A group of farmers welcomed the call of Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) to increase the local production of fertilizers amid the rising cost of this farm input.
In a statement, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said such a call from FPA contradicts the importation stance of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
“We cannot always depend on imports, especially on food and other basic products. It is imperative that we walk on our own two legs. This call for increasing local fertilizer production, especially organic, should be coupled with an actual budget, resources, and a strategic roadmap,” KMP National Chairperson Danilo Ramos said.
FPA Administrator Wilfredo Roldan said last week that the Philippines must increase its local production of fertilizers, even urging farmers to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and strive for self-reliance.
“Roldan seems to have more sense than William Dar whose solution to any agricultural problem is to import-import-import,” Ramos said.
To recall, Dar urged small farmer cooperatives in September to directly import fertilizers.
FPA monitoring revealed that fertilizer prices breached the P2,000 mark in the second week of November. 50-kilo bags of urea have now more than doubled at an average price of P2,099 nationwide from P1,045 per bag in January 2021. This amounts to a P1,054 or 101 percent increase.
“The persistent rise of fertilizer prices amounts to an added cost of up to P7,378 per hectare for the production of palay and other input-intensive crops which need three to seven bags of fertilizers. Add to this the consecutive rise in oil prices which occurred last planting season and it becomes clear that farmers, despite much sowing, will increasingly reap nothing but debt,” Ramos said, reiterating KMP’s call for aid and subsidy.
Meanwhile, the peasant leader welcomed the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) commitment towards higher fertilizer subsidies.
“Cash subsidies for fertilizer are an important step that would provide much-needed relief for small farmers. But if not paired with an aggressive program towards building local fertilizer production, these subsidies would just ultimately benefit importers and foreign agri-corporations,” Ramos said.
“We will remain vigilant for the proper distribution of these subsidies especially after the fertilizer fund scam and audit irregularities in the earlier parts of this year,” he added.