that I could produce healthy crops."

Mr. Kamid added that he would not dare to swap over the knowledge he acquires in making of organic fertilizers and pest controls to PhP1000.00.

Many of the non–government organizations have introduced organic farming to support the global advocacy for food security and ecological balance (which are not destructive for the environment).

Small–scale farmers will never forget in their vocabularies black bugs, stem boarers, rats, and other farm pests which drove down their income. Through organic rice/corn farming, they are gradually seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

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