Farmers to get more fertilizer aid

FOLLOWING the directive of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the Department of Agriculture (DA) is gearing up for the efficient distribution of additional fertilizer assistance that will support rice farmers nationwide.

This, as Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban convened the DA’s regional executive directors and Rice Program coordinators on Nov. 10, 2022 to discuss the program updates, guidelines, concerns and ways to move forward.

“This is in line with the recent meeting of President Marcos with the top officials of DA, Department of Trade and Industry, and the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) regarding the country’s fertilizer importation requirements to boost local production,” the Agricultures department said in a statement.

The PITC was tapped to import the required volume of fertilizer at a lower cost through government-to-government arrangement. With a P4.1-billion fund, the DA will be able to buy about 2.277 million bags of urea to be given in-kind to farmers.

The department targets to start the distribution of fertilizer assistance for the dry season 2022-2023 planting by December 2022 after the ongoing distribution of fertilizer discount vouchers funded through the allocations for 2021 and 2021 is completed.

Panganiban directed the DA regional field offices to ensure accurate, efficient and immediate delivery of the fertilizers that will be dropped off at strategic locations nationwide in coordination with the PITC and concerned local government units.

President Marcos, who also serves as Agriculture secretary, is set to sign next week a memorandum of agreement between PITC and DA as a basic requirement for the fertilizer importation plan.