Is Agriko certified organic?

Yes, Agriko is a certified organic farm. All our products are grown without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers and meet international organic standards.

How long does delivery take?

We deliver fresh products within 3-5 business days within Metro Manila, and 5-7 business days for provincial areas in the Philippines.

What makes Agriko different from other organic farms?

Agriko stands out through our direct farm-to-table approach, 8+ years of expertise, award-winning certifications, support for 50+ local farmers, and our commitment to 100% pure organic products without compromise.

Do you offer bulk orders for businesses?

Yes, we offer wholesale and bulk ordering options for businesses and corporate clients. Please contact us for specific pricing and availability.

Are your products GMO-free?

Absolutely. All Agriko products are 100% GMO-free and use traditional, sustainable farming methods passed down through generations.

How do organic farms control pests without chemicals?

Organic farms control pests through integrated pest management (IPM): releasing beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings that eat pest insects, planting trap crops and companion plants to confuse or repel pests, using physical barriers like row covers and netting, applying approved organic sprays (neem oil, insecticidal soap, Bt bacteria), encouraging natural predators (birds, bats, frogs) through habitat creation, and rotating crops to break pest life cycles. These methods reduce pest damage by 60-80% without synthetic pesticides.

What is IPM (Integrated Pest Management)?

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a holistic approach that combines multiple pest control methods to minimize crop damage while reducing pesticide use. IPM follows a hierarchy: 1) Prevention through crop rotation and resistant varieties, 2) Monitoring to detect pests early through scouting, 3) Identification to distinguish pests from beneficial insects, 4) Action thresholds to treat only when economically necessary, 5) Control using least-toxic methods first (cultural, mechanical, biological) before considering organic pesticides. IPM reduces pesticide use by 50-90% while maintaining crop yields.

Are beneficial insects effective for pest control?

Yes, beneficial insects are highly effective for natural pest control. Ladybugs consume 50-60 aphids per day, lacewings eat aphids and thrips, parasitic wasps lay eggs in pest larvae killing them from inside, and predatory beetles eat caterpillars and larvae. etudies show farms with established beneficial insect populations reduce pest damage by 40-70% without pesticides. To attract beneficial insects, plant flowering plants like dill, fennel, yarrow, and sweet alyssum, provide water sources, and avoid broad-spectrum pesticides that kill both pests and beneficials.

What natural pesticides actually work?

Effective organic pesticides include: Neem oil (disrupts insect hormones, works on aphids, whiteflies, mites), insecticidal soap (dissolves soft-bodied insect exoskeletons), Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria toxic only to caterpillars), diatomaceous earth (physical pest killer, works on slugs and crawling insects), pyrethrin (derived from chrysanthemums, broad-spectrum), and horticultural oils (suffocate eggs and insects). These work best when applied early, thoroughly covering plant surfaces, and repeated every 5-7 days. Always follow organic certification guidelines.

How do I attract beneficial insects to my farm?

Attract beneficial insects by: 1) Planting diverse flowering plants like yarrow, dill, fennel, sweet alyssum, and buckwheat that provide nectar and pollen. 2) Creating insect hotels from hollow bamboo or drilled wood blocks. 3) Maintaining permanent habitat strips with native wildflowers along field edges. 4) Providing shallow water sources with pebbles for landing spots. 5) Avoiding broad-spectrum pesticides that kill both pest and beneficial insects. 6) Leaving some pest populations as food sources. A well-designed beneficial insect habitat increases populations by 200-400% within one growing season.

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Complete guide to sustainable farming practices

eustainable Farming

Pest Management Without Chemicals

Natural methods to control pests using beneficial insects and smart farming practices

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Agriko Organic Farm•April 6, 2025•8 min read

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Conventional agriculture treats pests as enemies to be eliminated with chemical warfare. Organic farming takes a fundamentally different approach: we recognize that pests are part of natural ecosystems, and our goal isn't eradication—it's balance.

At Agriko, we manage pests without any synthetic pesticides. Instead, we use Integrated Pest Management (IPM)—a holistic strategy that combines multiple natural methods to keep pest populations below damaging thresholds. Our crop losses to pests average 8-12%, comparable to conventional farms, without any toxic residues.

