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Thursday, January 24, 2013
Malaya Business News Online - Philippine Business News | Online News Philippines
DENR slaps Philex additional P92.8M fine
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has ordered Philex Mining Corp. to pay an additional penalty of P92.8 million for polluting the Balog Creek and the Agno River.
The DENR’s Pollution Adjudication Board, a unit of the Environmental Management Bureau, said Philex violated the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 and the terms of its environmental compliance certificate (ECC).
The P92.8 million penalty is on top of the P1.034 billion fine earlier imposed by the DENR for the waste spillage at Philex’s Padcal mine in Benguet on August 1, 2012.
Likewise, Philex will have to continue paying a penalty of P200,000 per day until it has cleaned up the two affected waterways. This means removing all the mine sediments in the Balog Creek and the Agno River and until the time they are completely rehabilitated.
The P92.8 million fine only covers the period from November 29, 2012 to yesterday, January 24.
Juan Miguel Cuna, EMB director and PAB chairman, said that the computation of fines for the violation of the Clean Water Act and ECC will be continuous.
“If they (Philex) fail to comply, a fine of P200,000 per day will continue to be imposed on them until such time that they have fully complied with the provisions of RA 9275,” he said.
For the ECC, the penalty will be at P5,000 per violation of the certificate’s term.
“From November 29, 2012 until January 24, 2013, there is already an additional penalty of P22.8 million for the two bodies of water affected by (the spill),” he added.
Earlier, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) rejected Philex’s appeal that it be allowed to use the P1 billion fine slapped on the company to rehabilitate the areas affected by the tailings spill.
The PAB also ordered Philex not to use tailings pond No.3.
The MGB said it will be the one to decide if the Padcal tailings pond is already structurally sound.
Meanwhile, Philex said it was ordered to pay the initial fines within 15 days from the date it received the order from the EMB Central Office.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Passing on the gift of livelihood and entrepreneurship
http://business.inquirer.net/101303/passing-on-the-gift-of-livelihood-and-entrepreneurship
By Myrna Rodriguez CoPhilippine Daily Inquirer
11:32 pm | Saturday, January 5th, 2013
1 84 45
PASSING on the gift at Tabak, Kalinga
“Give not a cup (of milk) but a cow” is Heifer International’s version of “Teach a man how to fish to feed him for life.”
The organization’s vision of fighting world hunger took seed out of one man’s frustration at not having enough milk to feed the hungry refugees around him. The visionary was American farmer Dan West who in the 40s served as relief worker in Spain during the Spanish Civil War.
Back in the US, West founded Heifers for Relief which grew to become Heifer International aiming to provide sustainable livelihood to the poorest-of-the-poor communities worldwide.
HI’s basic poverty-fighting program is simple: Poor families are given livestock and training on livestock raising. When the cow, pig or goat breeds, a female offspring is passed on to another family. The act of receiving and giving forward continues. The whole community then takes a step—with that one initial animal—towards sustainable growth.
Heifer Philippines
Heifer International came to the Philippines in 1954. The first stock of cattle and goats was shipped from the US and dispersed to selected beneficiaries with the help of the first program partners, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and Philippine Rural Life Center (PRLC).
In 50 years, the program has covered 17 provinces. Kalinga, Mt. Province and Western Isabela in the north. Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur in Mindanao. Northern Samar, Western Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Bohol and Negros Oriental in the Visayas. Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon in Luzon.
Working with 60 NGO-partners, the organization has assisted 25,000 families.
HIP program director Hercules Paradiang describes how the program begins in a community.
Working with NGOs
“We work with NGOs which are already well-known in the community and connect with barangay and municipal officials to validate that the community is truly poor but nonetheless have resources for livestock-raising. We also review the local government’s thrust.”
An ocular inspection follows, then a meeting with the members of the community.
A project proposal is then developed by the partner-NGO in consultation with the regional staff of Heifer and the community members.
PASSING on the gift at Sta Josefa, Agusan del Sur
Once the proposal is approved, the NGO identifies and organizes partner-households.
An intensive training follows.
“It’s not just training on how to raise livestock,” Paradiang emphasizes. “We inculcate values to change the poverty mindset—self-reliance, accountability, commitment, savings, family values, sharing.”
While training is going on, the beneficiaries get ready for the livelihood activity. They prepare pasture areas, plant forage, build animal houses.
Passing it on
All these culminate in the “passing-on-the-gift” ceremony, where each partner-family finally receives an animal or another agricultural input.
It can be a cow, carabao, horse, goat, pigs, chickens. Or crop seedlings, tilapia fingerlings. It depends on the identified need.
