Although it has a shoreline of 36,000 kilometers, the Philippines imports 93 percent or 550,000 metric tons of salt for its requirement. “We should look at the salt industry as an added income source to fishermen during the dry season and the possibility of exporting Philippine sea salt,”...
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday, January 18 called for the creation of an agricultural information system (AIS) to deter price manipulation of basic food items such as onion, which has recently seen record high levels. Gatchalian said having an AIS in place could prevent any artificial...
"You are killing us!" Romel Calingasan, a municipal agriculturist in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, made the emotional accusation at officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) for allowing the importation of onions while the harvest season for onions is underway. Onions are left to rot on the...
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday, January 16 urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) to heed President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s call to expand support for onion growers by boosting the government’s assistance for irrigation, and co-financing cold storage facilities to help...
Department of Agriculture (DA) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) officials should give premium on arresting big-time smugglers and not punishing ordinary Filipinos grappling with the soaring prices of agricultural products in the Philippines. Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito pointed this out on...
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. believes that the government has made "some very serious progress" since he assumed the role of being the Department of Agriculture (DA) secretary. In a recent interview with China's state-run news channel CGTN, Marcos said the government "was very worried" that there...
A total of P19 million worth of allegedly smuggled sugar had been seized at the Manila International Container Port (MICP), the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Friday, Jan. 13. (Photo courtesy of the Department of Agriculture) The agriculture department said the smuggled sugar came in...
Even as the price of onions in the market remains very high, cheaper ones will no longer be available in Kadiwa stores as it decided to stop its sale of such product on Friday, Jan. 13, the Department of Agriculture (DA) disclosed. (Ali Vicoy/Manila Bulletin) According to Agriculture Assistant...
Bird flu or avian influenza—a respiratory disease of birds caused by influenza A viruses—has caused the rise in the price of eggs in the country, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said, Thursday, Jan. 12. Eggs (Photo courtesy of Pixabay) “Tinamaan po tayo ng avian influenza (bird flu) so...
The price of onions in markets is expected to drop once the more than 21,000 metric tons of imports arrive in the country before January ends, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said. Onions (Jel Santos/Manila Bulletin) DA deputy spokesperson Assistant Secretary Rex Estoperez said they are...
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday, January 11 urged the government to delay its plans to import around 22,000 metric tons of onions saying it may be best for the Department of Agriculture (DA) to first observe the harvest of local farmers next week before making any drastic moves. “It’s best...
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Tuesday, January 10 questioned the plan of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to import 22,000 metric of onions saying this would only hurt Filipino farmers. The DA, headed by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. had earlier bared its...
