Agriculture and Aquaculture Industry

[kiretoce]

Arctic Garden of Eden: RP seeds in Box No. 1

Norway’s “doomsday” seed vault, built to protect millions of food crops from being wiped out in wars or natural disasters, had European leaders thinking biblically.

“This is a frozen Garden of Eden,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said at the opening ceremony Tuesday, as guests carried the first seed deposits into the icy vault, deep within an Arctic mountain in the remote Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard.

“It is the Noah’s Ark for securing biological diversity for future generations,” said Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

Svalbard Global Seed Vault, just 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the North Pole, is designed to house as many as 4.5 million crop seeds from all over the world, including deposits from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) in Mexico.

It is built to withstand global warning, earthquakes and even nuclear strikes.

It will serve as a backup for the other 1,400 seed banks around the world, in case their deposits are hit by disasters, economic collapse, war or climate change.

For example, war wiped out seed banks in Iraq and Afghanistan, and one in the Philippines was flooded in the wake of a typhoon in 2006.

“This is unique. This is very visionary. It is a precaution for the future,” said 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai of Kenya. She is a board member of Crop Diversity Trust, which collects the seeds for the Svalbard vault.

The trust was founded by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and Biodiversity International, a Rome-based research group.

“It is very important for Africa to store seeds here because anything can happen to our national seed banks,” Maathai said, bundled up against the cold.

Stoltenberg and Maathai made the first deposit in the vault - a box of rice seeds from IRRI.

IRRI, with headquarters and facilities at campus of the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna, developed the miracle rice, a hybrid that doubled yields in the 1960s.

The seeds for the global vaults are packed in silvery foil containers - as many as 500 in each sample - and placed on blue and orange metal shelves inside three 10-by-27-meter (32-by-88-foot) storage chambers. Each vault can hold 1.5 million sample packages of all types of crop seeds, from carrots to wheat.

Other guests carried dozens of other boxes through the steel and concrete-lined tunnel leading to the vaults.

The Svalbard facility, built by the Norwegian government for US$9.1 million (euro6.1 million), will operate like a bank box. Norway owns the bank, but the countries depositing seeds own them, and can use them as needed free of charge.

The vault’s daily operations will be overseen by NorGen, a gene bank in an old coal mine on Svalbard that is jointly owned by the Nordic countries.

Svalbard is cold, but giant air conditioning units have chilled the vault further to -18 C (-0.4 F), a temperature at which experts say many seeds could last for 1,000 years.

After the ceremony, Stoltenberg and Barroso flew by helicopter on a three-hour tour of the remote region. They landed on a vast glacier and stopped at the research stations of Ny-Aalesund, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Longyearbyen, the main settlement on Svalbard.

Stoltenberg told reporters that he wanted Barroso to see the impact of climate change first hand, in the form of melting ice.

“We see it, and the potential is dramatic, because if ice is starting to melt on land in Greenland and also on Antarctica, then we can see very big increases in sea levels,” he said.

Barroso said such melting glaciers show that “we see the need to act ... to avoid real challenges to balance in the life of our planet.”

[manchowyin]

Fisheries may grow 8-10% in Q1
By Jennifer A. Ng
The Business Mirror
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/022...economy04.html

THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is confident that it will be able to achieve its target of increasing fisheries production by percent 8 percent to 10 percent for the first quarter of 2008.

In an interview, BFAR Director Malcolm I. Sarmiento said the main growth driver for the sector will be aquaculture.

Sarmiento also said commercial and municipal fishing will also prop up production since its peak season starts in March.

“The target [of the sector] is to produce more than 1 million metric tons per quarter since the goal is to produce more than 5 MMT for the whole of 2008,” said the BFAR chief.

Sarmiento also expressed confidence that despite the La Niña weather phenomenon, the aquaculture sector will continue to contribute to the growth of the sector this year.

“Heavy rains may affect aquaculture, especially if freshwater ponds will overflow. But there are preventive measures, like putting nets to prevent the fish from escaping,” said Sarmiento.

Barring any other severe weather disturbance like severe storms, the BFAR chief said the Philippine fisheries sector could post a growth of 8 percent to 10 percent.

In recent years, the fisheries sector has been the major driver of farm growth. In 2007 the sector propelled the farm production to grow by 4.68 percent.

Last year the fisheries sector posted a production gain of 6.81 percent, lower than its targeted 8-percent to 10-percent growth.

[icarusrising]

Mariculture technology goes to Caraga

Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The Manila Bulletin

SURIGAO CITY — The regional office here of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) headed by Regional Director Alauya R. Olama, in coordination with the local government units, will launch tomorrow in this city the first mariculture zone in the Caraga Region.

Called "Surigao City Mariculture Zone," the 500-hectare area is facing the Surigao Strait and encompassing the waters of Barangays Day-asan, San Isidro, Capalayan, Cabunbongan, Urok, and Nabago.

Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Arthur Yap, BFAR National Director Malcolm I. Sarmiento, Surigao City Mayor Alfonso R. Casurra, Congressman Guillermo A. Romarate Jr., and Governor Robert S. Barbers, are expected to grace the launching activities.

