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| Philippines |
| HOW TO LOSE MONEY IN ORGANIC RICE FARMING |
| by Zac Sarian |
| 29-Mar-2001 Manila Bulletin |
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A GENTLEMAN farmer from Camarines Sur poured out his frustrations in organic rice farming when he came
to us at the TESDA-AANI Weekend Market last Sunday. You see, he spent P240,000 of his hardearned money in planting rice the organic way. After four months of waiting, he received only P130 for his entire crop. It all started when a group of "organic rice" people convinced him to grow organic rice for them. They provided him the seeds (to be paid for after harvest), the organic fertilizer, and the guidance of their organic rice production "expert". The group promised to buy the palay harvest at P10 per kilo. The group bought the palay harvest all right, but then the yield was so low, he vowed not to grow organic rice again. The highest yield he got from a hectare was 30 cavans. He said that he has been growing rice for many years and the least he got from his farm was 60 cavans per hectare, using a combination of chemical fertilizer and animal manure. Most of the time, however, he got 100 cavans or more per hectare. Our friend said the techniques used to grow his organic rice was all wrong. For one, the organic people's technician used seedlings that were 36 days old. The reason given was that the old seedlings were used so the golden kuhol would not damage them. The trouble was that the old seedlings did not produce enough tillers, hence the very limited yield. The technician also used a lot of organic fertilizer but our friend suspects that the fertilizer was so slow-acting, the beneficial effect on the rice plants was not realized. What's making the situation more lamentable is that the gentleman farmer feels he is the only one losing money. He thinks the people who bought his palay are the ones making a lot of money. That's because they have been selling their "organic rice" at P50 a kilo in Manila as well as in the province. |
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