Each recipient commits to pass forward what he receives in exactly the same measure—the same female of the specie, of the same age, size and weight.
Ensuring sustainability
That its work has spanned five decades here says volumes about the program’s sustainability.
Paradiang explains how they do it:
“We have limited resources. We stay in one community for three years and move on. We can do that because we have given members ‘seed stock’ and growing capability—plus the mindset to stick to it.”
Training is continuing. Members are updated on better livestock-management and environment-friendly practices. Community facilitators strengthen the self-help groups.
Values education never stops. Farmers embark on a continuing journey of confidence-building, self-development and self-reliance.
HIP’S Hercules Paradiang (left) and Lyndell Tagle flank photo of HI Founder Dan West.
They also learn proper nutrition, environmental protection, disaster-mitigation, and risk-reduction.
“The self-help nature of the groups helps ensure sustainability. Members attend regular meetings which reinforce their sense of accountability for themselves and their community,” Senior Field Manager Lyndell Tagle says.
“Capital build-up is important to make the self-help groups truly autonomous. There are communities which in five years increased their assets hundredfold.”
Moving up to entrepreneurship
Some members have parlayed their livelihood projects into diversified farms; others prospered enough to want to process the produce; others plan to engage in agricultural services like feed-milling.
Recently, the Small Enterprises Research and Development Foundation (Serdef) conducted a business-planning workshop for HIP program staff so that they may in turn mentor these potential entrepreneurs to plan their business.
This is Heifer Philippines’ way of helping growth-oriented farmer-partners raise their livelihood activities to the next level: entrepreneurship of the more formal and innovative kind.
(For more stories on entrepreneurship, visit the Serdef website at www.serdef.org. For more on Heifer Philippines, visit www.heiferphils.org.)
Pectin Derived From Mango Peels
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/388046/pectin-derived-from-mango-peels#.UPeBrR2grh4
January 2, 2013, 6:38pm
The extraction of pectin from mango peels is being eyed for commercialization this year. The extraction is a new technology developed by the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) and the Department of Science and Technology.
Pectin is a group of carbohydrates used mainly as a stabilizer, and as gelling and thickening agent by the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.
“The country imports 100 percent of its pectin needs, and by fully commercializing the technology, we could start establishing domestic firms that could gradually supply the pectin needs of the Philippine market,” PhilMech Executive Director Rex L. Bingabing said in a recent press conference.
Data from the Department of Trade and Industry showed that the country imported about 94,848 kilos of pectin, valued at $52.38 million in 2011. Bingabing sees an opportunity in the production of pectin from mango peels as the country annually produces around 884,000 metric tons of mango. A lot of pectin could be extracted from the peels of the mangoes produced in the country.
The quality of pectin produced from mango peels is comparable to pectin made from apple pomace. Another source of pectin is citrus peels. Findings also show that the pectin from mango peels cost only P6,000 per kilogram. Five kilograms of Philippine carabao mango peels can produce one kilogram of pectin.
The next step, according to Bingabing, is to establish a manufacturing prototype at PhilMech’s headquarters inj Muñoz City in Nueva Ecija that could be viewed and studied by prospective investors who will be willing to set up their own facility for the production of pectin.
Aside from pectin from mango peels, PhilMech also sets eye on commercializing this year three other key technologies that it developed. These include the mechanical cassava drying combined with far-infrared and convection heating for drying mango slices and the use of biological agents for pest control.
The four key researches have all been finished and the next logical step is to commercialize the technologies from these researches in 2013 for the benefit of various stakeholders, Bingabing said.
Also in the pipeline is the technology on the processing of coconut wate which is now being exported to other countries.
With funding from the Philippine Coconut Administration, Bingabing said that PhilMechaims to come up with an equipment to hasten coconut water processing. Todate, PhilMech has already allocated P2-million counterpart funding for laboratory scale testing. — MELPHA M. ABELLO
Organic Farming Fertilizer
Healthy Agricultural Croplands Need Organic Fertilizer
Cold Spring Pellets 4-3-2 plus 7% Ca OMRI approved
Our premium agricultural product, “Cold Spring Pellets” 4-3-2 plus 7% Ca, is our original organic fertilizer. Our company produces and labels most of our fertilizer product for agricultural cropland purposes. This product is ideal for larger land parcels and is sold in pellet form rather than a granule or crumble. Pellets are broadcast across wide areas in a uniform pattern making agricultural applications precise. Another advantage is that pellets skip several costly manufacturing processes and the cost savings offers real value to large end users.
