The Department of Agriculture (DA) has urged farmers to use a fertilizer that utilizes nano technology as an alternative in view of rising costs of farm inputs.
The DA is promoting BioPrime 555 which it said has proven to generate a 7 to 15 percent increase in rice yields using the recommended rate of balanced fertilization. In turn, it can reduce production costs by as much as 50 percent.
The agency said based on field trials, the fertilizer also caused reduction in the use of pesticides and insecticides due to stronger disease resistance in crops. It also cut water and irrigation costs by up to 20 percent because of improved soil and root water retention.
The DA added BioPrime555 was also found to be effective for use in other crops with varying yield increases of 14.5 percent for sugarcane, 100 percent for coffee and 11 to 20 percent for corn.
It is also known to prevent rust disease.
The DA said since the nano fertilizer is supplied in 3í—5-gram bottles that are activated in water prior to application, farmers are spared from shouldering additional transport and hauling costs.
Nanofertilizers deliver nutrients to crops by encapsulating materials inside nano materials which are then coated with a protective polymer film.
“The production facility will have a t argeted capacity of 48 tons per year, employing more than 100 Filipinos in this high-technology agri initiative. Our product provides an avenue for the Philippines to implement an effective balanced fertilization program and planned production volumes can supply more than 3 million hectares of rice lands targeted to produce at least 22.4 million metric tons of rice per year,” said Ben Mead, chairman of BioPrime, in a statement.
