LEGAZPI CITY, ALBAY | September 15, 2022 – Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority Bicol reached out to 155 farmers from different barangays in Legazpi City on the safe and judicious use of agricultural inputs and promoted the use of Balanced Fertilization Strategy (BFS) during the rice season-long training at Good Grass Farm, Happy Homes Subdivision, Brgy. Pawa, Legazpi City last September 12-14, 2022.

Regional Officer (RO) Gabriel Atole started his discussion with topics on soil health, fertilizer application, plant growth promoters, and BFS. In his discussion, he reiterated that applying BFS could help minimize the dependency on inorganic fertilizer.

BFS is a program recommended by FPA and other DA agencies that applies the 4Rs in fertilization: Right Source, Right Placement, Right Amount, and Right Rate to help enhance soil health and productivity, prevent declining soil fertility, and improve fertilizer availability and costs.

Moreover, Provincial Officer (PO) Winsor Nueva discussed the general information about pesticides and its label, safe handling, possible chemical hazards, and prevention of pesticide poisoning. He highlighted the importance of reading the pesticide label before buying, mixing, applying/spraying, storing, and disposing.

The farmers were reminded to purchase registered fertilizer and pesticide (f/p) products from FPA-licensed dealers only and warned them of the possible presence of fake and off-specifications fertilizers. They were advised to contact the assigned PO in their area or visit the FPA Region V Facebook page and the FPA website in case of doubt about their purchased f/p products.

The rice season-long training on the Production of High-Quality Inbred Rice, Seed Certification, and Farm Mechanization was organized by the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) as part of the Rice Extension Services Program (RESP) under the implementation of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

RESP aimed to provide and improve the knowledge, attitude, skills, and practices of the RCEF beneficiaries in producing more rice and reducing production costs through training. ###