Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the drop in the agriculture sector’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 was “negligible” and even took this as a sign of recovery for the sector. Department of Agriculture Secretary William Dar (Department of Agriculture...
Hit by calamities in 2020 A “perfect storm” – comprised of a series of typhoons, COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, the persistence of African Swine Fever (ASF), among other unfortunate scenarios – has challenged the agriculture sector in 2020, bringing down the total full-year output at -1.2...
An aquaculture firm is now awaiting the approval of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) for its unsolicited proposal to breed and harvest fish and other seafood products in Pantabangan Dam, one of the largest dams in Asia. This, while the advocacy group Tugon Kabuhayan started pushing for...
The Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (PAMPI) is asking President Rodrigo Duterte to authorize limited importation of up to 50,000 metric tons (MT) only at zero tariff at zero. MB file (Photo by Keith Bacongco) This developed as the group was not convinced by the proposal of the...
Even if the implementation of a price freeze on farm commodities from November to December failed to stop the cost of pork and chicken from rising, the government is still keen on resorting to the same strategy, which is hoped to be finalized within the week. In a virtual briefing on Monday,...
The Philippine government is hoping to end the more than a decade of non-compliance with the Agri-Agra Act, which requires private banks to lend a portion of their funds to farmers and fishermen. This, as the government finally issued the amended implementing rules and regulations (IRR)...
The Department of Agriculture's (DA) National Tobacco Administration (NTA), which currently operates a state-owned meat processing facility in Ilocos Sur, will set aside P10 million to augment the facility's operations. This, according to DA, is hoped to help stabilize the supply and price of pork...
Amid low farm-gate prices, farmers are also suffering from the rising retail cost of farm commodities, a farmer-leader said. In a virtual briefing on Wednesday, Joseph Canlas, Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon, said farmers don't benefit from the rising retail cost of some food...
The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is strengthening its laboratory network system in its continuing fight against infectious animal diseases. "We are adopting an integrated 'OneDA' laboratory masterplan that incorporates international bio-risk management standards and best practices on...
The Department of Agriculture (DA-7)-Central Visayas distributed cash and food subsidy vouchers to 9,492 qualified marginal farmers in the region amounting to P47,460,000 at P5,000 each farmer for the first release for 2021 as part of the government's assistance during this pandemic time. Each...
Cebu City, through an executive memorandum from mayor Edgar Labella, encouraged the public to start 2021 right by planting varieties of ornamentals, forest and fruit trees, herbal plants, others at backyards and spaces around the house as the City Agriculture Department (CAD) offers free seedlings...
The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has declared the Philippines free from avian influenza or bird flu less than a year since the fatal animal disease crept back into the poultry farms of the country. As of January 8, the country is now free of the last remaining A (H5N6) strain of the...