Director Olama said that the SCMZ is the first mariculture zone in Region 13. The project is one of the DA- BFAR’s undertakings to implement President Arroyo’s hunger-mitigation and job-generation agenda that is intended to alleviate poverty in the countryside.

Assistant Regional Director Nerio G. Casil said that a mariculture zone is an area in coastal waters of from 100 to 400 hectares (or more).

The area is chosen for its diverse productive environment suitable for commercial aquaculture development and access to BFAR training and laboratory facilities, and infrastructure support -- like fishport and ice plants, he said.

Casil said the rationale behind the concept of mariculture is to address the pressing issues of declining productivity in the fisheries sector and the depletion of marine resources, caused by capture fishing, that has led to the displacement of fisherfolk.

This is one of the causes of the persistent poverty in coastal communities.

Dominador G. Mapotol, mariculture coordinator of Caraga Region, said that to be cultured in the declared mariculture zone are high-value species such as grouper (lapu-lapu), lobster, king crab, and prawns, and also milkfish (bangus) and seaweeds farming.

Meanwhile, BFAR Mariculture Specialist Peck Orbeta said that the promotion of fish cage farming, sea ranching and other sustainable aquaculture technologies in the mariculture zone would provide great opportunity and promise for alternative sources of income for the marginalized fishing communities, he said. (JCG)

Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/PROV20080227118054.html#

[icarusrising]

GMA signs law extending use of
ACEF, assures P2B for Mindanao

By Manuel T. Cayon
Reporter
The Business Mirror

DAVAO CITY—President Arroyo signed into law here Wednesday the Agriculture Competitive Enhancement Fund (ACEF) that extended its utilization up to year 2015 and assured Mindanao that it would get 30 percent of total collections in lump sum.

The signing was witnessed by the more than 300 mayors in Mindanao who gathered at the Grand Regal Hotel here for their first Mindanao Cluster Conference of the League of Municipalities.

President Arroyo signed into law House Bill 2976, or the Act Extending Utilization of the ACEF, and which amended Republic Act 8178, the law on the quantitative import restrictions.

Also witnessing the signing was former agriculture secretary and now Sen. Edgardo Angara, the principal author of the law, and Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra, a coauthor.

The law on ACEF would require the collection of the tariff on all agriculture imports and said that the collected funds would be plowed directly into the ACEF.

She said that estimates would place the collections to reach P6 billion and promised local government executives in Mindanao “that 30 percent of this P6 billion would be given to Mindanao.”

“That would mean that almost P2 billion would be given to Mindanao in lump sum, being the country’s food basket,” she said.

She added the amount would spur further activities in the agricultural sector and boosts the position of the island as the agribusiness superregion, along with Northern Luzon.

“The amount would go to finance agricultural activities, such as irrigation, farm-to-market roads and other infrastructure,” she said.

She said the government would like to build 2,000 kilometers of roads and four major irrigation projects, one for each quarter, in Mindanao.

She said the ACEF would help alleviate the conditions of farmers, “especially here in Mindanao, where seven of 10 poorest provinces are located.” “Through this ACEF, the benefits and services of the program will now return to the people to improve their daily lives,” she said.

President Arroyo said the ACEF would complement her administration’s effort to strengthen the superregion that she announced in her State of the Nation Address two years ago. She said Mindanao and Northern Luzon, the two agribusiness regions, would be the site of massive infrastructure spending, including the so-called no-frills agricultural airports and piers.

“Infrastructure is very important to ensure that there is food, and this can be done through production and rapid transport to the market,” she said.

President Arroyo also announced earlier this month in Tagum, Davao del Norte, that her government would embark on massive infrastructure spending to cushion the global economic slowdown. She said the spending would start in the first quarter.

Mayor Ramon Abalos of Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat, president of the League of Municipalities in Mindanao, said the mayors were ready to take the challenge of President Arroyo that they should lead their constituents “in ensuring that there is development, especially to our small farmers, so that there will be lasting peace in Mindanao.”

“We are ready to assume that role as we have been doing that as frontliners in economic development,” he said.

Source: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/022...economy01.html

[icarusrising]

Large sugarcane plantation planned in South Cotabato

The Business World

T’BOLI, SOUTH COTABATO — A group of investors has expressed interest to put up a 20,000-hectare sugarcane plantation in this town, already the host of two large agribusiness companies. Mayor Ernesto Manuel said that Chinese investors and Filipino businessmen from Bacolod City have been in touch with the local government unit for the planned massive sugarcane project for bio-ethanol production.

"We have the lands to accommodate them. Our precondition, however, is that they must put up a bio-ethanol plant in our locality. We won’t allow them to utilize our lands and then bring their produce somewhere else," Mr. Manuel said.

The investors whom the mayor failed to name seemed to be amenable to the arrangement since he said they have already started scouring the area to identify possible plantation sites.

Mr. Manuel said they are waiting for the investors to present their proposal to the Sangguniang Bayan, which is expected to issue a resolution backing the project. T’boli town has more than enough lands for agribusiness ventures even if it already hosts the banana and pineapple companies Upland Banana Corp. and Dole Philippines, Inc., he added.

