Biotechnology is increasingly becoming important to agriculture, especially in the light of changing climate and the need to achieve sufficiency not only in the food we eat but also in other agricultural products.

Mitigating the adverse effects of climate on fruit production is the subject of an interesting article of Dr. Pablito P. Pamplona which is scheduled for inclusion in the January 2010 issue of Agriculture Magazine.

A forum titled “Revisiting the Organic Fertilizer Issue in Rice” has been set for November 26 at the SEARCA Umali Auditorium at the UP Los Banos campus under the auspices of Asia Rice Foundation.

One of our listeners in our radio program wanted to know what plant he could plant in his Cabuyao property that does not need any care. Apparently, he is a busy person who does not have any time to attend to his farm.

In the radio program, Kaunlaran sa Agrikultura, which we co-host, we have been featuring a lot of agribusiness people, big and small, who are immensely successful in their projects.

Cutting trees is not really a bad thing.

One successful agribusiness venture that continues to surge is Harbest Agribusiness Corporation owned by our good friend Arsenio ‘Toto’ Barcelona.

The 2008 annual report of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development features a number of successful farmers.

The Animal Products Development Center, a section of the Research Division of the Bureau of Animal Industry, is a most helpful government agency, if you ask entrepreneurs like Rene Almeda of Alaminos Goat Farm.

You still have your last chance to visit Agrilink Saturday.

For agri people, all roads lead starting Thursday to the World Trade Center Metro Manila at the corner of Gil Puyat Avenue and Diosdado Macapagal Blvd. in Pasay City.

The Ginintuang Masaganang Ani program is bent on pushing the adoption of the technology up to the year 2013.

Garden shows have a wonderful way of promoting agriculture, too.

The October issue of Agriculture Magazine is out with hobby farmer Justito Fernandez on the cover.

Our long time friend Dave Deppner always has an interesting story to tell whenever he comes to the Philippines and gives us a visit.

We just got an e-mail from a lady who said she discovered what she really wanted in life after reading our column in Panorama magazine.

The good news is that the farmers being trained to grow high-value vegetables and other crops are being afforded an excellent opportunity to sell their products, too.

The most awaited agricultural trade show is just around the corner.

The development of a standard for goat meat cuts and value-added products from goat meat is the objective of a new project spearheaded by Alaminos Goat Farm of Laguna.

The camote or sweetpotato is more important than you think in ensuring food security.

The September issue of Agriculture Magazine features sweet pepper as a favorite money-maker of many high-value vegetable farmers. Of course, they have good reasons for preferring to plant this crop.

We just visited the Small Ruminants Center (SRC) at the Central Luzon State University and one of the interesting items we saw is the portable pelletizing machine developed by the center.

Four senior agriculture students at the Visayas State University in Baybay, Leyte, are growing high-value vegetables provided by East-West Seed Company on 3,000 square meters allocated by the university so they could earn money for their tuition and other school expenses.

New high-value products are being developed at the Philippine Root Crop Research and Training Center, PhilRootcrops for short, based at the Visayas State University in Baybay, Leyte.

One strategy of successful farmers is to specialize in a crop that they have mastered to produce and to market.

In the banana producing areas in Mindanao, the growers have a problem with their so-called “rejects”
which are either too small or too big for the export market.

A husband and wife team at the Philippine Coconut Authority’s Davao Research Center in Davao City has discovered an indigenous wasp that could help control the spread of the destructive coconut leaf beetle called Brontispa longissima.

A unique brooding system has been developed by Andry and Joji Lim of Helen’s Farm in Calinan, Davao City.

The hitherto unexploited opportunities in the coconut industry will be discussed in the First Mindanao Coconut Summit which will be held today and tomorrow in Mati City, Davao Oriental.

Make sure to get a copy of the August issue of Agriculture Magazine, which is now off the press, so you will get updated on the latest developments in crop production aquaculture and many more.

We have been traveling throughout the country the past several months and everywhere we go, everybody seems to be getting into some kind of organic or natural farming.

