Benguet farmers forced to limit chicken dung use

By Cathy Polinas

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Farmers in the province are now limiting their use of chicken dung as fertilizer due to steep oil price hikes and bird flu outbreak that affected production and delivery of manure supply.
    Nelson Liwayan, a chicken dung supplier of Barangay Shilan, said chicken dung supply shortage was due to price hike nationwide and bird flu outbreak in Pampanga, one of biggest suppliers of chicken dung.
    Poultry farms limited distribution of supply.
    Reports said bird flu continues to spread across the country.
    Reports of the World Organizational for Animal Health said the Philippines experienced this outbreak at Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Tarlac, Benguet and Laguna.
    Liwayan noted  compared to the price  before which was P95- P100, the current price of the chicken dung per sack is P180- P200 which shows prices of raw materials in farming was proportional to increase of basic goods.
    Filver Banglig, a local farmer of Bakun, cited importance of chicken dung in farming saying, "Abono adi ti number one nga  mausar sakbay  nga agmula. Awanen ti daduma nga alternatives nga mausar malaksid iti daytuy sunga mapilitan tayu ladta nga gatangen uray nangina”.
    He also said that he was having a hard time budgeting purchase of chemicals and fertilizers unlike before wherein he used 80 sacks of chicken dung. Now he must lower it into 50-60 sacks so that he can buy other supplies.
    The Dept. of Agriculture - Cordillera Administrative Region urged farmers to organize themselves to be a member of an association or a cooperative to help them in times of crisis like the said outbreak.
    DA-CAR regional executive director Cameron Odsey said to avail of programs of the department, farmers must be a member of any association or a cooperative which is duly accredited by DA  like the Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).
    It there is fund or project, with the RSBSA, the government can easily distribute the help to  more agricultural areas.
    Odsey said the RSBSA is a registry of farmers, fisherfolks, and farm laborers that serves as  targeting mechanism for the identification of beneficiaries for different agriculture-related programs and services of the government.