The usual application rate is one ton per acre. Up to two tons may be applied to high value crops. As always, a professional soil analysis should guide your specific rate of application. This product is customarily sold in bulk truckloads or one-ton super sacks.
Organic Fertilizer For High Yielding Crops
High yielding cropland needs healthy soil. Healthy soil begins with billions of microbes and some naturally occurring nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK). Healthy fruits and vegetables then remove some of these primary nutrients, as well as some secondary and trace nutrients. Some crops such as corn and cabbages demand and withdraw more nutrients than others. These nutrients should be replaced with either natural or synthetic sources. Overall, the natural sources have proven to be more user-friendly, less costly, and do not reduce microbial populations in the soil as synthetic (chemical) fertilizers do. Long term USDA-ARS studies show that natural organic practices significantly build organic matter and increase microbial populations in the soil. These microbes ultimately convert insoluble nutrients into soluble nutrients which then become available to the crop. They also build structure within the soil which retains water and oxygen, both of which are fundamental to growth.
Organic Fertilizer For Organically Grown Crops Adds Nutritional Benefits
Organically grown crops contain significantly more minerals and vitamins and significantly less nitrites than conventional crops. A scientific review of forty-one research papers making 1,297 comparisons on organically fertilized vs. conventionally fertilized crops proved organically grown crops contain 42% more magnesium, 29% more manganese, 27% more vitamin C, 26% more calcium, 21% more iron, 14% more phosphorous, 11% more copper, 9% more potassium and 15% fewer nitrates. Leafy vegetables like spinach, lettuce, cabbage and potatoes show even greater nutritional improvements when grown with organic fertilizer. Another review of 88 research papers showed similar results and significantly greater concentrations of polyphenols and antioxidants in organically produced foods.
These nutritional benefits are being recognized nationwide. According to the Organic Trade Association, organic food and beverage sales have grown from $1 billion in 1990 to $24.8 billion in 2009. In 2009, the organic fruits and vegetables category was up eleven percent over 2008 sales figures. These growth figures indicate consumers are demanding healthier food and organic crop production is filling the need. By definition, organic fruits and vegetables require natural organic fertilizer. For all the reasons mentioned above, there is no better organic fertilizer than Cold Spring Pellets. It is complete with NPK plus calcium and other secondary nutrients as well as trace elements all of which are necessary to healthy crops. Apples, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cherries, citrus, conifers, cotton, melons, grapes, lettuce, peaches, peanuts, pears, peppers, potatoes, tobacco and tomatoes are all especially responsive to calcium.
Cold Spring Pellets is a “complete” all-purpose organic fertilizer made from "processed" chicken manure that contains:
- 4% nitrogen which promotes vegetative growth, color, and stem strength,
- 3% phosphorous which promotes root development and flowering abilities,
- 2% potassium which promotes disease resistance, temperature tolerance, and fruit quality,
- 7% calcium which promotes strong cell structure, rapid root establishment, and much more.
Our organic fertilizer also contains other secondary nutrients, trace elements, vitamins, and amino acids as found in all poultry manure; but does not contain any weed seeds, litter, bedding, or other fillers, nor any harmful pathogens of human concern. Chick Magic organic fertilizer is safe to use around people and pets.
Pelleted Organic Fertilizer Is Good
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/388049/pelleted-organic-fertilizer-is-good#.UPd_Gh2grh4
Agri Plain Talk
By ZAC B. SARIAN
January 2, 2013, 6:41pm
It pays to pelletize organic fertilizer. That’s the conclusion of Dr. Rene Sumaoang of Novatech, a leading manufacturer of organic fertilizer.
As early as three years ago, he was already thinking of pelletizing his Durabloom fertilizer. He was already negotiating with a manufacturer in an ASEAN country for a unit.
Since the machine costs a lot of money, he did not push through with the idea because he said he was not sure if the farmers will patronize organic fertilizer in pellet form.
What he did was to have his fertilizer pelleted by a toll manufacturer. The capacity is quite low, however. Only 2,000 bags a month.
Now, Dr. Sumaoang is convinced that it is now time to buy the pelleting machine. He has observed that the rice farmers really love the Durabloom pellets.
In rice farming, organic fertilizer is applied as a basal fertilizer. It is applied during land preparation or just before transplanting. The problem with the loose organic fertilizer (not pelleted), is that it may be carried away if there is an overflow of water, which is quite often. Thus, a lot of the nutrients is lost.
In the case of the pellets, they readily sink in the mud so that they are not carried away by the water overflow.The pellets can even be applied a few days from planting. They can be broadcasted at the right time when there no overflow of water. The pellets will readily sink in the mud.