The mayor said the town has 90,000 hectares and that the combined plantations of Upland Banana and Dolefil have not yet reached 10,000 hectares. He said the entry of a new agribusiness player in the locality will generate more employment for the community and increase tax earnings of the local government unit.

That investors are considerng putting up a sugarcane plantation is in step with the Republic Act 9637 or the Biofuels Act of 2006 signed by President Arroyo into law in January 2007.

Under RA 9637, oil companies are mandated to blend 5% ethanol in gasoline products two years after the signing, or starting in 2009. Four years after the effectivity of the law, the blend will be increased to 10%.

Earlier, Fernando Martinez, Chairman of independent oil company Eastern Petroleum Corp., announced they were planning to put up an ethanol plant in General Santos City, about 100 kilometers from this town by 2010. At a mandatory 5% blend, Mr. Martinez said ethanol demand in the country would run to around 200 million to 300 million liters yearly starting next year and 600 million liters by 2010.

He projected that as many as four to five plants need to be constructed to meet the estimated demand of 300 million liters. He said the project to be carried out by subsidiary Eastern Renewable-Fuels Corp. has the financial backing of Chinese firm Guanxi State Farm.

Guanxi, said Mr. Martinez is a Chinese government-owned corporation "two times bigger than the San Miguel Corp." with nearly a hundred subsidiaries.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed the biofuels act as a strategy towards "energy independence" from imported oil, increased economic activity, higher employment in the agriculture sector and to contribute to improving air quality by cutting toxic vehicular emissions. — Romer S. Sarmiento

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Story Location: http://www.bworld.com.ph/BW022808/content.php?id=121

[icarusrising]

Toxin-free copra studied in Davao City

The Business World

DAVAO CITY — Nongovernmental group Siad in Mindanao Convergence for Asset Reform and Regional Development is looking into developing "white copra" which is free from aflatoxin, a hazardous mold found in ordinary dried coconut meat.

White copra commands a higher price. — BW File Photo Tom Villarin, executive director of Siad, said his group is still discussing with the developer of the drying system.

White copra commands a higher price.

The new technology uses a Kukum dryer developed by the Palawan Center for Appropriate Technology. Each dryer costs about P200,000 to set up. At present, traders buy the ordinary copra for P27 to P28 a kilogram based on data from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).

He said the concept that it is being perfected by his group is, like other big companies, to buy the whole nut from the farmers at a premium price for them to be able to get a higher price. He said his organization is perfecting a system that will use all the components of the nut into products like its husk for coconut coir, the ash for fertilizer and the nut for oil and other products.

The coconut shell is usually turned into charcoal but Mr. Villarin said there are other products that can be derived. This concept, he added, will lessen the burden of the farmers who will only have to harvest the nuts and sell them to the cooperative.

"They will not have much difficulty [in producing copra] because they will be selling the entire nut."

The plan, he said, is to set up a drying system in each of the municipalities in the Davao Region with a farmers’ cooperative buying from its members.

At present, a milling company has agreed to allow one of its systems for oil production to be used exclusively for white copra whose impurity-free oil derivative is favored by the export market.

Unlike the oil from ordinary copra which is "bleached" to produce a better oil quality, the white copra oil is free of chemicals. The downside to it, Mr. Villarin joked, is that cases of stolen coconuts might increase.

At present, aside from lower price, farmers only get about 30% of the value of the coconut in producing ordinary copra.

"Many of our farmers do not get much from their farms. Our copra industry is very inefficient," he said, pointing out that the drying system is among the problem as it produces aflatoxin.

This developed as the Davao Oriental government has started studying how it could rehabilitate its copra industry. Governor Corazon Malanyaon told BusinessWorld that her agency has started coordinating with the PCA on how the rehabilitation project should be implemented.

The PCA has unveiled a program which will result in the rehabilitation of 12,000 hectares of old coconut farms in the region by the end of the next two years. Under the plan, the agency will provide incentives to farms who will start growing coconut seedlings on their farms.

The incentives will be provided starting from the initial identification of nuts for seedlings until they are about one year old. The Davao Region has about 300,000 hectares of coconut farms with many of them located in Davao Oriental. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

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Story Location: http://www.bworldonline.com/BW022808/content.php?id=122

[Nabartek]

I don't think it will lead to riots as KMU claimed. Massive protests, siguro. Riots? Hindi naman tayo katulad ng mga Indonesians.

[Weina]

Alarm raised over shark slaughter in RP

The Philippines on Friday expressed alarm over the commercial hunting of the thresher shark, considered a vulnerable species worldwide.

They said there had been a wholesale slaughter of the 10-foot (three-metre) fish, considered a delicacy in Chinese restaurants here.

"We should stop this slaughter to preserve the ecological balance of our priceless natural heritage," said Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Joselito Atienza.

Local marine conservationist Gerry Reyes said many of the sharks were caught in the Verde Passage off the south coast of the main Philippine island of Luzon, which the government has designated a protected area.

Government patrols have recently seized thresher sharks caught by local fishermen living on the northern edge of the Verde Passage, Reyes told AFP.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which put the thresher shark on its "vulnerable" list last year, says the Verde Passage has the highest concentration of marine life in the world.

Atienza said he had asked authorities to help prevent the hunting and slaughter of the sharks there.

