Senate probe on DA memo on biofertilizer use sought
Published May 11, 2023 07:38 am
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Thursday, May 11 filed a resolution to investigate the recent memorandum of the Department of Agriculture (DA) mandating the use of biofertilizers.
Hontiveros said she filed Senate Resolution No. 608 into Memorandum Order No. 32 to prevent a repeat of the 2004 Fertilizer Fund Scam, in which the DA's fertilizer funds were allegedly diverted and used for re-election.
MO No. 32 was issued by the DA last April 27 and established guidelines for the distribution and use of biofertilizers to increase rice production.
“At a time of high prices and looming El Niño, it is imperative to review the policies of the DA on rice production,” Hontiveros said in a statement.
“Mapapagaan ba ang bigat na pasan ng ating mga magsasaka o baka naman mauwi lang sa korapsyon na lalong magpapahirap sa kanila (Will the heavy burden of our farmers be eased or will it just end up in corruption that will make them even more miserable)?” Hontiveros asked.
In its memorandum order, the DA claimed its biofertilizer “can substitute for at least two bags of urea without sacrificing the yield” compared to two bags of inorganic fertilizer per hectare, which costs P4,000.
However, Hontiveros noted that MO No. 32's figure of P4,000 per hectare is incorrect because urea costs just P1,100 per bag and two bags per hectare would cost only P2,200.
“There is a need to investigate the basis for the issuance of MO No. 32, whether the price of fertilizer and the cost of urea per bag are indeed high enough to warrant the insistence of the Department of Agriculture (DA) on using biofertilizer,” the senator said in her resolution.
The resolution also called for a study to determine if biofertilizer is indeed more cost-effective and increases rice farmers' yield.
“The idea of buying biofertilizers is drawing concern from farmer organizations since it may end up being another fertilizer fund scam. We must look at this situation,” Hontiveros stressed.
Even if the DA assured that the bidding process would help lower the price, commercial biofertilizers are still new and therefore, the procurement agency and its auditors may be clueless on how to specify biofertilizer quality and price.
Even while the DA assured critics that a bidding process would lower the price, commercial biofertilizers are still new, Hontiveros said.
“There won't be many suppliers, so there is a chance that the bidding will be competitive on paper but not in reality,” she said.
Hontiveros said the resolution should be viewed “in the spirit of enhancing the procurement process” at the DA so that regional DA offices and their auditors receive better guidance.