Going organic in chicken dung country

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO
March Fianza

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- When Director Cesar Rodriguez of the Department of Agriculture was asked in a press conference if chicken dung was “organic fertilizer,” the poor guy from a local radio outfit who asked the question never got back any answer.

Maybe the director did not hear the question or he was not sure of the answer. Or maybe he was afraid that whatever his answer was, might be quoted by any of the opposing parties and used to support their causes in an on-going fight for and against the use of the farmer’s commodity.

Although, I have earlier seen processed chicken dung with the NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium) contents balanced, then repacked into 25-kilo sacks. The bags I saw were marked “Organic Fertilizer – processed chicken dung” and certified by a government agency.

On the contrary, I read in a report by the Bureau of Postharvest Research and Extension (BPRE) that unprocessed chicken dung that is applied by highland vegetable farmers contains Bacillus Cereus, an that can infect vegetables and cause human sickness.

In the report on a study on the contamination of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce, cucumber, tomato and celery after harvest, it said that two types of illnesses are attributed to the consumption of foods contaminated by the aerobic spore-forming bacteria.

The first type of sickness is characterized by abdominal pain and diarrhea, while the other type is characterized by acute attack of nausea and vomiting. The research showed that the use of chicken dung as organic fertilizer needs to be monitored and regulated.

While there are recommendations to monitor and regulate the distribution and use of chicken dung, problem is that many vegetable-producing towns in this region do not have teams organized for such activities. The ordinances are more of revenue laws, which are the usual attitude of LGUs, where, as long as there is money collected, everything is okay.

In La Trinidad, Benguet, news reports stated that municipal councilors were compelled to approve the regulatory measure for the sale and use of the commodity because some people were allegedly making piles of money from the unregulated sale of chicken dung in the area.

To an extent, they assailed the decision of the Benguet provincial board that invalidated the regulatory ordinance saying that thousands of farmers would continue to suffer if the sale of the commodity continues to be unregulated.

The newspaper report is confusing. If sale is unregulated – then there is no reason for farmers to suffer because chicken dung can be sold in every vacant lot, for as long as the owner allows the sale and there are no complainants.

The same report stated that some councilors said the municipal government would not allow a certain group to dominate the trade because this would give them the leverage to dictate the prices at the expense of the farmers.

It now appears that the fight between the parties involved in the chicken dung war is not about the hazards that chicken dung brings. It is all about money.

The report further added: What is important, the council stated, is that there should be more chicken dung trading areas in the province. It said that the provincial board’s action of invalidating the measure was tantamount to declaring chicken dung as nuisance when in fact it is helping thousands of farmers improve their crops.

It seems like it did not come to their minds that chicken dung as nuisance to both humans and the environment is entirely different from the help it brings to improving farmers’ crops. Nuisance and money matters are two separate issues that can not be compared no matter how the latter brings in many millions to an LGU.

By the way, the council did not only assail the Benguet provincial board’s decision to invalidate their ordinance. They even asked the National Bureau of Investigation to find out if money changed hands prior to the invalidation of the municipal ordinance.

An unsolicited advice to the board is for them to request the same from the NBI and for it to also investigate how a chicken dung ordinance is crafted.

It should be clear in our public officials’ minds that the reason for ordinances is to regulate and control excessive sale for health and environment reasons, unless they are up to something we do not know.

The designation or allotment of a good space for poultry manure, however, does not mean that there are no longer any environmental costs as the stench of chicken dung emitted and the flies attracted by its existence can not be contained – and complaints will surely continue to be raised.
Hence, conflicts should arise from health and environment issues, not from the big money that is generated when its sale is allowed.

About two years ago after the last election, residents of a barangay in La Trinidad were annoyed by the trucks of chicken manure parked in their neighborhood. They wrote letters of complaint to newspaper editors because they said their local officials were not lifting a finger to stop the problem.

Eventually, the selling stopped and the dealers transferred to a location outside the barangay’s jurisdiction. After this happened, I was told that certain people which my informants did not want to confirm or deny if these were public officials, were seen in the meeting with the dealers, urging them to go back to their previous locations. – marchfianza777@yahoo.com