Thursday, August 28, 2008 Price hike deprives farmers of fertilizer
BACOLOR -- Help keep prices of fertilizers affordable to Pampanga farmers.
This was the reverberating appeal of the Provincial Agricultural Fishery Council (PAFC) to the Department of Agriculture (DA), Provincial Government, and other local government units (LGUs) following the continuing rise in the prices of fertilizer.
PAFC chairman Ner Sambile said they are dismayed at the lack of extensive government support to keep fertilizers available and affordable to farmers.
He said a glaring fact is the bi-monthly rise in fertilizer prices in the local markets.
Recently, the National Government, through the DA, ordered the issuance of "fertilizer coupon" discounts to farmers.
Each farmer is entitled to two fertilizer discount coupons amounting to P250. The coupons are presented to accredited fertilizer retailers when farmers buy fertilizers.
However, Sambile revealed that the discount coupon only yields a P150 discount.
Sambile, a farm owner himself, explained that the prices in the production of fertilizer and unscrupulous distributors have raised fertilizer prices indiscriminately.
The price of a sack of inorganic fertilizer for example, now ranges from P1,500 to a record high of P1,700. But some accredited retailers have been blatantly "manipulating prices," as difference in commercial retailer prices is very evident, according to him.
"We also urge LGUs and the Provincial Government to release the fertilizer coupons entitled to indigent farmers. If we want food security, farmers should be supported every step of the way," Sambile said.
Aside from the DA, Pampanga farmers are also entitled to receive fertilizer discounts from the Provincial Government (two coupons) and their towns (two coupons).
Sambile complained that the province and the municipalities (or component city) have yet to comply with the distribution of coupons.
"We do not feel the entire benefit of the discounts since we only get a fraction of what should be given to us," he added.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the town of Mabalacat reportedly implemented the fertilizer discount program.
Unlike the DA which sources its funds for the discounts from the National Government, the province and other LGUs would have to appropriate from their Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), said Sambile.
The PAFC said the province and other LGUs should give the needed coupon discounts before the next planting season or risk the possibility of poor harvest and a financially handicapped farming sector. (IOF)