Source: abs-cbnnews.com

[Fundador]

Arroyo to visit vegetable farms Saturday
03/21/2008 | 07:04 PM
MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo resumes her "working Holy Week" Saturday with visits to vegetable and strawberry farmers in the Betag district in La Trinidad town in Benguet province.

A Malacañang statement on Friday afternoon said Mrs Arroyo will motor to Betag for a firsthand look into the plight of upland farmers whose produce have been affected by blight due to temperature fluctuations.

Local government officials, farmers and researchers from the Benguet State University (BSU) will present the result of their studies on the processing of vegetables into veggie noodles, veggie meat, veggie sausage and dehydrated veggie noodles.

They believe processing vegetables instead of selling them to middlemen at low prices in case of natural calamities or a supply glut will help farmers earn higher income from their produce.

During Saturday's visit, Mrs Arroyo will also send off delivery trucks laden with processed vegetables from the country's vegetable bowl to Metro Manila markets.

Before going to Betag, she will distribute government assistance in nearby Puguis village, including rice and checks for farm-to-market road projects.

She will also distribute certificates to operate several Botika ng Barangay, about 3,000 Philhealth cards, certificates to operate Tindahan Natin in La Trinidad, self-employment assistance, scholarships, vegetable seeds, financial support for the vegetable industry, and English reading materials for teachers.

Accompanying her are Rep. Samuel Dangwa of the lone district of Benguet, and Gov. Nestor Fongwa. - GMANews.TV

[red_jasper]

Originally Posted by Fundador

Arroyo to visit vegetable farms Saturday
03/21/2008 | 07:04 PM
MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo resumes her "working Holy Week" Saturday with visits to vegetable and strawberry farmers in the Betag district in La Trinidad town in Benguet province.

for that... the President got a potato variety named after her


Saturday, March 22, 2008
New potato variety named after Arroyo (6:45 p.m.)

MANILA -- A new blight-resistant variety of potato has been named after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Benguet University, Malacañang disclosed Saturday.

The variety, sourced from the Centro Internalionale de la Papa (International Potato Center) in Lima, Peru, was named "Gloria Kamaptengan," after "mapteng" meaning "good" in Ibaloi and Pangasinan dialects.

"'Kamaptengan' means 'the best of all,'" Rogelio Colting, president of the Benguet State University (BSU) after more than two years of research from
2005-2007, told Arroyo during her visit to a vegetable trading post in Betag district.

Arroyo was in Betag to see off trucks laden with local vegetable produce bound for the metropolis.

Colting showed her the first-generation tubers of the potato variety, initially codenamed 13.1.1, and said the BSU "would like to name it in your honor."


follow-up


Arroyo grants P10M for veggie noodles research (7:41 p.m.)

MANILA -- After having a new potato variety named after her, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo turned over P10 million to a state university to develop noodles made from Cordillera vegetables and tubers.

A Malacañang statement on Saturday night said Arroyo turned over a check worth P10 million to the president of the Benguet State University (BSU) to pilot the production of the veggie noodles.

BSU researchers earlier had presented Arroyo with prototypes of noodles made from gabi leaves, squash, turmeric, carrots and rhubarb at a vegetable trading post in La Trinidad.

She advised BSU president Rogelio Colting to "concentrate on veggie noodles research and development as your mandate."

"Upon being informed that the veggie noodles could be produced on a commercial scale, the President then released the check whose amount came as a welcome surprise to BSU officials who said they were going to request for only P2.5 million as the BSU's counterpart in their proposed P18.5-million Vegetable Noodles joint project with PGMA-Department of Agriculture (DA) and the local government of La Trinidad, Benguet," the Palace statement said.

Arroyo said the prototypes of the "more nutritious and delicious vegetable-fortified noodles" could later become a part of the "Tindahan Natin" project.

She added that vegetable noodles could solve storage and other problems "in this era of soaring wheat prices" and enthused about the "more and better nutritional choices" for Filipinos with the advent of the local vegetable noodles.

[Fundador]

Rice crisis imminent: farmers group

An activist peasant group suggested that the Arroyo administration may not be telling all that it knows of a "rice crisis" as it disclosed on Saturday the contents of two internal memoranda to President Arroyo which cited rising local and global demand for rice combined with tight grains supply, plus abnormal weather, as among the factors for higher rice prices this year.

The leftist farmers group, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), said the factors cited in the two documents, one from the Department of Agriculture (DA) and another from the National Food Authority (NFA), showed that a "rice crisis" is "imminent", particularly by the second half of 2008.

The KMP said Saturday a projected "rice crisis" this year can be gleaned from the two government memoranda it had obtained:

1) "Update on the Rice Situation and Outlook for 2008 and Request for Authority to Import Additional 500,000 MT of Rice and the Corresponding Budget Support for 2008", dated February 11, 2008, and signed by Jessup P. Navarro, National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator;

2) A February 27, 2008 DA memorandum of Secretary Arthur Yap to President Arroyo on the "World Rice Situation and Expectations for 2008"

Rafael Mariano, chairman of KMP and concurrent president of Anakpawis party-list, said "these memos outline the reasons for the impending rice crisis".

