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THE
Department of Agriculture (DA) has allocated P500
million for its Organikong Pagsasaka program, a program
that seeks to encourage farmers to use organic
fertilizers.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the money came
from the FIELDS package unveiled by President Arroyo
during the Food Summit held in April.
The DA
said the program encourages farmers to produce
biofertilizers, which they can use for their own and
sell to other farmers. The department is set to buy back
the excess organic inputs farmers produce.
The
program, which implements Executive Order 481 of
President Arroyo, titled “Promotion and Development of
Organic Agriculture in the Philippines,” will first
target rice, corn and vegetable farms nationwide.
FIELDS
stands for the six areas of support where the government
will infuse P43.7 billion in funding assistance:
Fertilizers; Irrigation and other rural infrastructure;
Extension, education and training for farmers; Loans;
Dryers and other postharvest facilities; and Seeds of
the high-yielding varieties.
Yap
pointed out that the use of organic fertilizers and
nonchemical- dependent technologies to produce farm
inputs has led to better crop quality and higher yields.
Moreover, Yap noted that weaning away farmers from the
use of chemical inputs will help pare farm production
costs amid skyrocketing prices of petroleum-based
fertilizers, which have increased by about 300 percent
over the last five years.
Palay
farmers usually use up to 20 bags of chemical
fertilizers per cropping. A bag of chemical fertilizer
costs about P1,000.
Under
Organikong Pagsasaka, the DA has already introduced the
Modified Rapid Composting technology and the use of
tamang abono in 16 regions, mostly among
underprivileged but competitive farmer-cooperators. |
