Gov’t corporation resumes fertilizer import program
After more than four decades, the state-controlled Planters Products Inc. (PPI) has resumed importing fertilizers to help lower production costs for farmers and improve rice yields.
The firm reentered the fertilizer business by importing 120,000 bags of 14-14-14 inorganic fertilizer from Vietnam, which arrived at the Orion Dockyard in Bataan.
The 14-14-14 (Triple14) complete fertilizer will be provided to farmers ahead of the upcoming planting season.
“At six bags per hectare, this initial volume can support about 20,000 hectares of rice fields and benefit some 20,000 farmers across the country,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.
The 14-14-14 fertilizer, which contains equal parts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, has vital macronutrients that promote robust leaf growth, root development, grain formation and improved resistance to pests and diseases.
“This revival reaffirms PPI’s legacy of providing affordable, high-quality fertilizers and farm inputs that help ensure food security and agricultural growth,” PPI chief operations officer Roberto Antonio said in a statement on Monday.
Antonio said this would help local farmers gain access to imported fertilizer at “a very reasonable price” through the Department of Agriculture’s Agri-Puhunan at Pantawid Program.
Data from the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority showed that the price of urea (prilled), the most commonly used fertilizer, averaged P1,707.39 per 50-kilogram bag as of Sept. 8 to Sept. 12, a 4.6 percent rise from P1,631.82 per 50-kg bag recorded a year ago.
In a Viber message, Antonio said the state-led corporation would continue maintaining a buffer stock for this program. But he added: “We will only import as needed. Products are coming from Vietnam.”
The Agri-Puhunan at Pantawid Program provides financial and technical assistance to eligible rice farmers.
