Fertiliser takes a complicated road to get to Philippine banana growers, a road layered with middle-men who have been blamed for driving the price of farming inputs up.
Banana growers in the country have complained fertiliser prices are so high they are soaking up nearly 80 per cent of earnings, according to Balita.ph.
“This has got to stop – all our earnings in banana growing are almost wiped out by our expenses on very costly fertilisers and other farm inputs,” said Rene Dalayon, CEO of the Federation of Banana Farm Cooperatives (FEDCO).
Ms Dalayon said the group was planning moves to set up a materials purchasing group to buy the fertiliser directly from importers or manufacturers for discounted prices.
“We can’t let this go on and let farmers suffer – we’re planning some specific moves to solve this problem and bring down the cost of fertilisers,” she said at a planning workshop.
“We’re looking at this idea very closely and see how we can set up a buying company and run it efficiently for the benefit of farmers who will own this company.”
