248-250-267-300-319 cavans of rice per hectare and counting

The numbers 248 and 250 and 267 and 300 and 319 refer to rice harvests per hectare by different farmers using Sagana 100 bio-organic fertilizer. Created by a lawyer (Ateneo de Manila graduate in 1960), the organic fertilizer has won for the inventor, Atty. Roberto S. Salido, several awards. High point for his product is the Department of Science and Technology’s (DoST) recognition of Sagana 100 as the Most Outstanding Invention of 1990.

Pepito Millares achieved the topmost 319 cavans per hectare rice harvest while Teofilo Bascos got his second ranking 300 cavans per hectare during the organic farming contest in Villasis, Pangasinan.

Benjamin Gamat recorded his 267 cavans in field trials in Luna, La Union; Eugene Mejia harvested 250 cavans as recorded in the office of the Pangasinan governor while David Gacusana and Leon Rigor Sr. got their 248 cavans each in the organic farming competition in Candon, Ilocos Sur.

Other beneficiaries of Sagana 100 are: Dominador Padua of Bacnotan, La Union (242 cavans) and Calixto Soriano, of Bagulin, La Union (229 cavans); Warlito Batin of Candon, Ilocos Sur (229 cavans); Marcelo Oliveras of Villasis, Pangasinan (227 cavans); Teodorico Gadong of Candon, Ilocos Sur (224 cavans); Joel Sales of Villasis, Pangasinan (218 cavans);

Epifanio Prumutap of Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur (215 cavans); Luis Abian of Asingan, Pangasinan (213 cavans); Esmenio Puruganan of Alcala, Pangasinan (213 cavans); Sony Egipto of Villasis, Pangasinan (212 cavans); and Sixto Quinto of Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur (208 cavans).

For years, Salido struggled to lift up the standards of farmers through his Sagana 100 not only to increase their harvests but also to improve their quality of life. He is also concerned about the hazards of chemicals in the soil which drove him to create an environment-friendly soil complement. From his humble beginnings in Ibajay, Aklan to lawyering to managing business enterprises and being inventorentrepreneur in agribusiness, Salido has his heart and mind turned to the small farmers. "There is more to it than just selling fertilizers. It is this desire to help the farmers improve their economic station in life through productivity," he explains.

So what is Sagana 100 technology and the benefits derived from it?

It is a technology that evolved from 28 years of field researches, farmer-users’ feed backs and studies. Focused on the integrated fertilizer management program, it covers, as well, other farming modes: land preparation, seed selection, planting methods, crop care, environment-friendly pest control techniques and other productive proficiencies.

The appeal of the bio-organic fertilizer is embodied on the following benefits:

• Top crop productivity and pest and disease immunity without undergoing genetic modifications;

• Higher percentage of rice milling recovery (68-72 percent) and increased purity of sugar per ton cane (PSTC) for sugar;

• Better quality tobacco leaf;

• Faster maturity of crops and early fruiting of trees;

• Reduction of fertilizer requirement on continuous application;

• Improved eating quality and longer shelf life for vegetables and fruits;

• Reduction (or possible elimination) of the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, weedicides, fungicides and molluscides;

• Correction of the pH level of the soil; and

• Sustainable agriculture with maximum productivity.

The man credited with the success of Sagana 100 bio-organic fertilizer has numerous awards to his name: Invention Commercialization Award from DoST and Genius Award from the Association of Hungarian Inventors during the National Inventors’ Week (1998).

In 1990, he won first prize in the DoST invention contest; Most Outstanding Invention of the Year: Gold Medal from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); Most Outstanding Inventor Award; Rizal Medallion Award from the Knights of Rizal; Outstanding Aklanon Award from the provincial government of Aklan.

Other honors bestowed on him are: DoST-I/ACT Gold Medal Award (1989); National Science and Technology Authority Certificate of Recognition (1983); National Capital Region Best KKK Livelihood Project Award (1982); Panday Pira Award (1976); Masikap Award from the Philippine Jaycees and Commission on Small and Medium Scale Industries (1975) and National Science and Development Board Diploma of Merit (1974).

At 66, Salido is not yet resting. He derives his strength, he says, from working. He is on another project: the Sagana 2000 Fortified Organic-based Liquid fertilizer. The result is promising.

A test on cabbage conducted by Josephine Ayban, an agriculturist in Baguio City revealed that 3 liters of Sagana 2000 produces the same result as that obtained from 325 kg of chemical fertilizer. Imelda Santos, a researcher of the Bureau of Soils and Water Management, in her study for rice had observed that one gallon of Sagana 2000 could take the place of 200 kg of chemical fertilizer.

One other project taking much of Salido’s time and effort is his concept of Sakahang Bayanihan. This system calls for the grouping of small farmers with contiguous lands to work together as a team, to be financed as a group, and guided by a Professional Farm Management Group.

The proponent believes that the adoption of this concept will help small farmers gain the cutting edge in the era of globalization.