Impact of the 1988 fertilizer subsidy on fertilizer use and rice output
1988
Moya, P.F. | Pingali, P.L. | Papag, A.M. | Pantoja, P.L. (International Rice Research Inst., Los Banos, Laguna (Philippines))
An assessment of the DS [dry season] 1988 fertilizer subsidy program of the government was undertaken in order to evaluate its impact on fertilizer use and rice output. A total of 116 farmers were interviewed in Laguna, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Viscaya, Isabela, and South Cotabato [Philippines] to collect the information needed in the study. Preliminary results of the analysis showed that on the average, the nitrogen (N) fertilizer use for rice increased by 14 kg per hectare from DS 1987 to DS 1988. This is very low compared to the targetted increase of about 46 kgs (equivalent to the 2 free bags of urea) per hectare. Only 45% of the samples used the free bags to increase the N rate and number of applications per hectare. The rest of the samples used the free bags for other purposes: substitutes for the urea that they should have bought if there is no subsidy, stored them for the next season, lend/give them to relatives. Based on these findings, the ultimate aim of the program in providing the 2 free bags of urea, to produce an incremental yield would not be attained for the whole sample. However, in sites where the increase is significant such as Laguna a marginal increase in output could possibly be attributed to the fertilizer subsidy provided the additional fertilizer was applied with appropriate timing.
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