GABALDON, NUEVA ECIJA – “Paano po kung biglang bumaba ang presyo ng mga kemikal na abono sa palengke gaya ng UREA, Ibig bang sabihin ay babalik ulit kayo sa paggamit ng mga ito? (What if the price of chemical fertilizers on the market, such as UREA, suddenly drops, does that mean you’ll go back to using them?)”
On July 1 and 2, 2022, farmers from Nueva Ecija conducted a 2-day training in soil fertility management in Barangay Malinao in Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija. The said training was attended by farmer members from people’s organizations from Gabay sa Bagong Pagasa and SAMAKANA. Here, they collectively learned to create and were able to produce a few liters of fermented fruit juice (FFJ), fermented plant juice (FPJ), kuhol amino acid (KAA), Calphos, and OHN. These organic inputs are beneficial for the farmers’ usage on their farms during the rainy season. Mr. Lauro Diego and Jun Tenorio, farmer trainers, and Prof. Ronaldo Morales, member scientist of the Nueva Ecija Provincial Consultative Body, facilitated the training.
According to some participants, the training was helpful to them in solving their waste problem. “Hindi na kailangang sunugin bagkus kailangan lang icompost at gawing substrate at pagkain ng bulate para maging organikong pataba o vermicast hindi na tayo makakapag dagdag ng polusyon sa ating atmospera. (There is no need to burn, but we just need to compost and make a substrate and food for worms to become organic fertilizer or vermicast.)” Apart from the available organic fertilizer in their field, they also see the concoctions and vermicompost they can harvest as a potential income generation project for their organization.
The training was also taken as an opportunity to include and share with their young children about their farming organization and prepare them as the next leaders of the organization, such as King Morales, the son of Mr. Ronaldo Morales, who is also a member of SAMAKANA.
The said training was a MASIPAG response to the high price of urea and other chemical inputs to agricultural crops. The said the sustainable practice is a form of our action to dismantle the control of big agrochemical corporations in our agricultural system. This small action will further lead us to independence from buying chemical fertilizers that pollute our soil, plants, human health, animals, and the environment.
The creation of our own fertilizer is way cheaper and safer for the environment and human health. In this way, we ensure that the standards of living of the country’s resource-poor farmers will gradually increase and will have a significant impact on achieving sustainability. Thus, a chemical-free farm is within our farmyard.