CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – An organic fertilizer newly formulated by a Kampampangan inventor has become the talk of many farms in Central Luzon after ricelands that used it were noted to have survived the winds and rains of Typhoon Santi last Oct. 11.
Experts from the Department of Agriculture (DA) here said their inquiries conducted in various parts of the region revealed a common factor: the farmers had used a new fertilizer technology developed by inventor and chemical engineer Dante Dizon of Guagua town.
Agriculturists also found out that lands of “marginal farmers” using three bags of Dizon’s fertilizer yielded 90 to 100 cavans of palay per hectare, while those who used three to four bags of commercial fertilizers reported yield of only 60 to 80 cavans.
On the other hand, “typical farmers” who used three bags of Dizon’s fertilizer reported harvest of 100 to 120 cavans per hectare, as against typical farmers using six bags of commercial fertilizers for yields of only about 80 to 100 cavans.
In an interview, Dizon referred to his newly developed organic fertilzer as “trikombi” which he stressed as being “totally organic and friendly to the environment.” The beneficial effects of the fertilizer, he noted, have already been documented in the farms mostly of “marginal and typical farmers.”
He is also known as the inventor of a solution that removes the foul smell even from mountains of garbage.
This invention is normally used in transporting garbage to landfills. Dizon noted that rice and even corn crops using his organic fertilizer had higher survival rates during bad weather as they tend to be sturdier against both wind and flooding.
Amid the effects of climate change worldwide, Dizon said he has asked the DA to study his invention for possible promotion in more ricelands in the country. Studies also indicated that crops that used Dizon’s fertilizers better survived tungro and stem borer infestations. While the tungro survival rate of rice crops is ordinarily from 20 to 40 percent, those which used Dizon’s fertilizer were found to have 65 to 80 percent survival.
About 70 to 90 percent of rice crops normally survive from stem borer infestation, but the use of Dizon’s fertilizer increased the rate from 80 to 95 percent, said the studies.
“Trikombi is now being used mostly by marginal and typical farmers. Since rice grain is full, weight per sack will increase by 10 percent, hence milling recovery is also up by 10 percent to the benefit of millers and traders,” Dizon said.
Dizon said that the use of his organic fertilizers would increase the income of farmers so “they will not have to borrow money from usurers, paying 40 to 50 percent interest for five months.” In his letter to Dr. Eufemio Rasco, director of the Philippine Rice Institute (Philrice) based in the Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija, Dizon said that the use of his fertilizer would boost local rice production and thereby curb rice smuggling.
“The smuggling network will stay as long as they make money. The only way to stop smuggling is to reduce our production cost to be at par with key exporting countries,” he said in his letter. He sought the help of Philrice in promoting his new fertilizer among the country’s farmers, noting that Philrice “is credible to the farmers and with a national network.”
Noting that his organic fertilizer also “works for the corn industry”, Dizon described his invention as “an inexpensive solution to alleviate poverty in rural areas without any government subsidy, additional infrastructure” and that “can be executed immediately.”
“We have to move, otherwise, we will continue to support the rice farmers of other countries, while our own farmers will remain perennially poor,” he said in his letter which also noted that Thailand which is a rice exporter, is reported to have also been importing the crop from Cambodia and passing this on for export to the Philippines.
