Agriculture

House Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin  of Iloilo was piqued at the recent hearing of the Murang Pagkain supercommittee with the failure of the Department of Agriculture to explain how it arrived at the P58 per kg. as the maximum suggested retail price.  Garin called that rate as “unrealistic” and a “disservice” to consumers saying the DA failed to address …

The  Department of Agriculture (DA) has launched the Agricultural and Fisheries Logistics Office (AFLO) to tackle inefficiencies in the farm-to-market supply chain and ensure food security, which Secretary Francsco Tiu Laurel Jr. hope would reduce post harvest losses significantly, address logistical bottlenecks including poor infrastructure and insufficient cold storage facilities. “AFLO is key to building a resilient and sustainable food …

The Philippines has officially lost the 3rd spot in the global banana export market to Colombia in 2024, which shipped out 29,000 metric tons more than the Philippines. Colombia exported 2.31 million metric tons to the world while the Philippines ssent only 2.28 MMT, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Ecuador remained the world’s top exporter of bananas, with …

Last January 10, the Department of Agriculture reported a thin supply of red onions, causing spikes in its local retail prices, ranging from P100 to P180 per kg in Manila markets, or an increase from P70 to P150/kg a month ago. DA Undersecretary for high value crops  Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero said this could be due to factors like high demand, …

By Rose de la Cruz With  a record importation of 4.78 million metric tons of rice last year, it would not be surprising that P34 -billion tariff was collected from the  legitimate arrivals of the grains.  The Bureau of Customs said total rice tariff collected in 2024 rose by 13.11 percent year-on-year to P34 billion from just P30 billion in …

Climate  change and declining productivity due to high production costs and the impact of smuggling of agricultural products made farming and fishing jobs the top job decliners, local economists said. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said that while unemployment and underemployment improved, the number of employed Filipinos declined leading to joblessness in farming and fishing subsectors. The decline in jobs …

Ateneo  de Manila University researchers have discovered that milkfish (bangus) skin– a product of aquaculture– could provide a low-cost option  for treating patients with major burns and other serious injuries.  With bangus being widely farmed across the country, the team, led by Janice Alano Ragaza and Bianca Patrice Go from the Ateneo Department of Biology’s Aquatic and Fisheries Resources Laboratory, …

Reacting to  the recent ruling by the Supreme Court allowing commercial fishers unrestricted access to municipal fishing grounds,  Bicol Saro Rep. Brin Yamsuan is now discussing with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources a possible law to protect the welfare of fishermen. Yamsuan, who chairs the House Committee on Aquaculture and Fisheries Resources, called the meeting with BFAR  in …

By Rose de la Cruz With a record importation of 4.78 million metric tons of rice last year, it would not be surprising at all, that P34 -billion tariff was collected from the legal and legit arrivals of the grains. But how about the smuggled volumes, they could even more than the recorded imports, for which tariff denied our country …

Beyond EllipticalBy Rose Marie de la Cruz Because of the continued disability of the National Food Authority to import rice and have control over the market and to support the Department of Agriculture’s cheap rice program– which it implements in its Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP) centers at P40 per kg.– the DA is now pleading with importers to ship in …