To determine the impact of the organic faming technology that the Department of Science and Technology Regional Office No. IX has previously supported, DOST IX provided assistance to the Josefina H. Cerilles State College (JHCSC)–Dumingag Campus to undertake the study entitled “Assessment of Farmers Adopting Organic Farming in the Municipality of Dumingag”. The grant, amounting to P374,040.00, is funded under DOST Grants-in-Aid (GIA) Program.
Organic farming is considered a vital solution in revitalizing the fertility of the soil and bringing back its humus and productivity. Farmers in the Municipality of Dumingag were using synthetic fertilizers for more than a decade. Farm inputs specially inorganic chemicals and fertilizers are now sky high and income of farmers is getting smaller every year due to the production cost of the inorganic inputs.
Previously, DOST-IX has provided financial assistance to the JHSCS-Dumingag Campus and to the Department of Agriculture of the Municipality of Dumingag in establishing a Vermiculture production to produce organic fertilizer (vermicast) for the school and farmers in the same municipality. As a follow-thru, this study will assess organic farming in Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur and determine the effects of vermicast in the growth and yield of rice.
The research project will compare the organic fertilizer generated by DOST technologies with the commercial organic fertilizer and chemical fertilizers available in the market. The study output will also generate scientific information that will be vital for resource management and policy decisions. The study shall be completed within a period of one (1) year starting June 2011. (DOST IX PRESS RELEASE)
