Sunday, October 25, 2009

DA to give 53 compost facilities to farmers, LGUs

By Vicente Labro

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, Philippines -- The government is set to distribute 53 composting facilities worth about P18.5 million to farmers’ groups and local governments in Eastern Visayas.

Leo Cañeda, regional executive director of the Department of Agriculture said the distribution of composting facilities would be in line with the nationwide program called Tipid Abono (Save on Fertilizers) Program-Organic Fertilizer Production Project of the DA.

The program aimed to encourage farmers to use organic fertilizer as a sustainable approach to food security, income generation and poverty alleviation, especially in poor regions like Eastern Visayas, Cañeda said Friday.

He said around 120 composting facilities were earmarked for the region, with the initial 53 now ready for distribution and the rest, to be delivered here next year.

Armando Arcamo, regional coordinator of the DA's Bureau of Soils and Water Management, said the 53 composting facilities would be awarded to beneficiaries in the region during the launching of the program on Oct. 30.

He said the beneficiaries were either farmers groups or local government units, with a 100-hectare cluster in their respective areas.

Arcamo explained that some farmers’ groups sought assistance from local government units because they could not put up the counterpart - a building where the composting facilities would be installed.

"Some LGUs became interested in the program because they could use the composting facilities in their solid waste management program," he said in an interview Friday at the sidelines of the Farmers LGU-led Bantay Peste consultative meeting here.

The project beneficiaries are those in areas where the average yield is below the national average of 3.8 metric tons per hectare, according to Arcamo.

Of the initial 53 units, Arcamo said 25 would go to Leyte, eight to Biliran, five to Southern Leyte and the remaining 15 to the three Samar provinces.

The composting facility is composed of a shredder, compost brewer, 15 kilos of African Night Crawler compost worms, and three units of vermi-bed.

The composting facility can produce 800 kilos of shredded materials per hour or 64,000 kilos per day at eight hours of operation, which would make it appropriate for a 100-hectare-cluster, he said.

Each program package, costing P350,000 and composed of the compost facility and a training program, would be given as a grant to beneficiaries, Arcamo said.