The Philippines has an opportunity to expand its organic agriculture sector as local farmlands are less degraded than those of more industrialized agricultural economies, according to the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), which urged the government to make industry data publicly available and reopen discussions on the country’s organic standards.
“We have that opportunity because we have not degraded our land to the same extent as other countries that poured subsidies into agriculture. So, we still have many workable lands,” Julius Barcelona, co-chairperson of the ECCP Agriculture Committee, said in an interview during the European Union Organic Day 2026 on Friday in mixed English and Filipino.
“There’s a lot of opportunities that allow us to change course now and balance it out,” he added.
In countries with industrialized agricultural industries, decades of heavy reliance on synthetic fertilizers have led to soil degradation and environmental problems, including excess nitrogen pollution that is damaging forests and reducing long-term soil productivity.
“Forests are low-nitrogen environments. They are not designed to absorb huge amounts of nitrogen, and that’s what is happening now. Old forests are actually starting to die because of this,” Mr. Barcelona said.
Local farmers practice crop rotation that helps maintain soil health, allowing the country still has many workable lands suitable for organic farming, Mr. Barcelona said. Organic farming generally relies on healthy, biologically active soils to sustain crop growth with limited or no synthetic fertilizers.
Of the country’s 13.57 million hectares of agricultural land, only 1,073.66 hectares are certified for organic farming, Mr. Barcelona said, citing Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data.
He cited the high cost and tedious requirements for third-party certification as key barriers to the adoption of organic agriculture among farmers.
To help expand the country’s organic agriculture sector, the government must first establish comprehensive data on the industry and initiate broader discussions on developing practical organic standards, Mr. Barcelona said.
“If we really want to get serious about organic agriculture, we have to make the data publicly available,” he said. “We don’t even know the size of the organic trade, market or consumer demand in the country.”
He added that publicly available data would help the government gauge whether its interventions are producing positive results.
The government should also revisit the country’s organic standards to determine whether they should continue emphasizing a strict definition of organic or place greater focus on food safety and non-toxic food production, Mr. Barcelona said.
The country also does not need to start from scratch, as it can learn from technologies and best practices adopted by more mature agricultural economies while strengthening its own research.
Acknowledging the higher upfront costs of organic agriculture, Mr. Barcelona said the country could initially focus on high-value crops, much like Japan has done with matcha.
The Philippines already has an organic trade with Europe and is one of the bloc’s primary suppliers of vegetable oils and oleofats, exporting 11,520 metric tons in 2024, he said, citing 2025 European Commission data.
He added that the country could further expand organic farming for other high-value products such as Philippine mangoes, saba bananas for banana chips, cacao, coffee and other crops.
If the country succeeds in expanding its organic agriculture sector, it could tap into the growing consumer spending on organic food and beverages in key markets, such as the United States.
According to the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), global retail sales of organic food and beverages reached 145 billion euros in 2024, reflecting resilient demand across major markets. — Edg Adrian A. Eva
