Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 22)— Senators want the Department of Agriculture (DA) to come up with an action plan on how it can help farmers amid skyrocketing fertilizer prices.
At Friday’s hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Migz Zubiri said he wants to see the action plan before the DA’s 2022 budget is taken up at the plenary.
“Ako naman ang magmamando kung ilalabas ko ‘yang budget ninyo sa plenaryo,” Zubiri said as the panel takes up the DA’s budget for next year. “Dapat may action plan tayo dito sa problema ng abono na hinaharap ng ating mga magsasaka.”
[Translation: I will be the one to direct if I will take your budget to the plenary. We must have an action plan in the fertilizer problem of our farmers.]
Senator Imee Marcos pointed out that a sack of urea fertilizer used to cost ₱900 but was sold recently at ₱1,800 per sack or higher.
Citing data from the Philippine Rice Research Instritute, Senator Cynthia Villar said organic material can also be used to fertilize crops aside from the urea fertilizer.
“That’s why I’m encouraging organic,” Villar said. “Kasi ‘yung organic, gagawin lang ng mga farmers ‘yun. Hindi nila bibilhin tapos maso-solve pa ‘yung waste management problem natin, ‘di ba? Eh di kalahati hindi na bibilhin.”
[Translation: That’s why I’m encouraging organic. Because the organic can be done by the farmers. They don’t have to buy it, while the waste management problem will also be solved, right?]
The lawmakers questioned the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA), an attached agency of the DA, why it has not done more to help farmers produce their own fertilizers at a lower cost.
FPA executive director Wilfredo Roldan tried to reason that the agency is merely regulatory, which the senators did not buy.
“Napakarami nating organic material for organic fertilizer eh wala naman ako nakikitang programa,” Zubiri pointed out. “You need to come up with more progressive measures hindi lang tayo reactive.”
[Translation: We have so much organic material for organic fertilizer but I don’t see programs. You need to come up with more progressive measures, and that we are not just reactive.]
The DA said it provides free fertilizer and seeds in the form of vouchers as part of its Rice Resiliency Project.
However, some farmers’ groups recently demanded the resignation of Agriculture Secretary William Dar as the agency supposedly failed to deliver the free fertilizer subsidy.
