Hyacinths seen source of solution to flooding

COTABATO CITY—The solution to perennial flooding in provinces around the 200,000-hectare Liguasan Marsh in Central Mindanao lies in the most blamed source of the problem, water hyacinths, if a former governor is to be believed.

Emmanuel Piñol said he found a way to get rid of the hyacinths and provide income at the same time to residents that suffer each time the marsh overflows—turn the hyacinths into fertilizers.

Piñol, now engaged in organic farming, said residents could earn from as little as P200 to as much as P1,000 per day should his venture into turning hyacinths be adopted by the region’s local governments.

He said results of tests done at the University of Southern Mindanao in Kabacan, North Cotabato, showed hyacinths to be more effective fertilizers than banana stalks, which are also abundant in the area because of thousands of hectares of banana plantations run mostly by multinationals.

Piñol said the venture would also benefit farmers by making cheaper fertilizers available to them. A 50-kilogram bag of fertilizers made from hyacinths would cost only P300 compared to P900 per 50-kg bag of chemical fertilizers.

Organic fertilizers, he said, are also environment-friendly as they do not destroy the soil like chemical fertilizers do.

Rivers around the Liguasan Marsh are heavily silted and covered with tons of water hyacinths. Charlie C. Señase, Inquirer Mindanao