‘Our farmers tilling their relatively small farms and planting mostly rice, corn and sugar, will not be able to compete given these high prices, without government subsidies.’
ONE of the principal ways to assist the agriculture sector is to reduce the prices of fertilizers, to ensure the commodity’s supply and availability, and ultimately to lessen the Filipino farmers’ dependence on imported fertilizers, mostly the chemical variety.
The Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA), an agency under the Department of Agriculture, said the average price of urea, the most commonly used fertilizer, has increased to P2,781 per 50-kilo bag for the period July 4-8 this year, significantly higher than the P1,321 a year ago and P1,050 in 2020. The cost of complete fertilizers has also doubled to P2,369 per 50-kilo bag from P1,187 in July 2021.
These skyrocketing prices, which are felt all over the world, may be traced to the outbreak in February of the Russia-Ukraine war, where most of these fertilizers are manufactured and sold. Our farmers tilling their relatively small farms and planting mostly rice, corn and sugar, will not be able to compete given these high prices, without government subsidies.
The DA said the government has two options to overcome the expected decline in rice production this year: increase output by giving fertilizer and fuel subsidies and import cheap rice from abroad, the same tack resorted to by the Duterte administration under the Rice Tariffication Law.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has another solution in mind, although still a palliative one. Experienced in thinking out of the box, Marcos wants to personally pursue government-to-government (G2G) talks to buy cheaper fertilizers from other countries.
Marcos disclosed his plan to negotiate with China, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and Russia for the procurement of cheaper fertilizers.
“They want to help, they want to approach us, then let’s take advantage of that. Give us fertilizers at a very good price. That’s the whole point of G2G,” the President said.
Duterte’s foreign policy of friendship with all nations which Marcos seems to be adopting too, will serve us in good stead in the procurement of fertilizers and possibly other farm inputs needed for the nation to weather the coming global food crisis.
