“Organic farming is about buying out of a corrupt, illegal and dishonest supply chain system” – Jerry Brown
I was emphasizing the duty-bound responsibility of the government to go against pseudo organic farming and fair trade advocates where the production system and processing practices are downright dishonest, betraying customers and the public in general.
The province of Negros – the organic food-bowl of Asia for more than a decade, consistently promotes organic farming practices and the principle of fairness, if evidence proves otherwise it will not tolerate these pseudo organic practitioners. It will be to the boundless shame of the province and even the country, if these institutions are found to be propagating malpractices using farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries. This will tarnish the image and reputation of Negros, and a shameless and blatant betrayal of small producers of producers, who for years they used as shield for profit under the guise of organic and fair trade products.
For the longest time these institutions parading themselves as alternative people’s trading arms have been deceiving the consumers both domestically and internationally. A pandora’s box that must be opened as the only way to address this major concern.
TRUTHFULLY FAKE
It is socially and morally injurious when your organizational mission is the alleviation of poverty in the rural areas through organic farming and sustainable agriculture, but your actual practices betray this very foundation of your existence. This is what makes it deeply concerning because these organizations were established on the basis of the sugar crisis where sugarcane become the symbol of partnership, but the other party is willfully betrayed because of production practices and falsification of documents that even employees and small producers even used for compliance requirements, especially for international market under organic and fair trade markets.
The vision of these institutions was deeply rooted in the socio economic and socio-political landscape of Negros in the 1980’s has significantly eroded as its foundation. Their shield – the small agrarian reform beneficiaries and marginal farmers now called small producers, have sunk to the waterloo of deception. It is completely disgraceful how the leaders have the gall to continue these malpractices and disinformation for more than three decades.
These institutions were not established for the sole purpose of generating profit but equally important, is to live up of the deep-seated political history of Negros where children died of hunger and their parents as sugar workers were victims of exploitation.
‘TREACHEROUS LEADERS?’
To this day malpractice continues. It is recognized that small producers have evolved – improving their socio-economic conditions mainly by producing sugarcane after land acquisition through the land reform program. It is quite unthinkable how leaders of these institutions have not taken even gradual facility improvement and at the same time trained a new breed of inter-generational managers capable of sustaining these institutions.
For decades they have failed to develop new “visionary” leaders who would re-shape their organization and develop skills and capabilities of employees including the small partner producers responsive to the imperatives of the times.
What continues to persist is the culture of a hierarchical and bureaucratic leadership that is old fashioned which is very resistant to change employing “lecture-like follow my lead culture” that dates back to the late 80’s laden with insecurity. These leaders refuse to step down, perhaps consumed by insecurity when new ideas abound. As a matter of consolation, “young leaders” were appointed but rarely exposing themselves to the ground not fully knowing the realities of the small producers.
Subsequently, the future of alternative trading is doomed to fail soon if these malpractices are only passed on to these new “breed of leaders”.
INNOVATION OF DECEIT AND BETRAYAL
The experience of exploitation and oppressiveness instilled the fervor and commitment to these pioneers and leaders that triggered them to rise up and developed practical and actionable ideas that saved many of the exploited and oppressed marginal farmers and sugar workers.This was true honor and dignity but only this was lived up to this day.
The changing times with technological advancement of traditional systems and operations void of facility improvement remain backward and obsolete.
Unfortunately, the only option left is the betrayal of the established partnership in the guise of “genuine people’s development.” This is innovated deception.
If these are not addressed so that these leaders can only blame the consequences of their actions to others who desire to stop these willful malpractices, then, logic is long gone.*
