Palay or unhusked rice (MANILA BULLETIN)


Four congressmen led by Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte believe that a House probe on the effectiveness of chemical fertilizers in terms of rice production is in order. Villafuerte, Sta Rosa City Rep. Danilo Ramon Fernandez, Bataan 2nd district Rep. Albert Raymond Garcia, and Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan filed for this purpose House Resolution (HR) No.972. “To support, through meaningful legislation, the direction set by President [Ferdinand 'Bongbong'] Marcos [Jr.] on finding alternatives to boost palay productivity, there is a need to answer: (1) whether or not chemical fertilizers like urea really cost cheaper than, if not just the same, as biofertilizers, and (2) whether or not organic inputs or biofertilizers are still untested or have been proven to significantly boost crop yields,” the authors wrote in HR No.972. The resolution specifically calls on the House Committee on Agriculture and Food to conduct the inquiry. The authors recalled that the Department of Agriculture (DA) issued last April 27 Memorandum Order (MO) No. 32 covering the “Implementing Guidelines on the Distribution and Use of Biofertilizers, which sets the guidelines on the distribution and use of biofertilizers for CY 2023". They observed that MO 32 apparently aims “to conquer high price of inputs and promote alternative inputs such as biofertilizers,” given that President Marcos had announced at a recent DA sectoral meeting “his administration’s push for the use of biofertilizers by our farmers to cut their use of imported petroleum-based fertilizers". Marcos is the concurrent DA secretary. Rice, which is harvested as palay, is the Filipino staple food. This proposed inquiry should make a comparison between the actual costs for, and per-hectare yields of, local growers using organic and inorganic production inputs, Villafuerte said. The President said that DA trials on biofertilizers have shown “promising” results, such that his government is pursuing the mixed-use of both biofertilizers and inorganic fertilizers, in light of the high cost of the commonly used petroleum-based inputs. Villafuerte, the National Unity Party (NUP) president. described the Marcos' support for balanced fertilization as an “audacious move" to finally wean away our farmers from decades of overdependence on costly imported inputs that shrink their incomes and impair the environment. “Freeing our farmers from the decades-long chokehold of pricey imported chemical fertilizers in favor of the use of biofertilizers or organic inputs is an audacious agricultural policy shift that should have happened a long time back, in order to boost palay productivity, raise farmers’ incomes and pull down rice prices while at the same time reversing soil degradation and fighting planet warming,” he said.