Agriculture

BEYOND ELLIPTICALBy Rose Marie de la Cruz THE LAST quarter of 2025, the Department of Agriculture was boasting that a coming  good palay production– arising from less storms and floods that normally destroy the crops–  would assure the country of less imports of the staple. And then, earlier this year I read about DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel talking about …

By Rose de la Cruz OVERFISHING, illegal fishing and other destructive methods by local and foreign fishing  vessels have caused output to decline to its lowest level in over two decades to 3.96 million metric tons in 2025 or by 2.51 percent. Unless the government shows a determined effort to protect the marine resources and shelter small communal fishermen from …

GOVERNMENT interventions in the dairy sector caused milk output to rise to a record 43.3 million liters in 2025 or by 12.17 percent from 38.6 million liters  in 2024. The value of dairy production hit P1.67 billion that year. Administrator Marcus Antonius Andaya of the National Dairy Authority (NDA) attributed the growth in milk output to the effectiveness of the …

THE sugar industry made a united front in pushing for regulation in the importation and use of artificial sweeteners which had threatened the very survival of the country’s sugarcane sector. In a signed manifesto, received by the Sugar Regulatory Administration last January 30, the Department of Agriculture and SRA were asked to prevent, if not stop, the growing influx of …

FOR ABOUT TWO years, the Philippines lost its 2nd place footing as top banana exporter. But last year, it regained such rank in what is seen as a vote of confidence for the country’s agricultural strategy and a springboard for more more aggressive export expansion, the Department of Agriculture said in a press release. DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel …

By DA Press Office Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. asked farmers in areas with rice processing systems to plant 1 to 2 rice varieties to maximize operational efficiency.  This is in response to feedback from local farmers’ cooperatives operating RPS facilities, which stressed the need to streamline production for  smoother and more efficient processing. Laurel said that while …

BEYOND ELLIPTICALBy Rose Marie de la Cruz THE BASIC registry for farmers/fisherfolk to avail of financial aid and farm input subsidies from the government– the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture– was flagged by the Senate as defective and flawed. At the hearing of the Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, Senator Rafael T. Tulfo said many government …

NEGROS Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson asked the government to address the mounting crisis in the province’s sugar industry, pointing at artificial sweeteners as one of the factors contributing to the low millgate price of sugar. “As the country’s major sugar-producing province, we are particularly concerned about recent developments in the local sugar and sweetener market and their implications on …

Following the tragic trash slide in Barangay Binaliw, Cebu City last January 8, that killed and buried many and destroyed some houses, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has ordered a thorough review of all operating landfills in the country to prevent similar disasters. DENR Secretary Raphael Lotilla, in a press release, said the move is part of a …

Sovereign wealth fund manager Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) seeks to close strategic agribusiness deals within the first six months of 2026, backing firms ready to scale production and expand the country’s export capacity. In a statement on Monday, MIC said it will focus on special situations and strategic mergers and acquisitions in the agricultural sector. It is looking at businesses …