"As can be seen from the memos Gloria and her regime knows that a rice crisis is imminent but it is still fooling the people because she is afraid of her political future, but by doing so she is toying with the lives of at least 68 million Filipinos who earn less than $2 a day," said Mariano.

Production can't meet demand
While the Philippines registered a 6% growth in palay production in 2007 and will likely continue to see this repeated in the first half of 2008, these are insufficient to meet the increase in demand and the need to keep adequate supply during the lean months in the third quarter of 2008.

"The registered growth in palay production is not enough to meet the combined effect of an increase in demand and the need to maintain the required buffer stock by July 1, the start of the traditional lean supply months of July to September of each year," the NFA memo said.

The memo said palay production in 2007 was 16.237 thousand metric tons (TMT) or nearly 6% higher than the 15.327 TMT in 2006. The increase is due to a 2.7% increase in area planted to palay plus a 3.16% increase in yield.

The NFA said the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics has projected production in the first half of 2008 at 7.154 TMT or 6.33% higher than 2007.

These gains are not enough to meet the per capita consumption of rice in 2008, which is estimated to increase by 2 kilos from 118 to 120 kilos per capita, the NFA said.

"Rice supply-use estimates for crop year 2007-08 considering three (3) scenario (high, medium, low) showed that despite projected gains in productivity, the country will still require an import level of 1.6 to 2.2 MMT, to fully meet demand and buffer stock requirement good for 90-day by end of June 30, this year," the NFA memo said.

Tight global supply
The NFA said the "tight global rice situation" worsened with China’s reported purchase of 1 million metric tons (MMT) from Vietnam.

Vietnam has informed the Philippines of its supply limitations.

"Vietnam was reported to have already suspended its rice export activities for 2008 due to limited supply. Also Vietnam wrote DA they will only assure 1 MMT rice exports to the Philippines," it said.

The NFA memo also said "world market price of rice remains volatile, increasing at significant levels," which has thus affected NFA’s rice procurements.

From December 21, 2007 to end of January 2008, the NFA memo said it "has procured a total of only 1,658 MT palay (1,077 MT in rice equivalent) or 88% less than the volume procured same month last year."

The NFA memo said "prevailing ex-farm price of palay in major palay producing areas in Luzon (Region 2, 3, 4 & 5) ranged from a low of P11.00/kg (Isabela & Quirino) to a high of P14.50 in Nueva Ecija. In the Visayas, prices averaged at P11.50-P12.00/kg while in Mindanao, prices were higher at P11.00-P14.00/kg."

Abnormal weather
The NFA memo also cited Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (PAGASA) forecast of "abnormal weather" conditions this year as a factor for the projected rice shortage.

"The abnormal weather condition will more likely result to stress the standing palay crop, more especially during its booting stage which would result to low yields," the NFA said.

Based on the other memo, from Secretary Arthur Yap to Pres. Arroyo, it noted the supply constraints of rice-exporting countries.

"In Thailand, palay harvest will be on March – April but the volume is only very limited estimated at 6 MMT (roughly 30% of their annual production) since their main harvest will still be on November where harvest is estimated at 20 MMT," the memo said. "Bulk of their palay inventory is still in the hands of the farmers as they are awaiting for higher prices."

"The Thai government is still holding around 1.5 MMT two-year old rice but the new government is still adamant to touch the volume," it added.

The DA memo also noted that Vietnam and China have "now imposed volume limitations on their rice exports."

It said world rice prices are expected to continue its upward trend especially since "some governments are rushing to build up their inventories."

Long-term measures
Mariano said the information from the two memoranda means that "rice is now a sellers market."

Mariano said rice importation is only a "band-aid" solution, which makes the Philippines "more dependent on other countries."

To help alleviate the rice shortage, the KMP proposed the following long-term measures:

- Increase rice production through "genuine agrarian reform";

- Break-up the local rice cartel;

- Stop conversion of rice/crop farms to non-agricultural uses;

- Scrap deals that give land rights to foreigners.

Arroyo administration: Supply sufficient
The Arroyo administration, in its recent public pronouncements, has tried to assure the public that the country’s rice supply for the year remains sufficient.

Malacañang said that NFA keeps sufficient supply of rice in its warehouses all over the country to last up to next harvest.

Malacañang said that as of March 10, 2008, the government has a total of 415.6 thousand metric tons (TMT) of rice good for 13 days supply.

Yap said 287.7 TMT are in NFA warehouses, while 54.7 TMT are being unloaded and 75.2 TMT are in transit to different destinations around the country.

Yap also said, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is expecting an additional 721.2 TMT of rice to arrive from contracted imports, starting April, which will be good for 22 more days.

The Palace pronouncement said that Yap also noted that a total of 180,800 metric tons (MT) of rice has already arrived in the country and another shipment is expected to arrive within this month. The rice supply is part of the 422,702 mt of rice bidded on Dec. 21, 2007.

It said that the DA is expecting the arrival anytime now of 454,000 MT of rice which was approved in the Jan. 29, 2008 bidding.

To ensure food security, the government has implemented the following measures: strict management of NFA’s procurement and distribution program, implementation of a cross commodity production program, and strengthening of food logistics and distribution projects in all Barangay Food Terminals (BFT) and Tindahan Natin outlets.

