MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture has allocated an initial P20 million to start a program promoting the extensive use of organic fertilizers, and encourage local farmers to produce safe and healthy food crops.

At a signing ceremony Wednesday, the DA and its attached agency Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), initially teamed up with the local government of Alaminos City in Pangasinan, the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) and La Liga Policy Institute (LLPI) to implement phase 1 of the Organic Fields Support program (OFSP).

“We are sealing this partnership on the promotion of organic fertilizer in sync with Executive Order No. 481,” said Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap.

Initial implementation

Under the memorandum of agreement, the OFSP will be implemented initially in six cities and municipalities in Luzon, over a four-month period from November 2008 to March 2009.

These pilot sites are Alaminos City, Tabaco City in Albay, Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija, Naujan in Mindoro Oriental, and Dinalupihan and Samal in Bataan.

At least 600 farmers are expected to get hands-on training on the methods involved in the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) production, Organic Fertilizer Production and Nature Fertilizer.

The P20-million fund will be released this dry crop season, while the BSWM will provide technology package for composting facilities in keeping with its “Tamang Abono” program.

Recycling

The BWSM project is a balanced fertilization initiative using the Modified Rapid Composting Technology in recycling rice straws and other farm wastes into organic fertilizer.

The PRRM, LLPI and the city government of Alaminos have committed to oversee the implementation of phase 1 of the OFSP in the six pilot sites.

One-hectare lands – either owned by the local government units or farmers – will be developed in each of the pilot areas into learning farms.

In these farms, at least 100 farmer-participants per site will be given “hands-on exposure and experiential learning” on organic fertilizer techniques like conventional composting and vermi-composting, conversion of rice husk and hull into organic fertilizer, distance planting and SRI methodology, integrated pest management and zero-tillage fertilizer.

The four-month OFSP project is a major policy shift in the DA that will do away with “soft” projects, like petrochemical fertilizer support, in favor of providing assistance to farmers on the manufacture of organic fertilizers that they will apply in their farms.