The country’s leading seed companies recently showcased their favorite vegetable hybrids at the Pacman Farm of boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.

Did you know that the country’s biggest dairy farm is in Lanao del Norte?

One simple technique that could add more weight to our corn harvest is to air-dry the husked ears rather than drying the kernels in the sun.

One of the most successful artificial insemination programs in large ruminants we have seen lately is in Lanao del Norte.

Lanao del Norte is rich in agricultural and fisheries resources.

The First Mindanao Coconut Summit that was originally set at an earlier date will be finally held in Mati City, Davao Oriental, on July 30 to 31.

Natural farming has been the growing trend among more and more places that thrive on the agricultural industry.

Lighting Ridge Farm growers Arvin and Angel Bryan Yumul shares there secret to growing more and more poultry using antibiotics and an innovative ventilation system.

One effective method of making farmers readily accept new ideas is to involve them in experiments
of their own with the guidance of experts.

Don’t look now, but the trend is increasingly going towards organic. That means using less and less chemical inputs in agriculture and using more and more natural products for growing not only plant crops but also farm animals.

With the increasing popularity of raising naturally-farmed free-range chickens, farmers from the provinces are now sourcing their chicks from suppliers in Manila and through their distributors in the provinces.

Among the bestsellers at the recent national mango congress in Tagbilaran City were the dried mangoes and mango juice produced by the Itable Agri-Industrial Corporation in Tubigon, Bohol.

We have met some of the most interesting mango people at the 11th National Mango Congress held at the Bohol Cultural Center in Tagbilaran City from April 27 to 29.

If you ask progressive rice and corn farmers in Occidental Mindoro who taught them improved techniques of grains production, they will most likely point to Jose Paquibongan.

Get a copy of the May issue of Agriculture Magazine and read about the bright prospects of dairying with Saanen goats. Featured on the cover is Rene Almeda who runs the Alaminos Goat Farm in Laguna together with his two sons, Art and Toti.

I have been toying with this idea for quite some time now, voicing it to friends and acquaintances.

Take it from 46-year-old Nestor Kalaw of Brgy. Plaridel, Lipa City.

Our long-time friend Dave Deppner has a few concerns about the confusing stories he hears and reads about jatropha.

The damage inflicted by 'Kurikong' is becoming an important concern of mango growers in many parts of the country.

Sometimes what some people consider as misfortune might actually turn out to be blessings in disguise.

Some 100,000 tons of coconut coir dust in a factory in Mati City, Davao Oriental, will soon be converted into gold.

If you want to learn more about natural farming, better get hold of the April issue of Agriculture Magazine.

An increasing number of farmers in Pangasinan are resorting to the use of a powder spray to increase the yields of their vegetables.

More and more people are getting interested in natural farming. To make a profitable operation, you can make your inputs like fermented juices for your plants as well as your animals.

Don’t look now, but something is happening to improve the income of Virginia tobacco farmers in the Ilocos. One is the dissemination of two new varieties that produce higher-priced flue-cured leaves, higher-yielding and are also resistant to pests and diseases.

The government is not exactly efficient in implementing cattle dispersal program. Dr. Emil Q. Javier, president of the National Academy of Science and Technology, has provided us figures that 88 percent of cattle dispersed by the government were not paid back. And that’s probably why Sen. Edgardo Angara stopped the DA’s dispersal program when he became the Secretary of Agriculture in 1999.

Forced molting is a time-tested strategy in egg production.This technique forces the chickens to change their feathers. In the process, the birds stop laying eggs for about a month in preparation for a  heavier egg production. 

A certified public accountant is one of the most successful durian farmers in Davao City.

A number of enterprising farmers are doing their brand of natural farming in Brgy. Los Amigos in Tugbok district, Davao City. They are showing how one can succeed in farming without using the conventional means of growing crops, like controlling pests and diseases with chemical pesticides. They don’t use chemical fertilizers either, which don’t only make the soil acidic, they are also very expensive.