The government is also implementing a nationwide rice conservation program as part of the government’s hunger mitigation and food security program.

NFA said the average daily national consumption of rice has gone up from 26,000 metric tons in 2003 to 33,000 tons this year.

Price has doubled in recent purchase
The Philippines recently bought 335,500 tons of rice from Vietnam at an average price of $708.04 per ton cost and freight, for delivery between March and May, officials said on March 18. The price was reportedly double of what the country paid six months ago.

Manila was looking to source 550,000 tons of its national staple at the tender, which was held last week and only attracted bids for 335,500 tons.

The Philippines has failed in three straight auctions to secure the full rice volume that it sought. The average price at the last auction in January was $474.71 per ton.

Industry officials in Thailand, the world's top exporter, have warned that prices could soon rise to $1,000 a ton as even India, a key rice producer like Vietnam, has also curtailed exports.

Rice: Filipino staple – political commodity
"Rice is a political commodity here," said Earl Parreño, an analyst at the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform had told Reuters.

"If there's a shortage, it would really heighten the anger of the people against the government."

Already beset by an intense political crisis due to allegations of large-scale corruption by her administration and an unraveling controversy on allegations of surrendering the Philippines’ sovereign claim to the Kalayaan Group of Islands (known internationally as Spratlys Islands), Mrs. Arroyo may face a bigger one should this "rice crisis" of tight supply and high prices be felt by Filipino consumers. www.abs-cbnnews.com

[Nabartek]

^Hindi kaya makasama sa health ang processed veggies?

Di ko matanto ang processed veggies. Di ko maisip na kumakain ako ng processed lettuce.

[red_jasper]

"... the Philippines is close to signing a deal with Vietnam this week for up to 1 million metric tons of rice that would boost Manila's local reserves, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said Tuesday.

A trade representative from Vietnam will arrive Wednesday to finalize a deal with the Philippines, Yap said in a radio interview."

Here

[Weina]

Cost-efficient organic rice farming needed

BY HELENGRACE C. GARCIA, Correspondent
Businessworldonline

KORONADAL CITY — Amid the looming rice shortage, a nongovernmental organization is urging the government to consider cost-efficient organic rice farming as an option in the rice production program.

Jerry E. Pacturan, executive director of Philippine Development Assistance Programme, Inc. (PDAP), said the country needs a more strategic approach through organic rice farming rather than through an "indirect solution" like reducing wastage in rice consumption.

Organic rice farming, which excludes the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides in favor of rice straw and compost, is promoted by PDAP being a low-cost yet equally productive form of agriculture.

"Organic rice yields of those who have been practicing already for [three to five] years now ranges from 100 to 130 sacks a hectare which is higher than hybrid rice yields. The national average for hybrid rice is only about 80 to 100 sacks a hectare," Mr. Pacturan said.

In a phone interview, he said that farmgate price of organic rice is generally P1 to P2 higher than non-organic rice. Production costs for a hectare of organic rice ranges from P5,000 to P10,000 compared with P25,000 to P30,000 with conventional farming. The bulk of this cost goes to agrochemicals, he said.

The return on investments in organic rice is higher, despite initial lower yields especially in the first few years of production, he said.

Victor C. Kapunan, a farmer-leader in South Cotabato who has been producing organic rice for years, agrees that the cash cost in organic farming is much lower. He was forced to revert half of what he is tilling to conventional farming, however, for economic reasons.

"I still believe that organic farming is the only solution to rice shortage and poverty problems in the long run but I also have a family to support and debts to pay," he said.

Based on his experience, a hectare of land yields only 40 to 60 sacks of organic rice compared to the 80 to 120 sacks produced in non-organic farming.

Don Bosco Foundation for Sustainable Development, Inc. in Cotabato City, whose members have an accumulated 3,000 hectares allotted to organic rice production with PDAP’s support, has a more successful tale to tell, however.

"Our highest yield is 125 bags a hectare at 65 kilograms per bag, or more than eight tons," said Ma. Helenita L. Ruizo-Gamela, president and chief executive officer of the foundation that is also an advocate of biodynamic agriculture.

"We have a first-timer who got 710 bags [of organic rice] from seven hectares. With chemicals, he previously got 648 bags of rice as highest yield," she said.

Her list of important factors in organic rice production includes the following: length of time the system has been practiced; degree of degradation of soil before the shift; skill and level of consciousness of the farmer; climatic condition; soil fertility; water supply; and plant vitality, among others.

Meanwhile, Mr. Pacturan criticized the government for the absence of a clear land-use management policy, which he said is one of the major strategic problems of the rice industry.

"If the government had a national land-use policy, this could prevent land conversion to maintain our rice areas in the country," he said.

The possible conversion of rice lands to biofuel feedstock was a recent controversy. Mr. Pacturan clarified though that producing jatropha, a good source of biofuel, is not a problem as long as it is planted in rainfed lands to avoid conflict with rice production.

"It should be planted in unutilized lands only, especially the upland areas," he said.