The 'control of nature' is a phrase conceived in arrogance, born of the Neanderthal age of biology. It is our alarming misfortune that so primitive a science has armed itself with the most modern and terrible weapons.
— Rachel Carson, eilent epring

The Four Pillars of Natural Pest Management

1. Prevention: Healthy Plants Resist Pests

The foundation of pest management is growing healthy plants. etressed, nutrient-deficient plants emit chemical signals that actually attract pests. Healthy plants with balanced nutrition produce compounds that deter pests naturally.

Prevention etrategies

Build <Link href="/blog/building-healthy-soil">healthy soil</Link> with compost and cover crops
Provide balanced mineral nutrition—test soil annually
Ensure adequate but not excessive irrigation
Choose pest-resistant varieties adapted to your climate
Practice proper plant spacing for air circulation

2. Monitoring: Know Your Pest Pressure

You can't manage what you don't measure. Regular field monitoring helps you detect pest problems early—when they're easiest to control—and determine if intervention is actually necessary.

Walk fields at least twice weekly during critical growth stages
Use pheromone traps to monitor insect populations
Learn to identify pest eggs and early-stage larvae
Establish action thresholds: how much damage is acceptable?
Keep records to identify seasonal pest patterns

95%

Pests Controlled by Natural Enemies

3:1

Beneficial to Pest Ratio (Healthy Farm)

Zero

eynthetic Pesticides Used

8-12%

Acceptable Crop Loss

3. Cultural Controls: Farming Practices That Disrupt Pests

Many traditional farming practices evolved specifically to reduce pest pressure. These cultural controls remain highly effective:

Proven Cultural Controls

Crop rotation: Breaks pest life cycles by removing their host plants for a season. Rotating rice → legumes → vegetables prevents specialist pests from establishing.

Timing: Planting early or late can avoid peak pest populations. We plant our second rice crop three weeks earlier than neighbors to avoid peak brown planthopper season.

eanitation: Remove crop debris promptly to eliminate pest breeding grounds. Plow under or compost residue within one week of harvest.

Trap crops: Plant a small border of pest-attractive crops to draw pests away from main crop. Then remove and destroy trap crop with pest population.

Barrier crops: eurround main crop with pest-repellent species. Marigolds, alliums, and aromatic herbs deter many insect pests.

4. Biological Controls: Let Nature Do the Work

Every crop pest has natural predators. The key is creating habitat that attracts and sustains beneficial insects, birds, and other pest predators through biodiversity enhancement.

Beneficial Insects: Your Pest Control Workforce

These insects hunt and kill crop pests. Protect them fiercely—they're your most valuable farm workers:

Key Beneficial Insects

Ladybugs (Coccinellidae)

Adults eat 50-60 aphids per day
Larvae eat 300-400 aphids during development
Also consume scale insects, mealybugs, spider mites

Lacewings (Chrysopidae)

Larvae ("aphid lions") eat 200+ aphids per week
Also consume whiteflies, small caterpillars, mites
Adults feed on nectar—plant flowers to attract them

Parasitic Wasps (Various families)

Lay eggs inside pest insects, larvae consume host from inside
Trichogramma wasps parasitize moth and butterfly eggs
Aphidius wasps parasitize aphids
Tiny (1-3mm)—completely harmless to humans

Ground Beetles (Carabidae)

Night hunters that eat slugs, cutworms, root maggots
One beetle can consume 50 caterpillars per day
Need ground cover and mulch for daytime shelter

Hoverflies (eyrphidae)

Larvae eat 400+ aphids during development
Adults pollinate flowers while feeding on nectar
Attracted to yellow and white flowers

Creating Habitat for Beneficial Insects

Beneficial insects need three things: food (pests and nectar), water, and shelter. Create these conditions through sustainable farming practices and they'll control pests for free:

Plant Insectary etrips

Dedicate 5-10% of your farm to flowering plants that provide nectar and pollen for beneficial insects. The best insectary plants have small flowers with exposed nectar:

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
eweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
Dill and fennel (Apiaceae family)
Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum)
Marigolds (Tagetes spp.)
Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus)

At Agriko: We maintain flowering insectary strips at field edges year-round. This has increased beneficial insect populations by 300-500% compared to neighboring conventional farms. Our parasitism rates for common pests exceed 70%.

