At least 815 members of the Legazpi City Farmers’ Association received fertilizer assistance from the Department of Agriculture (DA) on February 26 and 27.

Shiela Nas, City Agriculture Office (CAO) chief, said these farmers are officially enrolled with the Registry System for Basic Sector of Agriculture (RSBSA) as required by the DA.

“We gave them a coupon worth PHP1,500 for half hectare rice field and PHP3,000 for one hectare and converted it into urea fertilizers as part (DA’s) Hybrid Cluster Voucher Program (HCVP),” she said in an interview Sunday.

Nas said farmer beneficiaries will be using their fertilizers for planting hybrid and inbred palay seeds in their respective farmland to harvest more yields and increase their income.

“Presently, we have 525 hectares of rice field in Legazpi that produce an average of 120 bags per hectare of hybrid palay and 90 bags of certified seeds palay,” she added.

Nas said the planting materials of hybrid palay and fertilizers have been given for free to the farmers as part of DA’s subsidization program to boost livelihood, especially of those engaged in the agricultural sector.

She said planting hybrid palay is good for rainy days or in agricultural areas with good irrigation to ensure there is enough supply of water as needed in every cropping season.

Rico Arango, member of Banquerohan Farmers Association (BFA), said he is “very thankful” for the fertilizer aid as it can be used for planting palay to improve the harvest, adding that palay is heavily dependent on fertilizers.

“The members of the agricultural sector who are mostly farmers are considered poor families in the community. But through these free fertilizers, we can avoid lending with high interest,” Arango said.

The 416 farmer beneficiaries are residents of the villages of Maslog, Cagbacong, Banquerohan, Bariis, Buenavista, San Francisco, Imalnod, Taysan, and Mariawa in the southern portion of the city.

The other 399 beneficiaries of the program are from Barangays Bonga, Pawa, Bogtong, Matanag, Dita, Padang, San Joaquin, Buyuan, Bagong Abre, Bigaa, Arimbay, Tamaoyan, and Rawis in the northern part of the city.

These include the areas of Puro, Buraguis, and East Washington from the downtown city with agricultural areas. (PNA)