[Weina]

NAIA officials find pest in mangoes from Thailand
03/27/2008 | 03:22 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Officials of the Bureau of Plant Industry discovered Wednesday that seized mangoes from Thailand were infested with pests that attack the fruit's seeds.

Last Saturday, BPI personnel stationed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) seized the illegal cargo containing the fruit.

Laboratory tests showed that the confiscated mangoes were attacked by mango seed or nut weevil (sternochaetes mangiferae), said Luben Marasigan, officer in charge of the BPI Plant Quarantine Services Unit at the NAIA.

According to Marasigan, the pest which attacks mango seeds has not been discovered in any kind of native Philippine fruit.

He added that the seed weevil usually thrives in mangoes that were grown in Indonesia and Malaysia.

"The (mango) specimen we tested at the laboratory showed the presence of the insect, which has patches on some portions of its head and wings and has a snout used to pierce through seeds," Marasigan told GMANews.TV in a phone interview.

The shipment arrived in the country from Bangkok, Thailand, on board a Kuwait Airlines flight KU-411 last March 22. Initial investigation showed that a certain “Mr. Garcia" owned the cargo, he added.

The mangoes, weighing around 275 kilograms, were found inside six boxes and two suitcases that were left near the airport's conveyor.

NAIA’s customs officials held the cargo because it did not have proper importation documents.

Marasigan said that all imported plant products and materials must have a clearance from the BPI as prescribed by the Agriculture Department's Administrative Order Number 18, Series of 2000.

Aside from mangoes, plant products from and materials for growing citrus fruits, sugar cane, and bananas are covered by the DA order.

A phytosanitary certificate that should be issued by the country of origin is also required before the shipment is allowed to pass through customs officials.


For burning

After slicing open some 800 confiscated mangoes, Marasigan discovered eight pieces to be carrying pests either in their larval, pupal, or adult stages.

The mangoes will be burned on Friday, he added.

"Nagpadala na ako ng letter sa director namin requesting na sunugin na yung mga mangga by (Friday) morning siguro (I have sent a letter of request to our director, asking for the immediate burning of the mangoes)," Marasigan said.

He said that had the cargo been allowed to pass through, the pest could definitely pose a threat to the local agriculture industry.

"We have reminded all our personnel and officials to be vigilant with incoming articles, especially mangoes, so that we could immediately dispose them," he said. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews

baka may plano sila sirain ang mango industry natin...

[Fundador]

Honeydew melon grows well in lahar areas, engineer says
spacer


By LINO SANCHEZ

PORAC, Pampanga – For sometime, there had been doubts about the soil condition of lahar-covered farms in Pampanga, but after studies and experiments, it was found that crops grow well on lahar lands.

This was demonstrated by an enterprising engineer.

Aeronautical and computer engineering graduate Iris Liwag, 31, a native of Nueva Ecija, was not a farmer by birth.

But one time, a friend convinced him to watch new farming technologies and agriculture produce in several Asian countries, including Taiwan and Japan.

Impressed by what he had observed, Liwag decided to develop a five-hectare, lahar-covered land in Barangay Mancatian, this town.

In the last two years he had "experimented" on honeydew melon. This year, Liwag harvested thousands of tons which he humbly described as a good start.

Selling at between R85 and R110 per kilo in the supermarkets, Liwag’s honeydew melon is sold at only R25-R30 per kilo. He said he has limited his market to ambulant vendors and some supermarkets in Angeles City.

"It is my little way of providing employment and meager income to those who are selling our produce," Liwag said. He also employes 10 farm helpers. They are the people who help do the work such as preparing the seed beds and harvesting the crops.

Liwag is contemplating on expanding his farm by another five hectares. "I am thinking of the market in Metro Manila," he said.

Although foreign buyers are willing to buy his honeydew melon, he said he would rather concentrate on the local market until he has come up with an efficient marketing system.

In the meantime Liwag is planning to introduce in his farm Japanese and Taiwanese melons.

"What is good with the variety that we now produce is that they do not easily spoil," he said. They retain freshness for several days or weeks provided these are well packed and stored, he said.

Liwag said there are still bigh lands in Pampanga that should be cultivated. With government assistance, many more people will invest in agriculture, he said. www.mb.com.ph

[Nabartek]

Originally Posted by Weina

NAIA officials find pest in mangoes from Thailand
03/27/2008 | 03:22 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Officials of the Bureau of Plant Industry discovered Wednesday that seized mangoes from Thailand were infested with pests that attack the fruit's seeds.

Last Saturday, BPI personnel stationed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) seized the illegal cargo containing the fruit.

Laboratory tests showed that the confiscated mangoes were attacked by mango seed or nut weevil (sternochaetes mangiferae), said Luben Marasigan, officer in charge of the BPI Plant Quarantine Services Unit at the NAIA.

According to Marasigan, the pest which attacks mango seeds has not been discovered in any kind of native Philippine fruit.

He added that the seed weevil usually thrives in mangoes that were grown in Indonesia and Malaysia.

"The (mango) specimen we tested at the laboratory showed the presence of the insect, which has patches on some portions of its head and wings and has a snout used to pierce through seeds," Marasigan told GMANews.TV in a phone interview.

