Marcos: Government to introduce use of biofertilizers

MANILA, Philippines — The Marcos administration will introduce the use of biofertilizers to farmers to reduce the country’s dependence on imported and petroleum-based fertilizers in the wake of concerns over the rising prices of the commodity.

In a video released by the Presidential Communications Office yesterday, President Marcos, the concurrent agriculture secretary, said the use of biofertilizers was brought to the fore because of high fertilizer prices and supply issues.

“We are totally dependent on petroleum-based fertilizer. Now, we are going to introduce biofertilizer to our farmers and teach them how to use it. And hopefully, this will ease our concerns when it comes to the supply of fertilizer. And we can fully control the availability of biofertilizer,” Marcos said.

“Now, there will still be a mix. Urea will still be used. Non-organic (fertilizers) will still be used. But we will lessen our dependence on importation when it comes to fertilizer supply,” he added.

The Department of Agriculture has conducted trials on biofertilizer that can be produced in the Philippines, according to the President.

“Now, the test (results) have come back, maganda naman, they are good, although there is a slight increase in the yield, the cost can still be adjusted downwards, especially if they are produced in the Philippines. According to them, it can be produced in the Philippines,” he said, adding that state-run education institutions like the University of the Philippines Los Baños have developed technologies on biofertilizer.

Marcos said that last year, he was planning to talk to China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Russia and the United Arab Emirates to buy cheaper fertilizer through bilateral agreements as part of the government’s food security efforts.

During his state visit to China last month, he secured business deals with Chinese companies to lower the prices of fertilizer.

Two Chinese fertilizer manufacturing firms signed a cooperation agreement with state-run Philippine International Trading Corp. to ensure a sustainable supply of fertilizers at reasonable prices.

The Chief Executive previously said the cost of agricultural inputs, including fertilizers, has “become prohibitive and unaffordable for our local farmers.”

“Providing sustainable and affordable supply of inputs, such as fertilizers and seedlings, has become more difficult, given global economic challenges, as we have all seen in the supply chain problems that we have encountered,” he said in a statement issued last January.

Mega plant

Meanwhile, Marcos attended yesterday the inauguration of the Mega Manufacturing Plant in Batangas, a facility that he said would contribute to food security efforts and the growth of agribusiness investments in the Philippines.

The manufacturing plant of Mega Prime Foods Inc. is located along Maharlika Highway in the City of Santo Tomas and occupies an area of 20,000 square meters, with 3.6 hectares of land and 2.4 hectares of building and warehouse.

The P1-billion modern manufacturing plant is expected to generate more than 1,000 jobs once fully operational.