Agriculture

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 …

To help small municipal fishermen against more sophisticated commercial fishing boat, the Makabayan bloc of lawmakers have filed the Atin ang Kinse Kilometro bill. Called Atin ang Kinse Kilometro (15 Kilometers is Ours), the bill seeks to “uphold sustainable fishing practices over destructive and environmentally harmful commercial fishing operations.” The Makabayan solons who filed the bill are Kabataan Representative Renee Co, …

BEYOND ELLIPTICALBy Rose Marie de la Cruz In setting a floor or ceiling price for palay and rice, government must adopt flexibility just like its price setting exercises in tobacco and minimum wages.  Rigid floor price and ceilings would only distort the market and result in the disappearance of commodities, worse bring them to black market operations. This was the advice …

Although CARMEN’S BEST ice creams are pricey for the ordinary consumer, still Filipinos patronize it for both quality and the fact that it is a local brand. Not only will the company diversify its product line – from ice creams to cheeses – it will also bring its products to Mindanao, where it plans to put up a facility. It wants to bring its products …

BEYOND ELLIPTICALBy Rose Marie de la Cruz The Rice Tariffication Law (RA 1123) enacted on March 5, 2019 to replace quantitative restrictions on rice imports to liberalize trade, reduce rice prices (which did not happen) and enhance the competitiveness of local rice farmers, has gaping holes that made life more miserable to farmers and consumers alike. As Prof. Ted C. …

By Rose de la Cruz Farm to market roads are vital for farmers to bring their produce to the market and for suppliers of farm inputs and seeds to sell their inputs to farmers. Without FMRs, the cost of bringing food supplies and farm inputs to their intended markets would be exorbitantly high and prohibitive for suppliers, traders, consumers and …

The Philippine Competition Commission sees a ‘dual setback’ arising from imposing rice import bans if it is proven that traders and wholesalers are involved in importing the grain. PCC Director Carlos Juan Paolo Vega said the import freeze could pose an uptick in retail rice prices while farmers might remain at the mercy of those holding power over rice supply. …

The United Coconut Association of the Philippines said it is confident that local coconut production will recover next year and boost the supply of coconut oil for biodiesel. UCAP Vice Chair Dean Lao Jr. said the expected rebound in output next year would create an ideal environment to raise the biodiesel blend to 4 percent (B4). “The government should increase the …

The Department of Agrarian Reform has released 721 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) from the clutches of debt from  Davao Oriental as DAR Davao Region distributed Certificates of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (COCROMs). DAR awarded 1,001 COCROMs to 721 ARBs, effectively condoning P9.93 million in amortization and interests pursuant to Republic Act No. 11953, which provides significant financial relief and …

BEYOND ELLIPTICALBy Rose Marie de la Cruz For the longest time, farmers and fisherfolk have been denouncing the surge in importations of almost all food items in the country, to a point of robbing them outright of their share of the local market. But most of the time, their clamor had fallen on deaf ears. This is just from legitimate …