Agriculture

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has identified Bukidnon as the country’s top contributor to the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector in 2023, accounting for 7 percent of the national gross value added (GVA).  Nueva Ecija followed with a 4.6 percent share, while Pangasinan ranked third at 3.8 percent. Also making it to the top 10 contributors were Pampanga (3.7 percent), …

The digital age has changed how people get into romantic relationships, opening the door to a new breed of deception—AI-powered love scams. Fraudsters now leverage artificial intelligence to create convincing fake identities, using deepfake images, voice cloning, and AI-driven conversations to manipulate victims into emotional and financial entanglements. Unlike traditional scams, AI-enhanced fraud is more sophisticated and harder to detect. …

BEYOND ELLIPTICALBy Rose Marie de la Cruz Vast tracts of farmlands in the country have become parched from the blunders of the National Irrigation Authority to service water through its national systems, which had cost the government P2 billion of wasted investments. The Commission on Authority last February 1 released its report recommending that contracts be rescinded, bonds forfeited, court …

By Rose de la Cruz The AgriSpecialists Inc. (ASI) can now sell and distribute its BioN biofertilizers for use in rice and all other crops. The announcement came after the Laguna-based company finally secured its certificate of product registration (CPR) from the Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority (FPA) allowing it “to sell and distribute its Bio N biofertilizer.” FPA Executive Director …

Two key measures regulating tax increases on cigarettes and strengthening excise tax administration to combat illicit trade and minimize revenue losses have been sent by the House of Representatives to the Senate. House Bills 11360 and 11286 have been approved by the lower chamber on third and final reading, signaling a major step in refining tax policies on tobacco products. …

The maximum suggested retail price for imported rice is now at P55 per kilogram starting Feb. 15. The Department of Agriculture said the MSRP would apply to imported rice with five percent brokens. It is confident that come March the price cap would be lowered to P50 or below per kg. after two weeks.  “This should reflect the lower global prices …

The deferment of the implementation of Special Order 6 of the Sugar Regulatory Administration, which protects local producers by strictly monitoring the entry of imported sugar-based products and alternatives that would have been detrimental to other legitimate industrial players was hailed by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. PCCI President Enunina V. Mangio welcomed the deferment saying that SRA …

BEYOND ELLIPTICALBy Rose Marie de la Cruz One of my former bosses at the Department of Agriculture, Ernesto Ordonez, wrote a column at the Inquirer recently pushing the adoption of high density farming in view of limited land and increasing global competition. Ordonez now chairs Agriwatch. For this to happen, he said, “we must harness our underutilized scientific community, which …

By Rose de la Cruz After the Bureau of Plant Industry recommended to its mother agency, the Department of Agriculture, that there are ample stocks of red and yellow onions enough to last even after March,, DA Secretary Francisco Tiiu Laurel announced he would allow 3,000 of red onions and 1,000 tons of yellow onions. In an article headlined, “Dwindling …

Production of fisheries fell by 5 percent in 2024 to 4.05 million metric tons, the lowest in two decades based on data of the Philippine Statistics Authority. The PSA recorded total volume of fisheries in 2024 as lower than the 4.24 MMT in 2023 and the lowest since the 3.93 MMT posted in 2004. The Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and …