The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Executive Director Glenn Estrada of the Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority said his agency is open to granting long-tenured certificate of product registration of up to 5 or 10 years just like the licenses for Land Transportation Office, but this must be based on track record of the product, consistency of ingredients and encouraging outcomes of the product on actual farms.
Consistency in complying to existing regulations would also be important for granting such long-term CPRs, said Estrada.
Interviewed at the sidelines of the inauguration of the P300 million plant of the Agri Specialist Inc. Bio N biofertilizer in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, Estrada said the current duration of CPRs of two to three years has been applied for many years, but this could be lengthened to as long as 10 years based on the assessment of above mentioned considerations.
Former president of UP Los Banos Biotech Institute Emil Q. Javier told reporters he could not understand why CPRs are of such short duration considering that ingredients are the same and licensed manufacturers like ASI are accredited by many regulating agencies, including the FPA and Securities and Exchange Commission, among others.
Javier said that fertilizer (chemical, natural, organic) companies are bound to comply consistently with government regulations because they are aware they can lose these licenses or permits anytime for any violation.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who was guest of honor in the inauguration, pointed out that the creation of UPLB Biotech was envisioned by the late former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. (the current president’s dad) and the need to develop biotechnology and other farm technologies as early as 1990s.
What took us so long to commercialize homegrown and endemic bacteria like Azospirillum of Bio N when that could have saved the farming sector through cheaper inputs cost, higher yield, job creation, improving farmers’ income and reducing food prices while fostering sustainable agriculture and food security.
He said that President Marcos wants to fully push the adoption of biofertilizer in combination with other organic soil enrichers, to partially replace the costly imported chemical fertilizers in farms.
He said the aim is to push more Filipino-made products and create more local jobs instead of making other inputs and seeds manufacturers abroad richer at the expense of local farmers and the resultant acidity (and degradation) of farmlands.
Javier said too much bureaucracy and lack of understanding and support of DA had caused the slow growth of the biofertilizer industry (which could not even compete with imported ones, which had been allocated last year with the bulk or 89 percent of the budget for this product).
And yet, price-wise our local Bio N is so cheap it would help farmers save on production cost, increase their yields and improve their income while at the same time rejuvenating the already dismal soil conditions of our farmlands, Javier said.
A kilo of endemic bacteria in Bio N used in a hectare of ricefield would reduce the use of urea and other chemical fertilizer, which is a saving of at least P3,000 per hectare for the farmer.
The Bio N when coated in the dump palay seed that has grown small roots and transplanted directly to the soil results in robust root system, firmer stems and lushier leaves which means more production and less pest and diseases attack. (Rose de la Cruz)