Composting of biodegradable materials like vegetable trimming is encouraged to boost the soil and improve the quality of fruits and vegetables produced by farmers, same as this sold by the Baguio Pony boys at Wright Park in an undated photo in 2020. The municipality of La Trinidad, Benguet has reminded farmers bringing vegetables to the trading post to haul the trimmings and convert them to biodegradable compost fertilizer. (PNA file photo by Liza T. Agoot) BAGUIO CITY – Farmers are urged to haul back vegetable trimmings to their farm which can be used as organic fertilizers.

“Have the patience to take back the trimmings and use them in your farm as fertilizer," Janice Binay-an, market supervisor at the La Trinidad Trading Post, said in an interview Monday.

She said vegetable trimmings, once decayed, will help boost the soil just like chemical fertilizers do. Binay-an said this will also ease the local government's garbage problem due to the limited area of the landfill for biodegradable materials.

“This will also cut the cost of production allotted by the farmer in the purchase of fertilizers. This is good because food safety is also a consideration with buyers, especially the institutional buyers who require a certain quality and standard in the raw materials they buy for the processing of their products,” she said in Ilocano.

Binay-an also said among good agricultural practices (GAP) promoted in the agricultural sector is a farm’s compliance with the limit on fertilizer use and the utilization of organic materials.

“If the farms are GAP certified, they can negotiate higher prices for their commodities, adding value to the vegetables they produce,” she said.

Upon arrival at the trading facility, vegetables are trimmed by traders, and the farmers themselves remove the excess leaves and roots before they are packed and ready for transport outside the province.

La Trinidad Vice Mayor Roderick Awingan, in a message, said the town has an existing executive order in 2016 and another in 2020 to manage biodegradable wastes.

He said the town produces five to six tons of garbage per day -- the bulk of which consists of biodegradable materials.

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