Agriculture

BEYOND ELLIPTICALBy Rose Marie de la Cruz ALL those decades I have spent covering the agriculture beat, including the National Irrigation Administration, the nearest to transparency that I can remember in my coverage is ocular inspection and briefings of the projects.  We were told by NIA heads– then and now—the cost of the projects, the size of farmlands that would …

FARM damage caused by typhoons “Tino” and “Uwan” hit P5.16 billion affecting 135,616 farmers who lost over 200,000 metric tons of crops planted in 117,458 hectares. The agriculture department said further damage and losses are expected in affected regions as assessment and validation are yet ongoing. The bulk of damage was from Uwan, which accounted for 76 percent of losses …

DUE to limited funding and stocks of rice to expand the target beneficiaries of the P20 per kg. rice program, the Department of Agriculture would institute stricter controls by requiring registry of beneficiaries with a QR code where they can buy the staple wherever they are. The move is intended to prevent repeat and multiple purchases of rice, as had …

FISH unloading managed to rise in the third quarter 7.6 percent, year on year (YOY),  notwithstanding the successive typhoons and earthquakes that struck the country. The Philippine Fisheries Development Authority noted that regional fish ports (RFPs) delivered in the third quarter reached 139,057.66 metric tons (MT) from July to September, up from 129,227.5 MT for the same period in 2024. …

DESPITE its past failure to implement effectively the suggested retail prices for pork and beef, the Department of Agriculture is eyeing adopting SRP for three basic items in Filipino foods– carrots, pork and onions, whose prices have stayed above P200 per kilo since three months ago.  And with the Yuletide season just around the bend, it is more difficult to …

BEYOND ELLIPTICALBy Rose Marie de la Cruz Now that the government is finally resolute in aiding farmers via a support price mechanism for palay (unhusked rice), establishing a sustainable– not a band-aid type support price– is necessary to ensure continued support to our beleaguered farmers. Most global rice producers have been supporting, through subsidies, their rice farmers. Not only that, …

The Departments of Agriculture and Public Works and Highways are starting this week their joint audit of farm-to-market roads by summoning three contractors involved in the unfinished FMRs in Davao.  The DA regional field office flagged these projects that were supposed to be completed in 2021. “One road was really nowhere to be found, while the other still had freshly …

From just producing sugarcane before, 60 farmers in Bacolod, Negros Occidental have  diversified with the help of a water project of the Coca Cola Foundation and AIDFI, a non profit social enterprise.  These farmers now plant vegetables and other crops also. Danilo Medina, a Bacolod farmer who used to depend solely on sugarcane, hasbenefitted from the water project of the …

By Rose de la Cruz For the longest time it has been common knowledge that smuggling has been thriving because Chinese suppliers have been paying government officials to turn a blind eye on their operations. Through the years, the operations have evolved from clandestine to outright open smuggling. It was not surprising that in the recent hearing at the Senate by …

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. urged rice retailers to follow the maximum suggested retail price of rice (MSRP) of P43 per kilogram or prepare to be given show cause orders, or warnings, for why they violate the government-mandated price ceilings for the staple. DA Assistant Secretary Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra said the department is sending shortly warning letters to four Metro …