When a US-educated young man becomes the governor of his province, expect him to do a business-like approach in developing agriculture and fisheries in his territory. Just like Mohammad Khalid Q. Dimaporo, 29, who became Lanao del Norte’s youngest governor two years ago.

DON'T look now, but more and more farmers are planting Bt corn, the GMO or genetically modified corn variety that many anti-biotech people had been condemning. Last year, at least 200,000 small corn farmers planted and made money from Bt corn, planting some 350,000 hectares.

A new platform funded with $ 6.2 million has been launched in India to translate transgenic technology and harness its products to meet the needs of agricultural growth, it was learned from Dr. William Dar, director general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) based in India.

In these times of economic turmoil, when employees are being retrenched left and right, you have to be creative to be able to create your own source of income. No matter how small the project may be in the beginning, it is worth starting. Who knows, it could be the start of something big and profitable.

The trend these days is towards natural farming, especially with spiraling prices of chemical agricultural inputs. That is why the release of Teresa Perez-Saniano’s book titled "Likasaka" is most timely. She co-authored the book with Cong. Proceso J. Alcala, Carmen L. Cabling and Dante S. Delima.

Our friend Toto Barcelona of Harbest Agribusiness has a bright idea. Why not declare 2009 as the Year of the Farmers?

There’s a special feeling of joy when you harvest the fruits of your own trees, even if these are just grown in your front yard.

THE goat industry in the Philippines has gone a long way. A lot of improved breeds have been introduced, and more importantly, improved technologies have been developed to make goat farming a profitable venture. The main thrust in the past several years, however, was the production of meat animals.

It makes sense to combine a piggery and layer operation. Especially so if the piggery has a biogas system that could cut the cost of production of both pork and eggs. Just like the case of the Brookside Farm in Brgy. Anupol, Bamban, Tarlac.

In agribusiness, you don’t have to be an instant success. Usually, there are costly mistakes in the beginning. And that’s the reason why experts usually advise people to start small. That way, when one fails, the loss is bearable.

Meet a civil engineer who is successful in commercial production of corn, sugarcane, poultry and some fruit trees. He is Engr. Raul Carreras of Tigaon, Camarines Sur, a 1982 civil engineering graduate from the University of Nueva Caceres in Naga City.

Anao, Tarlac used to be famous as a pioneer in ilang-ilang production and processing. Today, the town is also becoming popular for its pandesal enriched with squash. The bakery of Tito Rey Quindara has been producing a best-selling pandesal which consists of 70 percent wheat flour and 30 percent squash.

There are a number of good reasons why you should grow pummelo. You will read these reasons in the December issue of Agriculture Magazine which is now off the press. The magazine is published by the Manila Bulletin and is the most widely-circulated publication of its kind in the Philippines.

Agriculture has a bright future today in Tigaon, Camarines Sur, thanks to its youthful mayor who is well focused on farming. Thanks also to his able agriculturists who are implementing his programs.

One minor crop that farmers should give a good second look is pigeon pea. This is what the Tagalogs call "kadios" and "kardis" to the Ilocanos. It is a minor crop but its potentials are not peanuts.

The company has long been synonymous with household and industrial pest control products.

The company has long been synonymous with household and industrial pest control products.

The company has long been synonymous with household and industrial pest control products. Now, Mapecon headed by Gonzalo "Jun" Catan is becoming a big-time producer of organic fertilizer, particularly vermicast. It can produce as much as 4 to 5 tons a day in its manufacturing plant in Alaminos, Laguna.

When he retired as PNP chief several years back, Gen. Recaredo Sarmiento was offered a high-paying job in a first class hotel in Manila.

One heartening development in agriculture is that more and more people are getting interested in natural farming. We just got an e-mail from Maj. Noel J. Detoyato, public affairs officer of the newly activated AFP National Development Support Command (AFPNDSC).

The coconut industry is not only faced with the devastating Brontispa beetle that feeds on the young shoots of coconut.