By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter
XANADU Agriproducts, Inc. said that it is looking to partner with more government agencies and farmer cooperatives to promote its liquid fertilizer, saying that the product holds the potential to improve yields compare to traditional fertilizer.
“The primary goal right now is we’re investing all our efforts to just make the product available via trials through government agencies, local government units, and cooperatives for them to just experience the product in one planting cycle,” Xanadu Agriproducts Chairman and President Wellington C. Soong told BusinessWorld.
The company said that its liquid formulation ensures better absorption of nutrients.
“We want farmers to try the product for themselves and that’s where we invest. We provide them with the products. We work with them to follow the protocol and when they see the results of the harvest, then they will come back on their own,” he added.
To expand its market, the company has engaged UNAHCO, Inc., the animal nutrition and healthcare subsidiary of United Laboratories, Inc., as its national distributor.
UNAHCO has “about over 5,000 distributors nationwide so that becomes part of our network and footprint to bring the products to more farmers,” he said.
Mr. Soong said that the company conducts side-by-side trials against traditional fertilizers to demonstrate to farmers the product’s potential.
“When we achieve (improved yields) on a bigger scale and we have the critical mass, then that would be my legacy to Philippine agriculture, to contribute to our food crisis,” Mr. Soong said.
According to the company’s field trials, a rice farm in Oriental Mindoro achieved a yield of 7.75 metric tons (MT) per hectare, more than double the yield of the farm serving as the control, which did not use the fertilizer.
Corn trials were also conducted at a farm in Sultan Kudarat which achieved a yield of 6.73 MT per hectare against the 2.35 MT for the control.
“It’s really important because we are introducing a new technology. So we’re changing mindsets. It’s in a way, it’s one of our greatest challenges in terms of educating the grassroots,” Mr. Soong said.
The company claims its product is more biodegradable and environmentally friendly compared to traditional fertilizers.
“We use inorganic ingredients, but we are 100% eco-safe. With us it’s nutrients and water so (its) biodegradable (and) non-toxic to even to small insects,” Xanadu Agriproducts Executive Director Hazel R. Loreto-Murphee said.
Traditional granular fertilizer has been observed to cause soil to degrade with excessive use, the company said.