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TOO MUCH MONEY CAN BE DANGEROUS – In farming, an overflowing cash is not a guarantee of success. In fact, it can be dangerous.
Let me cite the case of a young congressman who has a lot of money. When he learned that hot chili was selling at P 400 to P500 per kilo, he was immediately attracted by the prospects of big profits. (Actually, the price could escalate to as high as a thousand pesos per kilo during periods of scarcity.)
What did he do? He spent a lot of money to plant six hectares to hot chili somewhere north of Manila. It is no joke to plant six hectares of hot pepper. The seeds cost a lot, so is the land preparati on, the fertilizers, pesticides and the manpower to take care of planting, caring, harvesting and other chores.
Unfortunately for the politician, the price per kilo when he started harvesting was only P15 per kilo. When the price did not improve after sometime, he thought of just abandoning the plants to wither. He surmised that taking care of them will just result in more losses.
The lesson here is that the politico should have started his project more modestly. Say a hectare for a start. He should have made a serious study of the nature of the hot chili market before embarking on a big project.
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PAPAYA TASTES LIKE MANGO – Ric Reyes of East-West Seed tells us that a seed company in Thailand has developed a hybrid papaya that tastes like mango. The fruits are small, less than a kilo to one kilo each.
The developer, he said, is reluctant to commercialize the hybrid because the flesh is yellow. In Thailand, Ric said, the preferenceof consumers is the red-fleshed variety.
But that should suit the Philippines well. Local consumers don’t mind patronizing yellow-fleshed papaya as long as the eating quality is good.
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INTEREST IN POWER GROWER COMBO – After the story about the doubling of sugarcane yield through the application of Power Grower Combo, a lot of sugarcane growers are showing keen interest. One doctor from Negros Occidental who has a big sugarcane plantation is interested to try it initially on ten hectares.
Other interested readers would like to use them in their rice farms. Just like Marino de Leon of Malolos who has ordered a dozen packs to use them in his rice farm.
Other farmers in Cagayan Valley, Pangasinan and elsewhere are going to use the special fertilizer developed by Alfonso G. Puyat in their vegetable farms.
Organic Fertilizer Pellet
Organic fertilizers pellets are naturally rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, the three major nutrients needed to grow strong and healthy plants. The organic pellet class of fertilizers tend to be less refined and involve little or no chemical processing. Also, the natural environment tends to have an easier time breaking down and absorbing natural pellet fertilizers. Organic fertilizers pellet increase the biological activities in the soil. Micro-organism’s within the soil help plants convert nutrients into food and help break down old plant material which adds to the over all health of the soil and garden.
Pellet fertilizer has a slow-release capability. This slow-release property allows pellet fertilizers to gradually release nutrients, which gives plants time to absorb and use them through the growing season. In this way, the pellet fertilizer also helps stop leaching and soil erosion, which are side effects of the liquid form. Pellet fertilizer’s content makes it a great source of nutrients not only for plants, but also for micro-organisms in the soil.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
HIAS: the new efficient hydroponic irrigation system
Hydroponics is very well known in modern agriculture for the numerous advantages it provides in intensive farming worldwide; however, up until now it was only used commercially in annual production crops (vegetables, flowers, ornamental plants, nurseries, etc.). Its use with fruit trees has not expanded due to its special characteristics and the problems that its implementation entails.
JORMAR FRUITS S.L. has developed and patented HIAS (Hydroponic Irrigation Adapted System); a new mixed hydroponic system offering the many benefits of this irrigation technique. It allows for its use with already established tree crops in an easy way, with a short adaptation period and no stress for the plantation. The plant keeps all its roots, but only the ones inside the HIAS container develop the hydric and mineral nutrition function.
The irrigation system consists in an especially-designed container with a waterproof plastic material, black in the inside and durable for years (protected against UV rays from the sun), which is placed close to the tree trunk and, by means of drip irrigation, it distributes all the water and nutrients through a fertigation system, making the tree roots go inside it through an already-prepared opening protected from sunlight.
"After several tests with prototypes and observing the performance of the system in crops, it was decided to patent the HIAS system, as there is no information about this irrigation system being used anywhere else in the world," explains Jorge Labrador, designer of the patented prototype. The patent has extended to several countries like Turkey, Morocco, Algeria and South Africa, lands with arid climates and where irrigation is a key element in fruit production. "At the moment we are processing the patent in Israel."
The main goals of this system are to significantly reduce water consumption in fruit tree irrigation and to lower fertiliser and energy costs. "Controlling fertigation we can reduce groundwater pollution from excess of nutrients, especially nitrogen," affirms Jorge. "With this system, the homogeneity and production of the fruit tree plantation would also improve, reducing the need for growth regulators."
