Lone farmer tends to his farm by the roadside. Photo by Ernie Esconde
ORION, Bataan — Farmers in Bataan on Friday aired their complaint on the rising cost of commercial fertilizers that has more than doubled since last planting season.
Farmer Roman Dizon, 63, of this town, said the big increase in the price of commercial fertilizers like urea was the common woe of farmers.
He said that during the last planting season from June to October, a bag of urea fertilizer only cost P1,200 but when he bought the same only last month, it was already P2,350 to P2,370.
A few days later, he said the price of urea was hiked to P2,400 per bag.
A check Friday on some stores on agricultural products showed a bag of urea presently costs P2,525 – P2,550 while the 14-14-14 or complete fertilizer priced at more than P1,000 a bag last planting season now costs P1,920.
A farmer more or less applies to his one-hectare rice farm four bags of urea and three bags of complete fertilizer. Some use more than this number per planting season, especially during the summer months.
Dizon said farmers are finding it hard to buy fertilizers because of its soaring price. He said that farmers are complaining in whispers.
“Eh alam niyo naman ang mga magsasaka, maliliit na tao lang yan at hindi naman nakakapagsalita yan. Maaaring nakakarating sa mataas sa gubyerno pero hanggang doon na lang,” he said.
He said ordinary farmers have no capital of their own and are bound to fail because all the needs in farming are secured out of loan.
“Talagang dumadaing, kaya ang magsasaka nabebenta ang bukid nila dahil walang puhunan. Kasi kapag bumagsak walang pangbayad sa utang. Ngayon ang gagawin mangungutang muli, eh lumalaki lalo ang utang kaya ang nangyayari ang bukid naibabayad sa utang, nawawalan na ng bukid,” Dizon said.
“Kaya totoo ang sinasabing ang mayaman lalong yumayaman, pero ang mahirap lalong naghihirap. Kasi ang mga magsasaka nagsisikap din yan, wala namang hindi nagsisikap para medyo umangat-angat. Hindi na lang sila makakibo,” he added.
