By Neal Cruz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:25:00 03/09/2009
Filed Under: Agriculture, Joc-joc Bolante, Government
THE investigation of the P725-million fertilizer scam is not finished and those guilty have not been brought to justice yet but here is another fertilizer scam about to explode, this time in the face of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap. The DA has given the imprimatur for the importation of inorganic fertilizer from China (yes, it’s that country again). The fertilizer is now being sold to Filipino farmers—at a price slightly higher than that of other fertilizers.
The farmers, however, complained that there was something wrong with this fertilizer. Apparently, their crops have not been benefiting from the expensive fertilizer. So, in December last year, some of them brought samples to the Bureau of Soil and Water Management to have the product tested.
The farmers were shocked to discover that the nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and moisture contents of this NPK compound fertilizer were way below specifications and way below what the product declared.
But the farmers have been paying the full price for the product. In short, they are being short-changed. And the question is how much in windfall profits has the distributor reaped by selling Filipino farmers a product that does not meet standards.
This column is not jumping to conclusions. But as the saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And the black smoke of a potential controversy indicates that our farmers have a valid complaint which should be looked into.
The subject of the complaint is an inorganic fertilizer sold to farmers under the brand name “Swire.†The product is reportedly being sold by a Chinoy businessman with a Filipino-sounding name who owns Soiltech Agricultural Products Corp.
We are not passing judgment on Soiltech and its Swire products. We simply are urging Secretary Yap to listen to the complaints of the farmers who are alarmed over the results of the laboratory tests done by the Bureau of Soil and Water Management.
The report on the analysis done by the Bureau was signed by the laboratory supervisor, Vilma Quimson, and the bureau’s chief of the laboratory division, Dr. Lauro Hernandez.
There is a legitimate laboratory test backing up the complaints of the farmers, so this is not mere innuendo or intrigue. Secretary Yap can just call the director of this bureau, which is under his department, and ask whether or not that laboratory test was done and if it is true that the Swire products were found not to meet product standards and specifications.
If the answers are “yesâ€, Secretary Yap might want to find out whether or not Soiltech has been misrepresenting its fertilizer in the market.
He may also ask its Chinoy owner whether or not allegations are true that he was able to dispense with the mandatory laboratory testing of fertilizer imported from China.
The owner boasts in his company website that his company is a “leader†in the Luzon fertilizer market.
If by “leader†he means plenty of farmers from Luzon have bought his Swire products, then he must have really benefited from an unwarranted windfall. We hope he can explain the alarming laboratory results on the analysis of his fertilizer. Otherwise, many Luzon farmers will be up in arms for having been misled into buying a substandard product.
We also hope Secretary Yap does not do with the Soiltech issue what he did with the swine scam and other issues hounding the Department of Agriculture.
It will be recalled that some stakeholders of the department complained that they never got Yap’s attention regarding their concerns.
We hope the buyers of Soiltech products will be luckier.
Secretary Yap got a major black eye after rumors started flying that some Chinoy suppliers of the department were close to him.
He should erase the impression that he is the protector of Chinoy businessmen in the agriculture sector. He can do that by showing farmers that he will not treat the Soiltech issue with kid gloves.
Secretary Yap reportedly spends much time these days barnstorming a district of Bohol. We respect his aspirations for the future, but we hope he can fulfill his job as agriculture secretary and pay attention to the Soiltech controversy before his Bohol sorties consume his valuable time. After all, he is the agriculture secretary of the whole Philippines, not just of one district of Bohol.
We tried to get the side of Secretary Yap and that of the owner of Soiltech but they were both not available during the weekend. We will gladly give their side when they decide to give it.
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