The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has inaugurated a P6 million research laboratory that produces beneficial micro-organisms (BMO) at the agency’s La Granja Agricultural Research and Extension Center in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental.
The facility, the SRA said, aims to supplement the supply of inorganic fertilizer used for growing sugar cane.
Maria Theresa Alejandrino, supervising science research specialist at SRA, said the new laboratory will also help increase BMO production that has proven effective as a fertilizer additive that reduces the cost of production for sugar cane growers.
Alejandrino said BMOs are particularly helpful during prolonged dry spells as foliar fertilizer, reducing regular fertilizer use by over 30 percent.
“It is actually a technology that has been used as early as the 1990’s, basically preventing plant diseases. But it is only recently that farmers have been using it amidst the rising cost of fertilizer,” Alejandrino said.
According to the SRA, BMO promotes germination, flowering, fruition and ripening of plants while also improving the physical, chemical and biological environment of the soil. It also helps in the production of beneficial enzymes and organic acids that help build solid soil structure.
Last year, SRA gave out more than 10,000 gallons of BMO to over 200 beneficiaries.
David Sanson, SRA board member, said sugar farmers saved as much as P6,000 on fertilizer cost for each hectare they till for using BMO.
“SRA can increase BMO production that will hopefully be utilized by our farmers, especially the small farmers that comprise a huge chunk of sugar producers and make sugar farming sustainable,” Sanson said.
Department of Agriculture monitoring of public markets in the National Capital Region show refined sugar retailing from P74 to P100 a kilo, washed sugar from P68 to P90 a kilo and brown sugar from P65 to P90 a kilo.
Millsite monitoring also shows the composite price of raw sugar costing P2,415 per 50-kilo bag.
