Agriculture

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is hoping that 2012 will be a good year for the agriculture sector as the department hopes to finally see results from its preparatory work done this year. This was the assessment of Agriculture Undersecretary Joel Rudinas who said the DA has not made any downward revision…

COMMUNITIES in Southeast Asia face serious food shortages after flooding devastated rice paddies and other crops from the start of September and aid deliveries were disrupted, the United Nations has said.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) have forged a partnership to help farmers and fishermen grow their business. The two agencies will help farmers and fishermen in business licensing, trade facilitation and export market exposure.

WASHINGTON — The World Bank on Tuesday launched a new agricultural hedging tool to help farmers in developing countries curb increasing food price volatility.

MANILA, Philippines — Large-scale conversions of prime agricultural lands in Cavite, Isabela and Quezon into biofuel production areas undermine the agrarian reform program and endanger food security.

MANILA, Philippines—At a time when college students would rather become nurses, chefs and seafarers, the Commission on Higher Education and the antipoverty NGO Gawad Kalinga have partnered to give agriculture a makeover and attract more students to the rather unpopular course.

MANILA, Philippines – Resource specialists and economists are agreed that the most serious shortage the global economy will face in the next ten to twenty years will no longer be energy. The rising food prices at the beginning of 2011 which have precipitated riots in many parts of the world are symptomatic of the shortages…

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture (DA) will push for the creation of agro-industrial plantations through the Convergence Initiative rather than supporting calls from the private sector for an amendment of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

THE AGRICULTURE department will create a database of farmers and farm lands to allow effective planning and monitoring of government services for the sector.

The government is projecting a healthy farm growth for 2011 and a double digit growth for the first semester, according to a statement Tuesday from the Agriculture Department.

Philippine farms failed to offset the losses inflicted by the El Niño phenomenon even after the prolonged drought left the country during the last quarter of 2010, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics said Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines—Filipino farmers are growing old and the young people are not replacing them in the fields.

MANILA, Philippines –  With a huge potential market of 1.3 billion people and escalating economic influence, China could be an exporter’s paradise for those who know how to navigate the Chinese marketplace. China’s increasingly affluent middle class with rising disposable incomes and changing lifestyles that include a growing demand for imported foods have created plenty…

MANILA, Philippines –  Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala remains hopeful that the sector did not contract last year but instead posted a flat growth.

MANILA, Philippines – The year 2010 had been a disappointing year for the agriculture sector.

THE Philippine farm output is likely to end the year in negative territory mainly because of the severe damage brought by the prolonged effects of the El Niño phenomenon.

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Edgardo J. Angara has called on the government to use science and technology (S&T) to “engineer resilience” into the country’s agricultural systems in order to remain competitive in the face of natural calamities.

MANILA, Philippines – The agriculture sector must post a growth of more than five percent in the fourth quarter to achieve a flat growth for 2010. Otherwise, it will end up in negative territory, said University of Asia and the Pacific economist Dr. Rolando Dy.

MANILA, Philippines –  The world’s leading food companies brag about their billion dollar brands. Nestle, the world’s leading food company, has 28 brands with sales of almost $1 billion a year. Nestle brands are either No.1 or No.2 in the market: Nescafe, Maggi, Kit Kat, Milo, Nido, Nesquik, Pure Life, Nespresso, and Purina.

The Philippine economy expanded at a slower pace in the third quarter mainly because of the weak agriculture sector and lower government spending, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) announced on Thursday.

The Department of Agriculture on Wednesday said it will allot an initial P900 million next year to boost the country’s organic agriculture program.

CAN BUSINESS discipline truly help agricultural development? Definitely. First of all, agriculture cannot be sustainable unless it is profitable. Secondly, the business discipline necessary to sustain profits is required for optimal agricultural development.

A COMPREHENSIVE road map that will ensure the increase in the income of all Filipino farmers is the “sure-fire” way of reducing rural poverty, the University of Asia and the Pacific’s Center for Food and Agribusiness (UA&P-CFA) said in a paper.

ORGANIC farming advocates gave Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala a “two thumbs up” for signing the implementing rules and regulation (IRR) for Republic Act 10068.

According to the latest UN Agriculture Outlook 2010-2019, wheat and coarse-grain prices could increase by 15 percent to 40 percent from their price levels during 1997 to 2006. Dairy and vegetable-oil prices are also expected to jump by more than 40 percent.

MANILA, Philippines – Misguided farming policies, including land reform, are keeping millions in the Philippines poor, according to a report released by the World Bank this week.

MANILA, Philippines—The success or failure of nations in their pursuit of economic development depends, among other factors, on nurturing racial harmony and peaceful coexistence, as well as on the manner by which they manage the environment and use natural resources.

MANILA, Philippines – Newly appointed Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala assumed office last Monday with the promise of a better life for farmers and fisherfolk.

MANILA, Philippines—To address food insecurity, more investments must be made in sustainable smallholder agriculture, said more than 60 representatives of organizations of small farmers, fishers, indigenous peoples, rural youth and women, and rural development NGOs from 13 countries in Asia and the Pacific.

MANILA, Philippines – The vast tracts of sugar plantations in the so-called sugar capital of the country might not escape the harsh impact of the escalating climate change.