FIAP backs DA’s free fertilizer distribution program

MANILA, Philippines  — The Fertilizer Industry Association of the Philippines (FIAP) is supporting the Department of Agriculture’s free fertilizer distribution program aimed at helping local farmers increase food production in the country.

FIAP president Michael Ardieta said the industry welcomes DA’s Rice Resiliency Project and believes the department’s recent and ongoing centralized fertilizer bidding are “transparent and above board” despite the controversies now hounding the program.

Under DA’s program, urea fertilizers will be given free to farmers, with a “buy two, take two” scheme for those who use certified inbred seeds and “buy two, take three” for hybrid users.

Ardieta said the P1,000 per bag maximum bid set by DA “is fair and reflective of the average national retail price of urea in the country then, considering that it is delivered to municipalities and the definitely longer payment terms provided by the DA’s payment process demand.”

He noted, however, that the submission of requirements was a bit tight considering the challenges brought about by the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic.

The DA conducted a centralized bidding for urea last April with an approved budget for the contract of P1,000 per 50-kilogram sack.

However, several farmers’ groups and the advocacy group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) have accused DA of overpricing.

SINAG and the progress Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives are calling for a Congressional investigation on the matter.