THE unabated spike in the price of fertilizer can pose a threat to the rice self-sufficiency target of the Philippine government by 2010.

Jaime Tadeo, spokesman of the National Rice Farmers Council  (NRFC), expressed this apprehension after the price of fertilizer, which is petroleum-based, shot up to an average of P1,800 per 50-kilogram (kg) bag as imported oil becomes more expensive.

The current price of fertilizer, including urea and triple 14, is more than double the P800-per-bag level registered in December 2007.

“Farmers have declared that they intend to use less fertilizer because of the persistent high cost. There are estimates that local rice farmers will use 30 percent less fertilizer given their limited capital for the wet cropping season,” said Tadeo.

The NRFC official noted that this does not bode well for the plan of the government to be less dependent on rice imports since the use of less fertilizer will make rice lands less productive.

Citing experts, Tadeo said one kilogram of synthetic fertilizer could help produce 6 kg to 7 kg of palay. “To produce more, farmers would have to use more fertilizer.”

What’s making it more difficult for farmers, he said, is that the credit assistance promised by the government under the FIELDS package unveiled by President Arroyo, has yet to be availed by farmers.

Dr. Frisco Malabanan, director of the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani rice program under the Department of Agriculture (DA), allayed fears that more expensive fertilizer will endanger the Philippines’ plan to become self-sufficient in rice.

Malabanan noted that the DA is set to extend a subsidy of P250 per 50-kg bag of urea to farmers. The assistance is limited to two bags of urea per hectare.

“The DA will be giving this assistance to all rice areas. More subsidy may be extended to farmers once the local government units [LGUs] monetize their unremitted Internal Revenue Allotment [IRA],” he said.

Under the plan of the DA and LGUs, part of the unremitted IRA estimated at P12.5 billion, could be used to extend a fertilizer subsidy amounting to as much as P1,500 per hectare of rice land. “The subsidy that will be extended by LGUs will depend on the size of their unremitted IRA.”

Tadeo, however, countered that the subsidy will still not be enough since a farmer uses at least three bags of triple 14 and two bags of urea per hectare of rice land.

The Philippine government, through its rice self-sufficiency master plan, is eyeing to attain a “98 percent to 100 percent self-sufficiency” in rice production by 2010.

THE House Committee on Ways and Means on Tuesday endorsed for plenary approval the proposal to use the P16.7-billion tax windfall in subsidizing electricity, fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption to ease the severe economic burden of Filipinos in the wake of the relentless increase in the prices of basic commodities and services.

THE Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco) is now on a five-day road show in Taiwan along with officials of the Subic and Clark free ports to entice Taiwanese firms to take advantage of the improved investment opportunities under the  Subic-Clark-Kaohsiung economic corridor agreement.

BAGS and belts made of plastics— materials that usually end up clogging our canals and causing flood. Keychain, table organizer, card and pen holder, picture frame and other cool home or office accessories made of recycled paper or plastic waste, such as tetra packs.

THE unabated spike in the price of fertilizer can pose a threat to the rice self-sufficiency target of the Philippine government by 2010.

DAVAO CITY—A business chamber executive here said member companies have “scrimped, saved and recycled” to stay afloat amid the hard times, and said he was “appealing to everybody to do the same.”

INDEPENDENT power produ-cer Trans-Asia Power Generation Corp.,the power arm of Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Corp., is looking at undertaking a prefeasibility study for its proposed wind farm in Guimaras.

CLARK FREE PORT, Pampanga—Two airliners based at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) are expected to provide the much-needed service to ferry overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to the Middle East amid the reported high cost of booking and the shortage of flights.

THE House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs has scheduled a bill extending credit assistance to Filipinos who want to work abroad but don’t have enough means to process their work papers for plenary deliberation.