THE Department of Agriculture (DA) on Sunday said it was intensifying its crackdown on counterfeit, unregistered, adulterated, and illegally manufactured farm inputs, particularly fertilizers.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. ordered the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) to strengthen market surveillance and enforcement, including monitoring online marketplaces and physical stores, and pursue those allegedly involved in producing or distributing illegal agricultural inputs.
The directive followed recent operations in Nueva Ecija that uncovered at least 778 bags of fertilizer products allegedly stored or manufactured without proper registration, with an estimated value of almost P750,000.
The case stemmed from a July 15 entrapment operation by the Talavera Municipal Police Station, with technical assistance from the FPA Regional Field Unit III, following a complaint from ROVA Manufacturing over the alleged sale of counterfeit fertilizer products.
The operation led authorities to a suspected unregistered warehouse and manufacturing facility in Barangay Sta. Monica, Rizal, Nueva Ecija, where additional fertilizer products were found and inventoried.
Authorities documented 260 bags at the Talavera operation and another 518 bags at the Sta. Monica facility.
The products found in Sta. Monica included 74 bags of fertilizer brand ROVA Carlly Grow, 113 bags of Planta, and 331 bags of King Harvest, all reportedly bearing the same FPA registration number.
The FPA has issued “stop sale, stop use, stop movement and hold orders” covering the products while investigations and legal and administrative proceedings continue.
“We will protect our farmers and legitimate businesses,” Tiu Laurel said, noting that farmers risk losing not only money but also their harvest and livelihood when they unknowingly buy fake or substandard fertilizers.
“We are serious in our campaign against the proliferation of these adulterated and unregistered products that hurt not only legitimate businesses but also our farmers and overall farm productivity,” FPA executive director Glenn Estrada said.
The DA said stronger enforcement would help protect farmers from ineffective or improperly manufactured fertilizers that could waste capital, disrupt production and reduce yields.
It will also help legitimate manufacturers by ensuring that registered products do not have to compete with cheaper inputs produced or sold outside regulatory requirements.
