DA-9 gives compost facilities to 11 Zamboamga towns

 

The Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) has turned over close to PHP1 million composting facilities to 11 municipalities in the region in line with its mandate on safety and effective use of soil and water resources.

“These MLGUs (Municipal Local Government Units) support organic agriculture and acquire potentials in organic farming, and organic fertilizer production,” Department of Agriculture Region 9 executive director Ran Donn Cedeño said in a statement Saturday.

Cedeño said the recipient municipalities are Tabina, Tukuran, Midsalip, Dumalinao and San Pablo, in Zamboanga del Sur; Rizal, Manuel Roxas, La Libertad and Siayan, in Zamboanga del Norte; and, Alicia and Olutanga in Zamboanga Sibugay.

The distribution of composting facilities, which started Tuesday until Friday, was made through the Department of Agriculture-Organic Agriculture Program (DA-OAP) and High-Value Crops Development Program, he added.

Cedeño said the composting facility package for biodegradable waste comprises a shredder machine with a rotary composter worth PHP954,240.

“As the new operators of these pieces of machinery, let us use these safely and appropriately with the goal of keeping it operational for a long time,” Cedeño told the beneficiaries.

Roger Principe, the BSWM regional soil and water area coordinator, also encouraged the recipients to use the composting facilities in their respective waste management systems, particularly in market waste disposal.

“This will help your community in two ways: First, in minimizing its market waste and second, in utilizing these wastes as substrates for fertilizer in farming activities,” Principe said.

Janice Legaspi, the DA-OAP regional focal person, urged the beneficiaries to venture into organic farming and involve themselves in its advocacy in their respective towns.