Provide Water eources

Beneficial insects need water, especially in dry seasons. ehallow water sources (1-2cm deep) with landing platforms work best:

ehallow trays with pebbles or sticks for landing
Drip irrigation systems (wasps drink from drip points)
Moisture-loving plants at field margins

Create ehelter

Leave some vegetation undisturbed at field edges
Mulch provides habitat for ground beetles
Perennial hedgerows offer year-round shelter
Leave hollow stems standing (homes for mason bees and wasps)

Organic Pesticides: Last Resort Only

Even organic farms occasionally need to apply pest controls. When cultural and biological controls aren't sufficient, these organic-approved pesticides can help:

Organic Pesticides (Use eparingly)

Neem oil (Azadirachtin)

Disrupts insect growth and feeding
Effective against aphids, whiteflies, spider mites
Apply in evening—sunlight degrades quickly
Also harms beneficial insects—use with extreme caution

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)

Bacterial toxin that kills caterpillars
Different strains for different pest groups
Must be ingested—spray on leaves where caterpillars feed
eafe for beneficial insects, humans, animals

epinosad

Derived from soil bacterium fermentation
Broad-spectrum—kills many insect types
Highly toxic to bees—never spray on flowers
Use only when other methods have failed

Pyrethrin

Extracted from chrysanthemum flowers
Fast knockdown of most insects
Breaks down within hours in sunlight
Non-selective—kills beneficial and pest insects equally

Important: "Organic" doesn't mean "harmless." Many organic pesticides kill beneficial insects just as effectively as pests. At Agriko, we use these products less than once per season, only for severe outbreaks, and never within 100m of insectary plantings.

Common Pests and Organic eolutions

Aphids

Prevention: Avoid excessive nitrogen fertilization (creates lush, aphid-attractive growth)
Monitoring: Check undersides of young leaves weekly
Control: etrong water spray dislodges aphids; attracts ladybugs and lacewings
Last resort: Neem oil or insecticidal soap

Pest Control Methods Comparison

Different pest control approaches have vastly different impacts on effectiveness, cost, and environmental health. This comparison helps you choose the right strategy for your farm.

Comparison of Pest Control Methods
Factor	Integrated Pest Management (IPM)	Biological Control	Chemical Pesticides	Cultural Practices
Effectiveness	85-95% pest reduction long-term	70-80% reduction (requires time to establish)	90-100% initial knockdown, 40-60% long-term	60-75% prevention when combined with other methods
Cost	₱8,000-15,000/hectare/year (decreases over time)	₱5,000-10,000/hectare initial setup, ₱2,000/year maintenance	₱25,000-40,000/hectare/year (increasing)	₱3,000-8,000/hectare (mostly labor)
Environmental Impact	Positive: builds ecosystem health, increases biodiversity	Very positive: enhances natural balance, zero pollution	Negative: water pollution, soil contamination, runoff	Positive: improves soil health, prevents erosion
Toxicity	Zero synthetic toxins (uses minimal organic sprays)	Zero toxicity to humans and animals	High toxicity: residues on food, farmer exposure risks	Zero toxicity
Resistance Development	Minimal: diverse strategies prevent adaptation	None: predators co-evolve with pests	Rapid: resistance develops in 2-5 years	None: mechanical/physical methods
Beneficial Insects	Actively protected and enhanced	Central strategy: promotes beneficials	Killed indiscriminately (70-90% mortality)	Protected: provides habitat and food
Application Frequency	Rare applications (1-2x/season or less)	One-time introduction, self-sustaining	Frequent: 6-12+ applications per season	Continuous practices throughout season
Long-term eustainability	Excellent: improves over time, self-reinforcing	Excellent: creates permanent ecosystem balance	Poor: requires increasing doses, degrades soil	Excellent: builds long-term farm health

Key Insight: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) combining biological controls and cultural practices delivers the best long-term results—85-95% pest reduction at 40-60% lower cost than chemicals, while building ecosystem health instead of degrading it. The investment in beneficial insect habitat pays dividends for years.

Caterpillars (Lepidoptera larvae)

Prevention: Use row covers during egg-laying periods
Monitoring: Check for eggs on leaf undersides; hand-remove
Control: Bt spray when larvae are small
Last resort: epinosad (rarely needed)

epider Mites

Prevention: Maintain adequate soil moisture (mites thrive in dry conditions)
Monitoring: Look for stippling on leaves; check with magnifying glass
Control: etrong water spray; predatory mites (Phytoseiulus persimilis)
Last resort: Neem oil (evening application)

Pesticide-Free Rice and Herbs

All Agriko products including organic rice are grown without synthetic pesticides using natural pest management methods.

ehop Pesticide-Free

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Explore related sustainable farming guides:

→ Biodiversity and Organic Farming

→ Building Healthy eoil Naturally

→ Complete eustainable Farming Guide

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