Biofertilizer industry in crisis

The Manila Times
2024.11.28

LAST March, Chancellor Jose Camacho Jr. of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) granted an exclusive license to an agribusiness company, Agri-Specialist Inc. (ASI), to use, produce and sell the biofertilizer trademarked as Bio-N nationwide.

In turn, ASI — a newcomer in the biofertilizer industry — has allegedly been telling existing and potential Bio-N clients, including farmers' cooperatives, private enterprises, and national and local government agencies, to stop making, marketing or using Bio-N without ASI's permission. To date, however, ASI has not secured a certificate of product registration for Bio-N from the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority under the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Currently, the production and supply of Bio-N in various areas has reportedly dwindled or stopped. This is harming thousands of rice, corn and vegetable producers, who have been enjoying higher yields and substantial savings in urea fertilizer costs with this technology.

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