QUEZON CITY, February 21, 2022. The Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) is mandated to register fertilizer products under Section 9 of Presidential Decree No. 1144 specific to fertilizers, which states that “No fertilizer, or other agricultural chemical shall be exported, imported, manufactured, formulated, stored distributed, sold or offered for sale, transported, delivered for transportation or used unless it has been duly registered with the FPA or covered by a numbered provisional permit issued by FPA for use in accordance with the conditions as stipulated in the permit. Separate registrations shall be required for each fertilizer grade.”

Aligned with this mandate, Department Circular (DC) No. 1, Series of 2022 titled “General Guidelines on the Registration of New Fertilizer Products with Required Bioefficacy Trial and Mandatory Publication of the Bioefficacy Trial Terminal Report” provides the requirements and procedures for the registration of new fertilizer products and ensures that the registered products are compliant with the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Presidential Decree No. 1114, the FPA Regulatory Policies and Implementing Guidelines, and the Food Safety Act of 2013.

The guidelines were developed and subjected to a review process with the purpose to further protect our farmers, consumers, and stakeholders.

The DC was signed by Secretary Dar on February 16, 2022, and was published at the Official Gazette at the University of the Philippines Law Center, Diliman, Quezon City on February 18, 2022. Other provisions of the DC is to conduct the bioefficacy trial into two cropping seasons (wet and dry) and mandatory publication of the technical report either in scientific bulletins, or research journals by the government or private institutions or academes.

The Circular shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following the complete publication in the Official Gazette and to archive with the National Administrative Register of the University of the Philippines Law Center.