PROSPERIDAD, AGUSAN DEL SUR (MindaNews / 28 November) – Field trials conducted in the four towns of Agusan del Sur have surpassed the national average for palay production, a scientist said Tuesday.
The experiment is part of the Upland Sustainable Agro-forestry Development (USAD) program’s soil test fertilization project.
In the towns of Loreto and Trento, at the provincial capitol complex in Barangay Patin-ay in Prosperidad, and Bayugan City, the yield per hectare of palay (unhusked rice) increased from 3.6 tons to an average of 5.6 tons after implementing the USAD trial, said Dr. Johnvie Goloran, a soil scientist from Griffith University in Australia who hails from Agusan del Sur.
Goloran cited as a case model the three-hectare trial palay farm in Loreto town managed by farmer Fred Alvizo, which was originally a peatland with low fertility and high acidity.
Addressing those challenges, the USAD program improved the soil fundamentals by making nutrients readily available for plant growth, Goloran added.
Similarly, the trial farm in Trento, with a soil component akin to Loreto due to its proximity to the Agusan marshland, witnessed an increased yield during the cropping season in June.
Even the Bayugan City trial farm, with less problematic soil, saw a substantial boost in yield to 6.8 tons per hectare, surpassing the traditional yield of four tons per hectare before the trial, he said.
Goloran said he educate farmers on the correct fertilizer inputs available in the local market to increase the productivity of their farms.
Farmers themselves actively till their rice fields while under trial.
Initially hesitant, Alvizo said he allowed Goloran to treat the peatland soil with proper fertilizer inputs, and the successful outcome convinced others to embrace such approach.
Representative Adolph Edward Plaza of Agusan del Sur’s second district, a staunch advocate for soil health development, highlighted the trial farms’ success during a recent Congress deliberation.
“Less cost, higher yield and better income for farmers,” Plaza told newly-installed Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel during the deliberation.
Plaza proposed making USAD a national law to improve the living conditions of impoverished farmers in upland communities.
House Bill 3489 or Establishing USAD in Upland Farms Nationwide has progressed through committee discussions and is on its second reading.
Plaza emphasized that USAD, initiated in Agusan del Sur in 2013, integrates sustainable agriculture and forestry practices to increase farmers’ yield.
He hopes that Congress will conclude deliberations on the proposed law by the year’s end.
The program focuses on holistic land management to enhance food production, promote environmental conservation, and foster rural development. Crucial to this strategy is the emphasis on soil health development, a key element to boost agricultural productivity.
During a two-day Mindanao-wide forum on November 8-9, Plaza shared the program’s achievements, emphasizing the importance of soil health.
The event, organized by the Agusan del Sur government, garnered support from 14 of the 28 provinces in Mindanao, after their representatives endorsed the proposed law.
The success of the palay trial farms was highlighted during the forum as an initiative to fight poverty.
“We declared war against poverty here in our province. Poverty is our number one enemy, and the best weapon to fight against it is farming,” Agusan del Sur Gov. Santiago Cane Jr. said. (Chris V. Panganiban / MindaNews)
