President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants to personally pursue government-to-government (G2G) talks to buy cheaper fertilizers from other countries in a bid to address surging prices of the farm input and mitigate its impact on the country’s food security.
The president, who is now heading Department of Agriculture (DA), said the government was considering negotiating with China, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and Russia for the procurement of cheaper fertilizers.
He asked DA officials to provide him data on the sources and prices of fertilizers, as well as the department’s distribution plan during the planting season.
Several farmer groups have been pressing the government since last 2021 for a fertilizer subsidy following the sharp increase in fertilizer prices, which was exacerbated this year by the Russia-Ukraine war.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Russia was the world’s top exporter of nitrogen fertilizers such as urea, the second leading supplier of potassium fertilizers, and the third largest exporter of phosphorus fertilizers in 2021.
Agriculture stakeholders have said that it was imperative for the government to immediately give fertilizer and fuel subsidies to farmers to prevent a decline in farm output, particularly that of rice.
The DA earlier estimated palay output to decline by about 1.1 million metric tons (MT) this year if the government would not be able to provide more fertilizer subsidies. This is equivalent to 600,000 MT of rice, which would be good for 10 days.
It said some farmers were forced to reduce their use of fertilizers as the cost of the farm input has nearly tripled from two years ago, resulting in lower yields.
The DA said the government has two options to overcome the expected decline in palay production: increase output by giving fertilizer and fuel subsidies and bring in cheaper rice from abroad.
With additional reports: Philippine Daily Inquirer, Nestor Corrales and Delfin T. Mallari Jr.
