balita-dot-ph, September 8, 2010 6:37 am



VIRAC, Catanduanes, Sept. 7 – The island province of Catanduanes that has established its name as the Philippines’ typhoon gateway is reeling from soil degradation caused by both natural and man-made calamities affecting its forest and farm resources.

“Those typhoons that have caused massive soil erosions and floods rendered our soils infertile, barren and desolate. As the cutting of forest trees remain unabated and the slash and burn (kaingin) system continues to destroy our remaining forest cover, the degradation of our soil gets more serious,” Governor Joseph Cua said.

He made those statements during the turnover rites over the weekend of the 14 sets of composting equipment provided by the Department of Agriculture (DA) as part of the joint program of the agency and the provincial government in promoting organic farming in the island province.

“We see organic method of farming as an effective measure to restore the fertility of our soil that is why we are all out in supporting the organic agriculture program of the DA,” the governor said.

Provincial Agriculturist Herbert Evangelista said each set of composting equipment consists of a mechanical shredder powered by a gasoline-fed generator worth some P120,000 and two units of compost tea brewer with a capacity of 30 liters each were provided to the provincial government by the Bureau of Soil and Water Management (BSWM) of the DA.

An amount of P4,000 cash was also given to each recipient for the construction of a four-square meter vermiculture bed where 15 kilos of worms also to be provided by the BSWM will be delivered when the vermin beds are set ready for operations.

Evangelista said the shredder can shred up to three tons of waste like grasses and weeds, plant leaves or garbage from households every day on a gallon of gasoline consumption.
The shredded organic waste will be placed into the vermin bed to serve as feeds for the worms which would convert them into vermicast.

The vermicast, Evangelista said would then be sifted from the bed and diluted with water in the compost tea brewer before it is used as 100 percent organic fertilizer that could be applied to plants by way of spraying it into its base.

“With these sets of compost equipment, our farmers can start shifting to organic farming and do away with chemical fertilizers that make the soil acidic and not productive. It would also help in the government’s solid waste management program that bans the burning of wastes from farms, households and backyards,” he said.

It will also be helpful to the global efforts to mitigate the negative effects of climate change and the more waste fed to the worms, the faster it multiplies in number and produce more vermicast, Evangelista said.

The distribution of the composting facilities, he said was pursuant to Executive Order 481 on the Promotion and Development of Organic Agriculture in the country, particularly the production of organic fertilizer.

The program is intended to minimize groundwater pollution, restore soil fertility, reduce the vulnerability of marginal farmers to high cost of chemical fertilizers and promote the gradual adoption of organic-based agriculture nationwide, the provincial agriculturist added.

Last year, nine sets of the same composting equipment were also provided by the DA and distributed by the provincial government to recipients such as barangay councils, non-government organizations and local government units (LGUs).

Recipients of the latest 14 sets were the Deborah Farm of Barangay Magnesia; Borja Farm of Barangay Sinamla; Sinamla Breeding Station; Pajo San Isidro Farmers Cooperative; Barangay Councils of Pajo Baguio, Igang, F. Tacorda, Hicming and Talisoy; and Barangay Tanods of Igang, all in this capital town.

Also given were the Buenavista Farmer-Producer Cooperative in Bato town; Timbaan-Lictin Producers Cooperative in the municipality of San Andres; Barangay council of Guinobatan, Bato; and the Spiritual and Material Integrated Farmers and Fisherfolks Association of Barangay Napo, Pandan town.

These farmer’s groups would be trained on vermiculture production and its effects for the improvement of the agriculture industry in the province that expressly welcome organic farming and other environment-friendly production practices, Evangelista said.

Apart from the benefits that would be derived from the equipments, Evangelista said it could also be another source of income for the recipients who may chose to sell some portion of the organic fertilizer they would be producing.

“We expect them to be engaged in long-term vermiculture projects in their barangays given those benefits. They are also convinced that soil fertility can best be improved using the organic farming technology and farmers in some parts of the country are now benefiting from this type of farming strategy,” according to Gov. Cua.

Science and technology experts in vermiculture, the governor said explain that vermi or earthworm enrich the soil with organic matter coming from biodegradable materials. Casting of earthworm is an excellent soil enhancer and high quality fertilizer for organic farming. Earthworms can be made into vermimeal, a feed for fish and other domesticated animals.

Prolonged used of the vermicompost increases soil life and fertility and is often regarded as "nature's perfect organic fertilizer," which is very appropriate for use by the organic farmers, he added.

Farmers in the province Evangelista added can reduce or minimize use of costly fertilizers on their farms, but could still increase crop yields and this is possible through the balanced fertilization strategy which the DA is also promoting to help farmers boost their productivity.

Cua said the use of bio-organic fertilizers is promoted as inexpensive alternatives to restore the fertility of poor degraded soils. Poor soils are the result of intensive agriculture, forest degradation through relentless cutting of trees as well as slash and burn methods, extensive use of pesticides and chemicals, mining and urbanization.

“Our soil in the province is not spared from this malady that is why we need to work double time to restore its fertility by adopting organic farming. The bioorganic fertilizers that we are going to produce with these new sets of composting tools can supply specific nutrients to plants,” he said.

DA farm technicians have also made Catanduanes farmers aware of the effects of organic fertilizers that include enhancing the supply and total volume of plants' nutritional elements, stimulating of plant growth or stimulating of the plants' absorption of nutritional elements, Cua said.

He added that there are more advantages for bio-organic fertilizers over its commercial chemical counterparts. It involves recycling of nutrients from waste material, it is a cheap alternative or supplement to inorganic fertilizers thus leading to increase in yield and profit and is environment-friendly. Soil tilth and fertility are also mentioned and even enhanced.

The governor cited reports that say with decreasing input price, bio-organic fertilizers can increase farmers' yield and profit by as much as 200 percent. Agricultural and industrial wastes if processed into biodegradable fertilizers and enhanced with microorganisms can continuously improve the growth, protection and productivity of the farms. [(PNA)LAP/LQ/DOC/cbd]

Source: DA provides Catanduanes farmers tools for organic fertilizer-making