"It is a system for efficient management of the resources used in crops and allows for improvements in production, quality and environmental conditions. Summing up, it is a new productive system model for fruit tree and multi-annual crops," he concludes.
For more information:
Jorge Labrador Agustín
JORMAR FRUITS, S.L.
Tel:+34638260425
+34630962267
jrglabrador@gmail.com
www.jormarfruits.es
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Methods of Fertigation
These strawberries are irrigated and fertilized via Fertigation
Fertigation, as the name implies, is the applying of fertilizers through irrigation water: Fertilization + Irrigation. This relatively new technique is being more and more commonly used in recent years, but the term "fertigation" is still not well recognized and many have not heard it.
Fertigation has many advantages over other fertilization methods, and when properly used, it saves time and labor, fertilizers application is more accurate and uniform, and nutrient uptake by roots is improved.
Two methods of fertigation: quantitative and proportional
When using fertigation, fertilizfers solutions are prepared in advance in stock tanks and the solution is then injected into the irrigation water. The most common fertigation methods to do so are the quantitative method and the proportional method.
The quantitative method is commonly used in soils. In this fertigation method, the grower first decides how much fertilizer he needs to apply per area (e.g. kg/ha, lbs/acre). This quantity of fertilizer is then delivered through the irrigation system.
The proportional method is mostly used in soil-less media and sandy soils. In this method a defined quantity of the stock solution is injected into each unit of water flowing through the irrigation system (e.g. l/m3, lbs/gal).
Some fertigation controllers allow the grower to directly determine the required injection rate, while other controllers require the input of time and flow parameters (irrigation flow rate, irrigation duration, injector discharge, injection duration).
Irrigation system design for fertigation
Effective fertigation requires knowledge and proper management. In fertigation, fertilizing is an integral part of the irrigation system and therefore, the irrigation system has to be properly designed. Here are some examples to be taken into consideration for a good design:
Irrigation flow rate should correlate to the injector discharge. For example, if the irrigation flow rate is too high, it won't be possible to inject the full amount of the needed fertilizer.
Installing one-way valves in appropriate places in the system prevents back flow of fertilizers to the pumps or into drinking-water lines.
Water meters installation is highly important.
The whole system should be well calibrated, including injectors, water meters, EC and pH sensors. Inaccurate readings may result in untoward results, damages to the irrigation system and plants and obviously, the efficiency of fertilization is reduced.
Importance of fertilizers solubility in fertigation
Not all fertilizers can be used in fertigation: only water soluble fertilizers are appropriate, but bear in mind that they differ in their solubility under the same conditions. Moreover, the solubility of each fertilizer may change under different pH and temperatures.
Mixing different fertilizers in the same stock tank may also affect their solubility. More importantly, some fertilizers cannot be mixed together because of interactions that result in insoluble salts which clog the irrigation system and reduce the efficiency of fertigation (see Solubility article).
Irrigation system plugging hazard: causes and solutions
Fertigation is commonly practiced using micro-irrigation systems, which are highly susceptible to plugging. The causes of plugging may be particles in the water, precipitation of salts or bacteria and algae growth.
Particles of sand and suspended debris are usually too large to pass through emitters, while silt-sized and clay-sized particles do not normally cause emitters plugging. This kind of plugging hazard can be predicted by measuring turbidity and performing laboratory filtration test. Plugging with sand particles and debris can be prevented by adequate filtration.
In fertigation, the irrigation water contain a relatively high concentration of dissolved salts. If the pH of the irrigation water is above 7.0, or if one or more minerals are in excess, precipitation and emitter plugging is highly probable. Precipitates of Calcium and iron minerals are the most common. Preventing plugging in this case is by keeping the pH of the irrigation water below 7.0 (slightly acidic) and avoiding excessive application of fertilizers, beyond the crop requirements. Flushing the irrigation system before or after each irrigation cycle can also prevent salt accumulation.
High levels of iron and hydrogen sulfide promote growth of bacteria, which create slime. Algae can also create slime. Slime accumulates in different parts of the irrigation system and may cause emitter plugging. Reddish slime indicates presence of iron bacteria, while yellowish to white slime suggests that sulfur bacteria are active. Preventing plugging by slime can be achieved by chlorination. If the source water is not chlorinated, it is a good practice to inject chlorine upstream to the filtration system.
Annual maintenance of the irrigation system is extremely important for keeping the system in good condition.
Guy Sela is an agronomist and a water specialist. In 2005 Guy developed a unique software for fertilizer management that helps growers reach optimal yields, while saving time, money and frustration.
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