Sorsogon City (16 April) -- The increasing prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and the prohibition of cutting of woods for fuel use, prompted the City Agriculture Office here to promote the use of rice hull, a farm waste common in agricultural areas, as an alternative cooking fuel.
Ms. Adeline Detera, city agriculturist, said that the common problem confronting the locals here is the need for readily available, cheap and alternative to LPG for cooking.
She related that the use of rice hull promises a substantial savings for households since this alternative source of cooking fuel is practically free and available in agricultural areas like Sorsogon.
"Oftentimes, our common practice is to burn or throw rice hull or husks in the field and we do not bother to see its potential," she added.
It can be noted that several articles in the national dailies have already featured the numerous usage of rice hull.
According to Alexis Belonio, inventor of rice husk stove and was featured in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, a ton of rice hull can replace 23 11-kg cylinder of LPG and at least P8,000 savings in a year using this alternative fuel compared to LPG.
The city agriculturist also encourages residents here to use rice hull as fertilizer, either raw or charred.
Charcoaled rice hull can be used singly or can be mixed with other compounds to produce soil conditioner. The raw materials can also be utilized in making fiber cement boards.
"Decaying rice straws, on the other hand, is used in preserving soil nutrients. That is why, we discourage burning of rice straws because aside from it is not environment-friendly, it also reduces or removes the richness of the soil, reducing agricultural productivity," Detera explained.
She also said that if converting rice hulls into energy be studied well and its by-products be processed further into valuable building materials, we can contribute to the zero-waste management campaign of both local and national government. (PIA Sorsogon)