Zambo Peninsula farmers to get urea fertilizer from DA
THE production of farmers in Zamboanga Peninsula will be further boosted with the distribution of fertilizer assistance in the form of inorganic fertilizer or urea.
In Memorandum Order No. 35, Series of 2023 issued by Dennis Arpia, Department of Agriculture (DA) Region IX Director, the move aims to augment the fertilizer applied by farmers for rice production in the targeted areas.
It was stated in the memorandum that the program shall cover fertilizer assistance under the Production Support Services starting the 2023 Wet Season and 2023-2024 Dry Season in the rice-producing cities and municipalities in the Zamboanga Peninsula.
Under the program, one bag of, which weighs 50 kilograms of inorganic fertilizer will be given to a farmer whose farm size is from 0.10 to 0.35 hectares; two bags will be given to those with a farm size from 0.36 to 0.65 hectares, while three bags will be given to those with farm size from 0.66 to one hectare.
Arpia explained in the memorandum that the rice program will base the number of bags to be distributed on the submitted liquidation lists from the Office of the City/Municipal Agriculturist.
However, due to budgetary constriction, the DA has set criteria for the prioritization of the beneficiaries. Priority 1 is those farmers who have received Hybrid Rice Seeds in DA Region IX Rice Program; Priority 2 is the farmers who have received Certified Rice Seeds procured in Irrigated Areas, and Priority 3 is the farmers who have received Certified Rice Seeds procured in Favorable Support module.
The memorandum further stated that only farmers that are registered under the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and encoded in the Farmers and Fisherfolk Registry System (FFRS) are eligible to receive the support.
In claiming the fertilizer, the farmer-beneficiaries should personally bring their valid government proof of identification, while in cases when a farmer-beneficiary could not personally appear and claim the fertilizer assistance due to health reasons, senior (age 60 and above), pregnant, with different disabilities (PWD), deprived of liberty (PDL), or working overseas (Overseas Filipino Worker) or in other parts of the country and any other cases as may be approved by the head of the National Rice Program, authorized representatives shall be allowed to claim the said fertilizers.
The Farmer Cooperatives and Associations (FCAs) may also be authorized to claim fertilizer from their farmer members provided that a duly signed resolution nominating the FCA’s authorized representative and the list of member beneficiaries is passed and submitted as part of the documentary requirements.
