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Archives
June 1-30, 2007
BAR links up with private sector to establish
bio-fertilizer production facilities in the regions
By Rita T. dela Cruz
Photos by Anthony A. Constantino
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| BAR Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar (left) and AFCSI President Rene T. Naguiat (right) sign the Memorandum of Agreement. |
Biofertilizer production facilities will be established in 16 Regional Integrated Agricultural Research Centers (RIARCs) of the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Units (DA-RFUs).
This was stipulated in a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed recently by Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) and the Agro-Forestry Crop Systems Inc. (AFCSI), a private entity.
The MOA was signed in line with Executive Order (EO) promoting and developing organic agriculture in the Philippines.
The 18 pilot experimental sites where the biofertilizer production facilities will be tested are: Baguio City (CAR), La Union (RFU I), Isabela (RFU II), Tarlac City (RFU III), Lipa City, Batangas, and Quezon Province (RFU IV-A), Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte (RFU V), Iloilo (RFU VI), Cebu City (RFU VII), Leyte (RFU VIII), Zamboanga del Sur (RFU IX), Bukidnon (RFU X), Cotabato City (ARMM), Davao City (RFU XI), Kidapawan City (RFU XII), and Agusan del Sur (CARAGA).
The MOA was signed by BAR Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar and AFCSI President Rene T. Naguiat on 21 June 2007 at the RDMIC Building, Visayas Avenue, Diliman Quezon City. Other signatories were Mr. Tito Z. Arevalo, OIC of the Research Coordination Division (RCD) of BAR; Mr. Roberto S. Quing, accountant of BAR, and Mr. Sergio T. Naguiat, director of AFCSI.
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| (L-R, backrow) Other signatories were OIC BAR-RCD Tito Z. Arevalo, AFCSI Director Sergio T. Naguiat, and BAR Accountant Roberto S. Quing. |
The pilot sites, to be managed and operated by RIARCs, will also serve as model farms or show windows highlighting the benefits and savings generated from using organic fertilizer. RIARCs will promote the adoption of bio-fertilizer production technology in collaboration with the local government units (LGUs), regional cooperative partners, and in harmony with the Community-based Participatory Action Research (CPAR) program of DA-BAR.
CPAR is a platform for technology assessment involving the participation of the community together with the experts and researchers in identifying the most appropriate technologies that meet the community's priority needs. Its ultimate goal is to increase total farm productivity and income within the context of a sustainable production system following the farming system approach.
The promotion of biofertlizer production technology is hoped to generate income not only for the farmer-cooperators of CPAR but ultimately to improve the economic activities in the regions as a whole. Through this project, resource utilization in the regions and satellite stations of DA are optimized while at the same time protecting the environment through proper disposal and utilization of farm and agro wastes.
One of the major concerns today is the continuous use of chemical fertilizers, resulting in imbalanced nutrient composition in the soil and tremendous harm to the environment. An answer to this is biofertilizer, an environmental-friendly fertilizer, which is now widely-used in most countries. It increases the salinity of the soil and chemical run-offs from the agricultural fields.
Biofertilizers are organisms that enrich the nutrient quality of soil, the main sources of which are bacteria, fungi, and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). These organisms are known to deliver a number of benefits, including plant nutrition, disease resistance, and tolerance to adverse soil and climatic conditions. 
June 1-30 2007 Articles:
:: DZRH's Ito ang Palad ko features two CPAR success stories on ubi and ducks
:: Luzon Cluster A moves forward with technology commercialization; 9 technologies presented
:: DA to unify GIS with support from Taiwanese government
:: BAR links up with private sector to establish bio-fertilizer production facilities in the regions
:: ARMMIARC conducts in-house review and planning workshop
:: BAR participates in DA's ICT and ISSP review workshop
:: FCSSP holds 19th Scientific Conference; Yap promotes sustainable technologies to increase farm productivity and income
:: BAR, Optiserve orient regions on e-Pinoy project and its potentials
:: IP awareness continues with staff bureaus
:: Providing livelihood and protecting the environment through community-based watershed management
:: BAR highlights CPAR projects at 6th Agraryo Trade Fair
:: ACIAR taps Philippines to conduct joint impact assessment studies
:: Linking info gap through GAP
:: International conference on coconut proposed
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