The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to receive a loan financing from the Washington-based multilateral lender World Bank next year for a project aimed at supporting small agri-businesses. A June 26 document published on Thursday, July 3, showed that the DA is seeking an investment project...
The Philippines will see a slight improvement in its rice production in the upcoming marketing year (MY) as the government’s support programs for the sector—including the sale of subsidized rice—are now starting to pay off, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In a...
Minimum wage earners can now take advantage of the government’s ₱20-per-kilo subsidized rice following its rollout in Manila led by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel and Labor Secretary Bienvenido...
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is in support of a recommendation from a House of Representatives panel to revert the rice tariff rate from 15 percent to 35 percent—on the condition that this will be implemented gradually. During the final hearing of the House quinta committee on Wednesday,...
As the world grapples with the continued rise of plastic pollution across marine and freshwater ecosystems, developing economies such as the Philippines are ramping up the production of non-plastic alternatives, with seaweed as a major source. In its latest global trade update, the United Nations...
United States-based global weather intelligence firm Tomorrow.io is set to bring its artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the Philippines to help farmers to rapidly shifting climate conditions that often hamper productivity. Tomorrow.io, a known technology provider for American government...
The World Bank Group (WBG) has imposed a 4.5-year debarment on L.S.D. Construction & Supplies, a construction firm in the Philippines, for “collusive, fraudulent, and corrupt practices” linked to the Philippine rural development project (PRDP). In a May 28 statement posted on its website, the...
The buzz and market excitement in the marketplace is being kept up by the price of rice at ₱20 per kilo, which vulnerable sectors in particular areas can avail of right from the start. It’s no longer just a campaign promise but is now being enforced, with the President brushing aside...
Approximately ₱90 million worth of smuggled sugar and cigarettes were seized by authorities at the Port of Manila, further fueling the government’s ongoing crackdown on agricultural smuggling to protect farmers and consumers. Officials from the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar...
Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona has submitted his courtesy resignation, following the administration’s move to revamp the leaderships of government-owned and/or -controlled corporations (GOCCs). “I think we already received the memo and we ’ re loyal to...
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is charting the return of the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) on pork in Metro Manila’s wet markets in the third quarter of the year, which will now see the government play a more substantial role as a middleman to curb rising pork prices. The MSRP, which...
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to include minimum wage earners in the government’s ongoing ₱20-per-kilo rice program beginning next month, further expanding access to cheaper rice. In a statement, the DA said it has “agreed in principle” with the Department of Labor and...
