Fertilizer Price Crisis! Natural Fertilizer An Option But Farmers Ask: ‘Effective Ba?’

Farmers who face the critical problem of very high prices of Inorganic Fertilizers have two options: first, to cut down on the volume of fertilizer used in crop production and second, resort to the use of Organic Fertilizer or Natural Soil Ameliorants.

Ang issue sa reduction ng paggamit ng abono, say from 8 bags to only 4 bags kasi tumaas ang presyo ng Urea from P800 to P2,700, ay ang epekto nito sa production level.

Siguradong babagsak ang farm yield kapag binawasan ang soil inputs and it would affect food supply and prices.

Ang Natural Fertilizer and Soil Ameliorants naman still carry the stigma of the scandalous Fertilizer Scam which involved some officials of the Department of Agriculture about two decades ago when fly-by-night fertilizer dealers sold what they claimed was Liquid Fertilizer which nobody used because it was ineffective.

Hanggang ngayon, hirap pa rin maka-penetrate sa market ang mga legitimate natural fertilizer and soil ameliorants manufacturers because of that scandal.

But there are several foliar fertilizer brands which have been proven effective actually and I used at least three of these in my farm with good results – AMO Organic Fertilizer, BioGold and Amway.

Last Monday, I went to Dagupan City to meet with former Congressman Eric Acuña whose company produces the AMO Organic Fertilizer and asked him about the effect of the inorganic fertilizer price hike on his sales.

Tumaas daw by 300% ang kanilang sales and the company could hardly cope with the market demand now.

The problem of the Natural Fertilizer and Soil Ameliorants producers right now is their incapability to supply the needs of the farmers.

The farmers also need to be guided on which of these Natural Fertilizers and Soil Ameliorants are indeed effective with a balanced component of N-P-K.

The Department of Agriculture should take the lead in addressing this problem which could severely affect food production and result in higher food prices.

My suggestion is:

1. Immediate, ipatawag ang lahat ng mga fertilizer dealers in the country to discuss a price cap or even a government subsidy at source;

2. Convene all of the Natural and Organic Fertilizer producers of the country to assess and evaluate the efficacy of their products and assist them to boost their production levels.

#GovernanceIsCommonSense!

#KungGustoMaramingParaan!

(This video was prepared by the media team of the Biyaheng Senado ni Manny Piñol.)

https://www.facebook.com/100044577333084/videos/933611834258864