CEBU – Farmers in Cebu province, particularly in the town of Santander, have dumped conventional farming, saying it is not only expensive, but is also unsafe for human consumption because of chemical fertilizers.
Now, in lieu of harmful fertilizers, farmers have began using vermicast and one of them, Roberto Patrimonio, said aside from using vermicast, he also developed homemade liquid fertilizer or what he termed Nature Farming Technology System (NFTS).
He said the results are surprisingly the same as compared to the traditional chemical fertilizer-based farming. “Ang gidak-on sa puso sa mais parehas raman,” (The sizes of the corn ears are just the same),” said Patrimonio, who became a member of corn-based Farmer-Scientist Training Program (FSTP) since 2009. In the same year, Patrimonio learned to produce his own vermincast fertilizers.
Vermicast is a term for worm manure, also called “castings” and Vermicompost is a product which contains worm castings in combination with other forms of decomposing organic matter.
Patromonio is now an FSTP coordinator in the village of Liptung in his own town of Santander. He said in order to be effective in his advocacy against chemical farming, he needs to show the results to the farmers so they may understand the benefits of vermicast. He said that is the reason he ventured into vermicast production and NFTS.
This year, Patrimonio has 20 vermicompost plots in his backyard. He sell this for only P400 a bag to local buyers in Santander as well as in its neighboring town of Oslob.
Patromonio said his own liquid fertilizer is made from indigenous micro-organism (IMO), fruit plant juice (FPJ), fermented fruit juice (FFJ) and fish amino acid (FAA).
“Kung akoy papilion, ari ko sa NFTS kay safety imong baol ug ang imong lawas. Ang imung yuta ma fertile pa sulod sa siyam ka bulan hangtod sa upat ka tuig (If I were to choose, I go for NFTS because your farm and your health is safe. And your land will remain fertile for nine months to four years),” he said.
According to the Provincial Agriculturist Office, IMO operates as soil conditioner and gives nutrients to the soil and plants. It also speeds up plant growth and can be used to spray the bedding of swine and helps in the process of composting organic matter.
FPJ, on the other hand, gives resistance to plants against pests and parasites and it adds more fats to plants and makes leaves greener. It can also help maintain vigor for humans.
FFJ is also a good source of potassium for plant growth and sweetening of fruits, adds more resistance against pests and improve soil fertility.
FAA provides nitrogen and root hormone, which results to greening of leaves. It also helps the flowering of plants (foliar fertilizer) and eliminates smaller organisms.
Mirabel Amado, organic farming focal person of the provincial government, said many farmers have already developed their own vermicompost and NFTS especially FSTP farmers. She said the provincial government is giving free technical assistance on NFTS to all local governments in Cebu.
She said NFTS can be applied in all plants, crops, vegetables, and even to animals. Aside from being cheaper and non-toxic, NFTS is also sustainable and environment-friendly.
The provincial government is pushing for the implementation of organic farming throughout Cebu in line with Republic Act 10068 or the “Organic Agriculture Act of 2010. (Xerxes Alkuino)
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