Farmers, who are 32-km away from the PhilRice station in Ligao City, Albay, were introduced to Abonong Swak during its recent Lakbay Palay.
“We learned a lot from the discussions here, and these will improve our farm practices. We hope we can come back to PhilRice and learn,” said Perla Asaytuno, a 70-year-old farmer.
Abonong Swak promotes strategic nutrient management practices to achieve balanced fertilization, which could help farmers lower their farming expenses. The campaign features organic and inorganic fertilizer combinations to meet farmers’ budget and current yield.
For example, farmers targeting a yield of 5t normally use eight bags of fertilizer. But based on Abonong Swak computations, 4.5 bags are enough, which could save up to PhP4,000/ha. The activity also introduced inbred and hybrid varieties such as NSIC Rc 506, Rc 512, and Rc 514.
