CAVITE | December 6, 2022 – The Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) Region IV conducted training on the safe and judicious use of fertilizer and pesticide (F/P) to 44 corn and rice farmers from the different cities and municipalities in the province Cavite. The training was conducted at Farmer’s Hall, Provincial Agriculture Compound, Trece Martires City, Cavite last November 24, 2022.

Provincial Officer (PO) Georlene Orbista discussed the functions of the FPA and provided updates on the FPA’s policies, plans, and programs. Further, she explained the reasons for the increasing prices of fertilizers and highlighted that the global fertilizer crisis was due to the rising prices of fuel, the Ukraine-Russian conflict, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, most fertilizer-exporting countries prioritized their local distribution over exportation.

Meanwhile, PO Mark Nicky Larga promoted the implementation of the Balanced Fertilization Strategy (BFS). BFS is a program initiated by the Department of Agriculture that pushes for the use of combined organic and inorganic inputs and other forms of strategy to attain the maximum potential of farmlands while promoting balanced fertilization in maintaining soil fertility. The said strategy uses 4rs in the Nutrient Stewardship concept: right source, right rate, right time, and right place.

Mr. Ingracio Baral and Mr. Kelvin Bryan Monserrat served as resource persons from the pesticide industry to discuss the safe handling of pesticides and the proper wearing of PPEs. They also highlighted the importance of pesticide label information, including first aid management in case of accidental poisoning, Maximum Residue Limit (MRL), Pre-Harvest Interval (PHI), re-entry period, empty pesticide container triple-rinsing, disposal, and cocktailing of pesticides.

FPA Region IV also provided informational materials to the participants such as Gabay sa Tamang Paggamit ng Abono at Pestisidyo to further help them with their farming.

Afterward, Regional Officer (RO) Suzettie Alcaide initiated a consultation meeting with the participants to gather inputs from the farmers on how the agency can further improve its services related to its mandates. Some of the suggestions were:

(1) the massive information dissemination on off-specification and fake fertilizers to protect the farmers as end-users, especially since the prices of fertilizers are still high;

(2) there should be efforts from FPA to lower the price of fertilizers to make them more affordable to farmers; and

 (3) help farmers to gain access to fertilizer vouchers and other support mechanisms from the DA.

The training was in partnership with the Local Government of Cavite – Office of the Provincial Agriculture and Oracle Chemical Corp. ###