It was a soporific SoNAta from the halls of Congress. But there were sudden drumbeats that perked up his audience. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. surely knows how to spice up his speeches.
“The campaign against illegal drugs shall continue,” “bilang na ang araw ng mga smuggler,” amnesty to rebels, national integration of the power grid, digitalization of the government bureaucracy, continuation and expansion of infrastructure projects of the PRRD administration, and the creation of a Department of Water Resource Management, among others.
But how can we reconcile the good news about the economic growth PBBM has boasted about against the backdrop of inflation? Dispersing Kadiwa rolling stores all over the country will not provide relief from the high cost of consumer commodities. It is a Band-aid solution at best.
It is a consolation, however, that President Marcos cited agriculture as the backbone of the Philippine economy and that increasing agricultural productivity must be addressed. His approach, however, is not too comforting as it looks like it was discussed in an air-conditioned room rather than proven in the field by actual practice.
He wants farmers to use biofertilizer which, according to him, is cheaper. The fact is, it is not.
Biofertilizer as the name suggests is made up of micro-organisms that increase the supply of essential nutrients in plants. Whether this type of fertilizer is available in the country is a big question and if it is, will the volumes suffice?
Biofertilizer collects nutrients around the root system of plants. In the process, which could take long, the basic elements needed by the plant, among these, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium or NPK, are fed to the plants although the levels of each are not ascertained.
With chemical fertilizer, NPK levels are set and are immediately available to the plants.
Furthermore, in preparing fields for planting, either by direct seeding or transplanting seedlings, farmers actually spray biocides first to eliminate the pesky snails that eat the growing seedlings.
Biocides will effectively kill microorganisms as well so there goes your expense on biofertilizer.
Furthermore, in the stages of palay growth, various infestations happen, among them, stem borers and black bugs, which prompt farmers to spray insecticide.
Admittedly, biofertilizer is an excellent soil conditioner. Moreover, not all biofertilizers are created equal. Some producers cook their raw materials, like chicken dung and animal manure, killing all the microorganisms and still calling it biofertilizer.
In Davao City, the Davao Thermo Biotech Corporation, a pioneering firm engaged in the processing of biodegradable garbage waste into fertilizer, is currently producing biofertilizer through a special process by composting hyperthermophilic bacteria that drive the temperature up to over 100 degrees C naturally.
The hyperthermophilic microbes heat that high in the second week and fix the basic nutrients, the NPK, on the finished product. The product has proven excellent to apply to cacao trees. It has also given dramatic results in experimental Cavendish banana plantations.
But we are in a crucial stage. Rice-producing countries, among them, Vietnam, Thailand, and India, are not in the mode of exporting rice. What we need is an immediate solution to address the impending rice shortage.
Marcos should jettison the “Tontos” who told him that biofertilizer was cheaper than chemical fertilizer.
He should move fast and strike a government-to-government deal with China, the biggest fertilizer producer in the world. This would bring down the cost of fertilizer by more than 50 percent. Fertilizer should be available by mid-September in time for the next planting season. Toward the end of the year, we will see bumper rice harvests and stave off a rice shortage.
In the meantime, let us see smugglers and hoarders of agricultural products going to jail. We are tired of the empty rhetoric.