As palay prices continue to go down and the alleged entry of tons of smuggled corn began eating up a portion of the domestic demand, Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) asked the Philippine government to immediately implement safeguard measures for the producers of the...
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is eager to get rid of its pro-importation stance, but admitted that there's still a need to import food because local production is still not enough. “We need to take care of our local commodity industry. Local production is the priority, and importation is a...
Millers and traders are blaming the poor quality of unhusked rice being produced by farmers to the current low prices of the staple food. (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) This was validated by Agriculture Secretary William Dar, who said consumers now prefer quality rice. In a statement, the Department...
“Rice remains as the staple food of Filipinos. And there is no food that is used as widely as rice,” says Department of Trade and Industry Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo on the Philippines being the sixth largest rice-consuming countries in the world. After over a year of enactment of the...
Despite the declining prices of locally produced palay, the Philippine government agencies are in full force to defend the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), which allowed the unlimited entry of cheaper imported rice in the country. On Thursday (Oct. 8), four government agencies – the Department of...
Apprehensive that a trade war is now brewing between the Philippines and Brazil over the import ban that the Department of Agriculture (DA) imposed on Brazilian poultry meat, the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (PAMPI) has strongly urged government to prevent this from happening. In...
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – A total of P43, 526, 136.68 worth of farm equipment was turned over to 38 farmers' associations in this province to assist farmers in addressing the threat of hunger amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Agriculture Secretary William Dar, assisted by Gov. Dennis...
Fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) is asking the government to look for other solutions to the expected shortage of tilapia and galunggong, stressing importation in not the answer as this will be detrimental to small fishermen. PAMALAKAYA National...
Pineapple and watermelon are currently the most profitable fruit commodities in the Philippines with growers posting record high return of investments (ROI) of 377 percent and 220 percent, respectively among other fruit growers in 2019. At 70, Tata Aldong still plows and tills the land, and even...
The Philippine government may resort to importation anew to address a projected deficit in the supply of the country’s staple fishery products like tilapia and galunggong or round scad. Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) already made a...
With prices of the country's two main staple foods significantly down weeks ahead of the peak harvest season, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is making another appeal to provincial local government units (LGUs) and the private sector to buy palay and corn directly from farmers. Farm workers...
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine government wants to see an increase in the country's output for okra and edmame, following the recent shipment of these agricultural commodities to Japan. A statement from the Department of Agriculture (DA) showed a private company, Jelfarm Fresh...
