Eating healthy food should not merely be a choice; it should be a right that is guaranteed by the state.

After all, the Constitution itself requires the State to “promote the general welfare” of the people.

With the spread of so-called “lifestyle diseases,” people nowadays turn to organic food or those grown naturally without the use of fertilizers and pesticides.

But since few farmers are encouraged to go into organic farming because of the high cost and the marginal yield, naturally grown cereals, vegetables, fruits, and livestock are in short supply and, therefore, expensive.

In fact, you can only find these food stuffs in gourmet groceries and high-end convenience stores.

Thus, with the passage of Republic Act 10068 or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, organic farming advocates are now pitching calls for the much-needed funding to ensure its implementation by the incoming administration of President-elect Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

We support Go Organic! Philippines, a consortium of nongovernmental organizations led by the La Liga Policy Institute and the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement in  calling on Aquino and his would-be alter-ego in the Department of Agriculture to ensure that the law will have corresponding fund or budget for its effective implementation.

“We don’t want the law to end up like the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, Clean Water Act, and Clean Air Act, which get no substantial funding for (their) implementation,” Roland Cabigas, managing director of La Liga and co-convenor of Go Organic! Philippines, said in a statement.

The group successfully implemented the Organic FIELDS Support Program, a national organic program that promotes environment-friendly food production.

“Implementing rules and regulations requires budget institutionalization by way of coming up with a regular budget line for organic farming, including training, promotion, productions, and marketing,” he said.

He added that while the law will take effect right after the IRR has been signed this year, funding for its implementation in the amount of P50 million annually begins only next year.

He said there is a need for P-Noy and his would-be Agriculture secretary to allocate fund from, possibly, the P500-million budget for Ginintuang Masaganang Ani program for rice for 2010 to “start the ball rolling” and fund programs, citing the need to go organic, especially when the country is starting to feel the adverse impact of global warming and climate change.

The law seeks the development and promotion of organic farming or a chemical-free agricultural method in the country. It establishes a comprehensive organic farming program, which includes incentives for farmers engaged in the production of agricultural crops free from harmful chemical pesticides and fertilizer.

The new law also creates a National Organic Agricultural Board to provide policy direction towards the promotion of organic farming in the country.