Bio-fertilizer give life to Iloilo farms sans urea - tests

ILOILO CITY - Bio-fertilizer gives life to farms without urea, tests in Iloilo Province show.

Before, Iloilo farmers have to navigate through the delicate balance of soaring urea prices and lost profits as prices of urea fertilizer shot passed the ceiling since last year. Its supply dropped after the Russo-Ukraine war broke out in February 2022. Though it went down from P3,500 to P1,500 per bag today, its present cost is still higher than before the war at P800 per bag.

"Demonstration farms" in Iloilo Province are proving that farm production are bouncing back without urea, Geron Magbanua, senior agriculturist at the provincial agriculture office (PAO) said. 

Farmers cooperating with the government research which in turn does so in collaboration with a private comjpany producing fertilizer, "are encouraged by the results of the validation tests"  in Passi City, New Lucena, Dingle, Tigbauan and Oton towns, added Magbanua.

He was designated "validator" by the PAO to work with the West Visayas Agricultural Research Center (WESVIARC), arm of the Department of Agriculture (DA) based in Jaro district, this city.

As "validator", Magbanua visits demonstration sites to observe palay crops in their different stages of growth. WESVIARC and a private company collaborate in testing the latter's products generically called "bio-fertilizer". "At present, they are testing it on rice but the goal is on all crops, rice and others and in all towns," he added.

Even if "end users" prefer to buy commercial bio-fertililzer instead of producing the inputs themselves, the costs are still low. The fertility of the soil is enhanced in the long run because of the "self-propagating" nature of the micro-organisms. Magbanua explain.

The technology is already practiced in countries like Japan, Thailand and Israel. Bio-fertilizer have  both organic and organic materials blended with "bio-catalyst organisms." He did not define what "bio-catalyst organism."  It has one advantage over chemical-based fertilizer: it can be fabricated by end users themselves out of farm plant and animal wastes, said Magbanua.

"So far, my validation visits to theh demonstration farms show that bio-fertilizer have comparable yield with those using urea or chemical outputs," he said.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Boy Scout Roy B. Babas, in memoriam

Image
By Pet Melliza/The Beekeeper Iloilo Gov.  Arthur D. Defensor (center in light shirt) and Estancia Mayor Rene Cordero (beside the governor) unveil the monument of Scout Roy.  By now, he could have been 53 and, if he married at 20, he would have grandchildren. However, Roy B. Babas, gave up his life at a tender age because of a freak accident 41 years ago, January 24, 1971. He was 12 years old and a grade five pupil. Babas, orphaned of both parents and cared for by his paternal  lolo   eked out a living on weekends and holidays as cargador , carrying luggage of passengers of vessels docking on the wharf of Estancia, Iloilo. Bionat: When I broached the idea to the governor of erecting a monument in honor of Scout Roy, he nodded at once. Scout Roy was his buddy in the Boy Scout. He promised silently beside the latter's bier that he will work it out to have a monument built for him. Defensor: Bravery and helpfullness are among the virtues of Boy Scout
Read more

Kalampay getting scarce and costly

Image
Today a kilo of kalampay fetches P80 to P140, at par with other fishes. This freshwater crab was almost free before. Photo above shows a freshly broiled crab. Kalampay" for sale was almost unheard of 40 years ago. The freshwater crab teemed in Iloilo rivers and people caught it for free. Today, it fetches the minimum P80 per kilo. Surprisingly, Iloilo River, dubbed the country's biggest septic tank after Pasig River, is still home to crabs and shrimps that Ilonggos consume. Mention the word today to the young generation and they would stare at you bewildered. "Kalampay? Ano ra man? (Kalampay? What's that.)" They more they would stare at you blankly if you asked them what "katang" and "baringay" are. The usage of term is getting scarcer like the fate of kalampay. "Katang" is a juvenile kalampay, the size a half thumb while "baringay" are botton size ones that migrate inland from the sea where they are spawned. 
Read more

Broad daylight robbery by Treñas and caboodle

    Mayor Jerry Treñas and his caboodle in the mass disinformation industry are yelping accolades and jumping in glee at nothing but how good, bright and promising the fates of the Iloilo Terminal Market and Iloilo Central Market would be under his watch. Better still, miswatch.      "Public-Private Partnership" kuno; "renovation" kuno, "progress" pa gid, lapdogs in the  mainstream mass disinformation industry oogle.      What they're deliberately hiding is the obvious, that the deal is nothing but a "lease contract", a heavily lopsided one, that hands over for a song two prime real estate properties of Iloilo City taxpayers to SM Holdings, owner of the most number and biggest of malls in the Philippines.      It's neither PPP nor renovation but a broad daylight robbery where Treñas surrenders to SM the ownership of the "Central" and "Super" to SM for 50 years, renewable thereafter at SM's caprice.      By merely c
Read more