By Rose de la Cruz FOR OVER a month now, officials of the Department of Agriculture continue to stall on the inclusion of Bio N biofertilizer in the agency’s farm inputs subsidy program despite its potential to reduce production costs and improve farmers’ productivity by restoring soil health. The National Confederation of Irrigators Association (NCIA) Inc. wrote Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu …
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BEYOND ELLIPTICALBy Rose Marie de la Cruz AS FAR as I can remember, I have been writing decades ago about government studies of corn as bioethanol fuel feedstock, whenever there is a fuel crisis. After that, the studies gather dusts. Now that we are again facing fuel shortage because of the Iran war with (US-backed) Israel, we are revisiting such …
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The Philippines sent a trial shipment of its famed Guimaras mangoes to Brussels, Belgium,last June 10 to break into Europe’s high-end tropical fruit market. The Bureau of Plant Industry said 100 kilograms of fresh mangoes from the PhilGAP-certified Wonders Farm in Jordan, Guimaras made up the initial delivery. Officials intend for the Belgian capital to serve as a gateway to …
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THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is working at repopulating the swine sector— badly hit by the African Swine Fever in recent months– though stronger biosecurity measures and science-based restocking programs for the industry’s recovery and food security. …
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THE NATIONAL Dairy Authority is eyeing more cattle imports and stronger funding streams to whip the industry into higher productivity. The country’s dairy industry remains import-dependent for decades, as local production can only meet a miniscule amount due to the lack of sufficient government funding, private sector investments and proper infrastructure. The country is now gearing to meet a milk …
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EXECUTIVE Order 116, which increased the minimum access volume for pork to 204,210 metric tons for 2026, of which 30,000 MT will be given to food processors while 120,000 MT for the Food Terminal Inc. leading the balance of 54,210 to other importers would create supply chain disruptions and would create “unfair competition.” Apparently, the government wants to take over …
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ABOUT 49 provinces – mostly in the Visayas and Mindanao– may experience below-normal rainfall by October when meteorologists expect the emergence of a “very strong” El Niño, said Science Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. Most of the provinces affected will experience rainfall of only 41 to 80 percent of the average. By November, some areas in Northern Luzon may experience way-below-normal …
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BEYOND ELLIPTICALBy Rose Marie de la Cruz I MIGHT have missed Dr. Bernie Villegas’ part 1 of his column in the Bulletin on “A call for more food banks” I have also been writing about the need for government to ease up on bureaucratic requirements for street-based food banks like that of Maginhawa, Quezon City because this means feeding …
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AFTER BEING cleared of African Swine Fever, Taiwan’s pork can now enter the Philippines. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the Philippines can now import domestic and wild pigs and its by-products, including meat, pig skin and semen from Taiwan. The DA said it had confirmed all reported cases of ASF in Taiwan were resolved with no additional outbreak …
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BEYOND ELLIPTICALBy Rose Marie de la Cruz I BEG to disagree with the forecast of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. about rice retail prices reaching P62 per kilogram by September. In my last trip to the public markets in the third week of April, I saw prices ranging from P55 to P60 with some reaching as high as P64/kg …
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The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business