For a change, good news

In the midst of the still continuing “collateral damage” of the antidrug campaign and the Marawi conflict; the sharp dip in the popularity of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, which may diminish the political capital needed to push through reform bills in the legislature (tax reform, not impeachment); and escalating tensions in the Korean peninsula that could affect the Philippines and our neighbors, it is time to share some good news that as a columnist I regularly receive.

Atlas Fertilizer Corporation (AFC), incorporated on October 10, 1957, the oldest operating and the first fertilizer company in the Philippines to achieve full-scale manufacturing of a complete line of mixed fertilizer grades, alternatively known as compound inorganic fertilizer and more famously called by Philippine farmers as the NP-NPKNK fertilizers, is celebrating its 60th anniversary. It controls 42 percent of the NP, NK and NPK market share in the country.

Presently, AFC is owned and operated by Sojitz Corporation, a union of Nichimen Corporation and Nissho Iwai Corporation, both companies that have operated for more than 150 years. Today, the Sojitz Group consists of approximately 400 subsidiaries and affiliates located in Japan and throughout the world, developing wide-ranging general trading company operations in a multitude of countries and regions.

AFC leads in the development of crop-specific, soil specific fertilization technologies to crops in the country with Site-Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM) as the guiding principle behind every package of technologies created. SSNM means giving the crop the right amount of nutrients it needs from the right source at the right time and the right place thereby serving not just the farmers but also taking good care of the environment by judicious fertilization.

As early as 1996, AFC has been developing fertilizer technologies that fit each crop’s requirement in order to sustain its growth and produce optimum yield. These efforts were enhanced and strengthened by collaborating with different research institutions such as the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), and University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB), Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA). In the past years, AFC has successfully developed and deployed these technologies in the field. AFC is the only fertilizer company in the Philippines that deploys agronomists, people who are equipped with knowledge of proper fertilization technologies, in the field to teach farmers the best way to fertilize their crops. The goal is to provide the farmers with the appropriate fertilizer technologies that will result to higher yields and better income for them.

AFC also believes that companies must not just be concerned in the pursuit of profit alone but rather must strive and work to develop business while pursuing and making a meaningful contribution to the society. It is the first fertilizer company in the Philippines to establish a strong compliance framework while doing business in the agriculture sector, ensuring adherence to laws, regulations and corporate ethics and at the same time approaching issues openly and directly with awareness of compliance and including business partners in the process.

With its quality products and appropriate fertilization technologies, I believe AFC can continuously contribute to the development and fast growth of the Philippine agriculture by improving the individual farmers’ yield. More importantly, since AFC strongly believes in the empowerment of the Filipino farmers by providing access to better fertilization technologies that will help them attain better farming operations to produce better yield which will translate to better income and a better life for the farmers, as well as contribute to the food security program of the country, AFC is laying the foundation for sustainable and inclusive growth in the countryside.

For this, we commend AFC, congratulate them on their 60th anniversary and wish them well for the years ahead.

melito.jr@gmail.com