Most of the Philippines’ farmlands have low soil fertility due to “some unsustainable agricultural practices” of farmers, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said. According to Karen Bautista, head agriculturist of the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Soil and Water Management, 82 percent of the country’s farmlands have moderate to low levels of soil fertility, and this number is steadily declining. “Ten years ago, nasa…moderate levels of soil fertility iyong ating mga kalupaan. So, patuloy po na nadi-degrade, nagkakaroon po ng degradation over the years due to some unsustainable agricultural practices (Ten years ago, our farmlands have moderate soil fertility. So, the degradation of farmlands continue over the years due to some unsustainable agricultural practices),” she said in a forum held in Quezon City. The official of the agriculture department said that imported synthetic fertilizers like urea are to blame for the dearth of nutrients in farmlands. “So iyong ating mga lupa ay mababa ang contents ng mga major nutrients katulad ng nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium na nandoon sa mga kadalasan na ina-apply po natin – nagkakaroon tayo ng pag-aabono, iyong fertilization na tinatawag. Karamihan sa mga farmers po natin dependent doon sa inorganic fertilizers o synthetic fertilizers na imported (So our soils have low contents of major nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium that are there in what we usually apply - we have composting, what is called fertilization. Most of our farmers are dependent on imported inorganic fertilizers or synthetic fertilizers),” Bautista noted. According to her, imported synthetic fertilizers contribute to soil acidity if their utilization is improper. She said this is the rationale behind the government's active advocacy of a balanced fertilizing approach to increase agricultural crop productivity. Bautista underscored that using both organic and biofertilizers together will boost crop productivity. “Mayroon kaming 100-hectare technology demonstration areas sa buong Pilipinas at ini-encourage po natin ang ating mga magsasaka na gumamit ng balanced fertilization strategy upang matugunan po ang mahal na paggamit ng synthetic imported fertilizers. At ma-promote po natin iyong local production ng ating mga alternative inputs (We have 100-hectare technology demonstration areas throughout the Philippines and we encourage our farmers to use a balanced fertilization strategy to meet the expensive use of synthetic imported fertilizers. And we have promoted the local production to our alternative inputs),” she said. According to Bautista, using a balanced fertilization method also solves the problem of pricey fertilizers and other agricultural inputs. The DA official said the price of synthetic fertilizers was approximately P1,500 per bag prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Synthetic fertilizers were priced between P3,000 and P3,500 during the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. Bautista said the country’s rice production per hectare, which was 4.11 metric tons per hectare as of 2022, could be increased with the balanced fertilization plan and crop diversification. She added that the country’s crop yield can go up like its neighboring countries like Vietnam and Thailand which can produce seven to eight metric tons per hectare.