Bureau completes soil fertility survey of rice areas in Cebu
THE Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Central Visayas has completed the soil fertility survey of the 26 municipalities of Cebu that are declared as rice areas.
The survey ran from May 26 to July 1.
According to Senior Agriculturist Salvador Fabula, Cebu is part of the second phase of the project, together with Siquijor in region 7, and 10 other provinces in the country having less than 15,000 hectares of rice areas.
Bohol and 36 other provinces nationwide belonged to phase one of the project having more than 15,000 hectares of rice areas.
BSWM Soil and Water Areas coordinator Arthur Acha said that during their soil sampling in Daanbantayan town in northern Cebu, the farmers were thankful because they now know the right amount of fertilizer to apply and do away from their traditional practice of ‘mata-mata’ (estimate), which is more costly.
“Crops are like humans that need vitamins. That’s why we need to test the soil to know what nutrients it lacks and what needs to be added,” Fabula further said in a forum on Tuesday.
The soil samples collected will be pulverized and subjected to soil analysis and fertilizer recommendation at the Regional Soils Laboratory.
The result of the survey will be put on a national color-coded agriculture map, which would reflect the fertility level of the declared rice areas of the country and guide farmers to use fertilizers that suit the type of land and other crops that could be grown in the area.
Fabula said they are working to complete the project before this year’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) and proceed with the implementation right after.
Regional Soil Laboratory Chief Ester Calingacion however admitted that some farmers may not be able to comply with the recommendations due to lack in capital.
“For farmers who cannot afford fertilizers, BSWM also has projects on composting. Rice straws and dried leaves that decompose can also add nutrients to their soil,” said Acha.
He added that aside from fertilizers, they have also irrigation systems wherein they implement at least ten irrigation projects annually.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
