DA issues guidelines on fertilizer vouchers for corn, cassava farmers

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has issued the implementing guidelines for the distribution of fertilizer discount vouchers for corn and cassava farmers under the National Corn Program (NCP).

In a memorandum order issued by Agriculture Secretary William Dar, the DA said the discount vouchers for inorganic fertilizers would cover the 2022 and 2023 cropping seasons and would be distributed in priority areas under the Production Support Services (PSS) component of the NCP.

Under the project, fertilizer discount vouchers worth P2,000 will be used by the farmer beneficiaries to claim the fertilizers from accredited merchants.

“Preferably, farmer-beneficiaries of this support are users of National Seed Industry Council (NSCIC)-registered corn and cassava varieties and members of corn or cassava clusters.

It said that only farmers that are registered under the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and encoded in the National Farmers’ and Fishers’ Registry System (NFFRS) or the National Farmers and Fisheries Information System (NFFIS) shall be eligible to receive the fertilizer discount voucher.

The discount vouchers are for one time use only and may be claimed at any accredited fertilizer merchants in their preferred area.

A beneficiary may be entitled to receive multiple discount vouchers should his/her farmlands be situated in different municipalities or he/she has both corn and cassava farmlands with a maximum total fertilizer voucher amount of P4,000.

The project aims to ensure timely provision of inorganic fertilizers to farmer-beneficiaries and sustain and increase current yield level of corn.

“To increase the productivity and profitability of corn and cassava farmers, fertilizer distribution has been one of the major interventions of the National Corn Program. However, with the surging and volatile price of fertilizers, the Regional Field Offices experienced procurement failures which resulted in late delivery of the intervention,” the DA said.

Fertilizer prices in the international market have been rising since May last year mainly due to larger demand from countries, as well as higher freight cost.

Latest data from the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) showed that the average retail price of prilled urea registered at P2,691.16 per 50-kilo bag as of March 21 to 25.

This is more than double the P1,097.31 per 50-kilo bag price in the same period last year.

The DA is also providing fertilizer discount vouchers to eligible rice farmers under the National Rice Program.