The Department of Agriculture (DA) aims to put its organic fertilizer support program in 2009 on the fast track. DA will rehabilitate the existing 33 laboratories to produce Trichoderma and 12 non-operational Bio-N Mixing plants that used to manufacture biofertilizer.
"Funds of the Bureau of Soils and Water Manage-ment (BWSM) for its ‘Tamang Abono Program-Organic Fertilizer Produc-tion’ will be used to upgrade the 33 Tricho-derma Production Laboratories and 12 Bio-N Mixing Plants in sync. The DA decided to do away with its inorganic fertilizer support program beginning 2009. It instead will provide organic fertilizer manufacturing assistance to small farmers so they can produce their own fertilizer require-ments," BSWM Director Silvinio Tejada revealed.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap announced that the organic fertilizer manufacturing support the DA is extending to farmers starting in the 2009 dry crop will go to some 2,600 clusters in 48 provinces where the palay harvests are below the national average of 3.8 metric tons per hectare. These clusters cover adjacent or neighboring paddy fields.
"Trichoderma harzia-num hastens the decom-position of organic and lignocelluloses materials like rice straw, corn stalks, grasses and weeds from 3 – 4 months to one month," Tejada said. The 33 existing Trichoderma Production Laboratories has a production capacity of 144,000 packets per year.
"Bio-N is a microbial fertilizer that could replace 30–50 percent of the total nitrogen fertilizer requirement of major crops. It is one of the most effective bio–fertilizers available in the market," Tejada pointed out.
There are 68 existing Bio-N Mixing Plants in the Philippines, but only 56 are operational. The 12 mixing plants are proposed for upgrading. These mixing plants are being run by the DA-Regional Field Units (RFUs), local government units (LGUs), farmers’ cooperatives or organi-zations, state universities and colleges (SUCs), and private corporations.
"The Trichoderma Production Laboratories and the Bio-N Mixing Plants are crucial to the new DA program. These will supply Trichoderma and Bio Inoculants to the farm clusters where the DA will intensively promote the use of non-chemical fertilizers," Tejada stressed.
To upgrade these facilities, new equipment like hammer mills or pulverizers, mixer ribbon types, over dryers, pressure cookers and top loading balance tools must be provided.
The DA is training small farmers in these 48 below-average, palay-producing provinces on the production of their own organic fertilizer needs. This is a part of a policy overhaul to funnel most DA funds into such "hard" projects as irrigation maintenance and postharvest facilities. "Soft" projects like petrochemical fertilizer support will be stopped.
The fertilizer discount coupons the DA gave out last year to farmer-beneficiaries in partner-ship with LGUs is stopped. Instead, organic fertilizer manufacturing support to these farmers this year in 2,600 clusters will be provided.
"This major shift in farm production support is one component of the DA reform program to intensify the promotion of ‘balanced fertilization’ as a long-term, calibrated approach to wean our farmers away from expensive, imported petrochemical fertilizers," Yap stressed.
Moreover, organic fertilizer manufacturing support and other intervention measures will go to these 2,600 clusters to rapidly boost palay harvests by raising up to the national average of 3.8 MT—or higher—the per-hectare outputs in these relatively low-yielding provinces.
"The DA will concen-trate on funding capacity building programs meant to encourage farmers to go into organic farming by producing their own organic fertilizers," Yap added. /MP
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