Free fertilizers from the city!

I must confess to being easily made happy by simple things. This state must be predicated upon the fact that I am, like many farmers in our mountains barangays, an ordinary mortal. Yes, I have simple sources of joys. Yesterday though, I was buoyed beyond my simple self. A call from Sir Joey Baclayon, the Cebu City agriculturist, more than made up the gloomy days that introduced this week.

In an article I wrote about a year ago, I praised the practical and helpful program of the administration of Her Honor, Cebu Provincial Governor Gwendolyn Garcia on agriculture. Her agriculturist, Dr. Vecoy, responded to my plea for help. I was reeling from the high cost of fertilizers. Even the horse manure, which I preferred, proved to be expensive. Dr. Vecoy then sent me few sacks of compost fertilizer and chicken dung. The harvest from my small garden showed to me what fertilizers can do to plants.

When I wrote, in this column, about the assistance I received from the province, I got a reaction from city hall. Its message claimed that the city administration of His Honor Cebu City Michael Rama also had a program aimed at helping mountain farmers. Accordingly, the city had available supplies for our farmers in terms of agricultural inputs and they were ready for distribution, free of cost, to anybody who might find need for them.

Last Saturday, I was in the mountain barangay of Paril. Aside from planting a few more Mabolo trees, I supervised the preparation of my small garden. I went home that day feeling a problem of where to get the fertilizers. My usual source of chicken dung did not have it readily available and I could not contact Engr. Jun Miñoza, my supplier of horse manure. Besides, I could not figure out where to get the money to pay for at least one hundred sacks of both.

It was in my panic that I remembered Sir Baclayon. Not knowing his contact number, I, while in transit to my law office, communicated with Atty. Jomar Poblete, the city administrator, expressing my hope to get some fertilizers, if they, indeed, were available.

Then, a call came. I did not take it not only because it came from an unfamiliar number but more so because the signal was erratic. So, I replied with a request to send instead a text(ed) message. Lo and behold, it came from Sir Baclayon and I regretted not having taken.

Sir Baclayon told me that he had fertilizers and wanted to know, from me, where he would have it delivered to. His men were waiting for instructions. I thought the city could spare me, perhaps, ten sacks. So, in the most polite and grateful way, I requested him to have it brought to my humble home.

But the next line of his message floored me. He had one dump truck load of fertilizers and insisted, to my relief, to direct the delivery. In my estimate, it was much more than my usual need of about 100 sacks. So I gave him the name of the sitio to where it may be brought to and the person who was supervising my garden.

  This is one thing that is not very well publicized yet. Our city government has that kind of a program that will benefit the thousands of our farmers in the mountains. Assuming that the quality of the fertilizers is good, I feel that this help of the city government will go a very long way. There are many uncultivated areas along the way to my garden. From inquiries I made, the reason for the failure of land owners to develop these parcels of land is the prohibitive cost of such inputs as fertilizers. If the city has that capacity to supply fertilizers to ordinary farmers like me, we shall have removed an onerous burden from our shoulders.

At this point, the few things that Mayor Rama has to do are: (1) to make sure that the people in our mountain barangays are aware of this program; (2) to put in place a system of fair distribution to the farmers who need them and (3) to adopt a follow up mechanism to ensure that the fertilizers distributed are brought free to the ones who need them the most.

Of course, the mayor may adopt other systems to implement this program and when he does that, he is making the city government closer to its people.

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