Sagada farmers have
been engaged in vegetable cash-crop production while retaining the
indigenous farming methods, particularly in planting rice.
“Bio Green is a
microbial organic fertilizer which would address the agrochemical
dependent farmers and acidic-turned farms in the vegetable- and
rice-producing areas of the Cordillera, explained agricultural engineer
Jerry Gonzales,” a partner of MRDC in the Bio Green project.
He explained that as
microbial fertilizer, it contains millions of beneficial microbes that fix
nitrogen from the air, solubilize phosphates and other soil nutrients, and
control the growth of soil-borne plant pathogens which causes diseases.
“The fertilizer is
environment-friendly as it does not cause soil acidity and non-toxic water
and atmosphere,” Gonzales told Nordis after the demonstration, adding that
it has high NPK (Nitrogen, Phosporous, and Potassium) needed during
seedling root development and survival.
“t is also a soil
conditioner that can improve soil structure, increase soil ability to hold
water and nutrients, and provide better aeration,” added Gonzales, an
advocate of organic farming.
Agro-chemical inputs’ effects
Organic farming
advocates have been campaigning for organic farming as an alternative to
agro-chemical and rehabilitation of the chemical addicted soil recorded in
both the vegetable and rice farming areas in the region.
MRDC researchers said
that Cordillera farmers have been engaged in conventional practice with
the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, raw or unprocessed organic
fertilizer – such as chicken dung – which aggravate soil destruction and
acidity and contribute to the prevalence of pest and diseases.
“These result in
declining crop yields in addition to the rising costs of imported inputs
such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides and contend with unstable
price of their products,” they added.
They also observed
that due to the use of these agro-chemical inputs, the soil acidity in the
region dropped to 4.0 to 4.8 ph level from the ideal 6.5 to 7 ph. They
pointed out that indiscriminate and excessive use of acid-forming
ammoniacal chemical fertilizers had worsened soil acidity.
An average of 500
tons of fungicide, 500,000 liters of pesticides and 15,000 tons of
commercial fertilizers had been disposed yearly in the vegetable belt in
the region alone, noted MRDC. These amount to half a billion pesos, the
MRDC stated.
Bio
Green application
The MRDC-Gonzales
partnership is considered timely as it tries to campaign for soil
rehabilitation in the agro-chemical dependent areas while trying to
maintain natural soil fertility through organic farming.
Gonzales added that
they are all set to submit a sample of their product to the Fertilizer and
Pesticide Authority under the Department of Agriculture (FPA-DA) and they
plan for mass production this November or December.
He declined to
elaborate on the other contents of the fertilizer. The product will be
registered under the partnership of MRDC and Gonzales. Northern
Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat
BACK TO
TOP ■
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION ■
COMMENT
© 2006 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Media Center
Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided
its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.