The shipment arrived in the country from Bangkok, Thailand, on board a Kuwait Airlines flight KU-411 last March 22. Initial investigation showed that a certain “Mr. Garcia" owned the cargo, he added.

The mangoes, weighing around 275 kilograms, were found inside six boxes and two suitcases that were left near the airport's conveyor.

NAIA’s customs officials held the cargo because it did not have proper importation documents.

Marasigan said that all imported plant products and materials must have a clearance from the BPI as prescribed by the Agriculture Department's Administrative Order Number 18, Series of 2000.

Aside from mangoes, plant products from and materials for growing citrus fruits, sugar cane, and bananas are covered by the DA order.

A phytosanitary certificate that should be issued by the country of origin is also required before the shipment is allowed to pass through customs officials.


For burning

After slicing open some 800 confiscated mangoes, Marasigan discovered eight pieces to be carrying pests either in their larval, pupal, or adult stages.

The mangoes will be burned on Friday, he added.

"Nagpadala na ako ng letter sa director namin requesting na sunugin na yung mga mangga by (Friday) morning siguro (I have sent a letter of request to our director, asking for the immediate burning of the mangoes)," Marasigan said.

He said that had the cargo been allowed to pass through, the pest could definitely pose a threat to the local agriculture industry.

"We have reminded all our personnel and officials to be vigilant with incoming articles, especially mangoes, so that we could immediately dispose them," he said. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews

baka may plano sila sirain ang mango industry natin...

Not only na dapat sunugin. Demand for refund or ibalik nain lahat nung mangoes sa kanila. I bet it's documented naman.

What is up with the Thais? Kala ko pinakamatindi na ang mga Pilipino pagdating sa crab mentality

[Fundador]

Bohol rice farmers 'forced to eat camote'
04/03/2008 | 05:05 AM
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CEBU, Philippines - Bohol farmers affiliated with the Cebu-based Farmers Development Center Inc. (Fardec) on Wednesday said that while they are producing rice for Central Visayas, they end up eating camote (sweet potato) allegedly due to the lack of government support, Sun.Star Cebu reported Thursday.

It quoted Fardec executive director Estrella Catarata as saying that one rice trader monopolizes the buying of palay and the selling of rice in Bohol. She said farmers are helpless because most of them owe this rice trader money.

The report said the trader is also accused of using agents and canvassers to strengthen his monopoly of the trade. Sun.Star Cebu is withholding the name of the trader pending his comment.

Catarata said that in planting rice, farmers need to spend for one hectare at least P18,745: P900 for the rice seeds, P6,000 for 14-14-14 fertilizer, P4,900 for urea, P30 for the transport of fertilizer and P500 for chemicals against pests, and P6,415 for labor.

Catarata said that if the P1,080 for thresher and blower and P1,800 for irrigation fee is added, the total rice production cost of P21,625 will be shouldered by the farmer, who is able to harvest only 60 sacks of palay worth P28,800.

Because the farmer has to share one-fourth of his harvest, equivalent to P7,200, to the landlord, he stands to get only P21,600 as gross income. After deducting the production cost, she said, farmers end up with a loss of P25.

Catarata said that if there is a projected shortfall of rice, Fardec suggests that government move toward self-reliance. The group recommends:

- Boosting local food production through sustainable agricultural practices;

- Preserving land for staple crops production instead of encouraging land use and crop conversions;

- Rehabilitating land destroyed by chemical farming and shifting back to organic farming;

- Preserving, protecting and propagating community seed banking of traditional rice varities rather than promoting “terminator" seeds such as BT rice, BT corn and other hybrid varieties that are chemically dependent, environmentally harmful and unsafe for human consumption; and

- Making the National Food Authority (NFA) the lead agency in the procurement of local rice produce of all farmers at relatively higher prices and regulating distribution and marketing so that monopoly traders and cartels cannot control it.

Catarata said farmers are not buying hybrid seeds from the Department of Agriculture because the seeds cannot be recycled and are high-priced and dependent on chemicals.

Department of Agriculture (DA) 7 Director Ricardo Oblena, however, said farmers should shift to hybrid rice so their production will double from 60 sacks per hectare to 120 sacks.

Eduardo Alama, chief of the DA 7 technical services division, said the government, through their agency, is implementing projects that can increase rice production.

Among these projects are the restoration and rehabilitation of irrigation systems, provision of quality genetic materials (hybrid and inbred rice certified seeds) at subsidized price, construction of more farm-to-market roads, construction of post-harvest drying facilities and training farmers on the best rice production practices.

Catarata’s report of a rice monopoly in Bohol supported the allegations of Teresa Alegado, president of the Grains Confederation of the Philippines, that palay buyers and rice millers are creating an artificial shortage to increase the price of rice. - Sun.Star www.gmanews.tv

[red_jasper]

Neglect of agriculture cause of poverty, says UN body

By Michelle Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 19:01:00 03/28/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- Insufficient efforts by the Philippine and other governments in the Asia Pacific region to improve the agriculture sector was the reason the fight against poverty has not gained much in recent years.

This was according to the United Nation’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap), which noted that two-thirds or 641 million of the poor people of the world live in the region.

“The gap is widening between the rich and the poor because the benefits of growth are not shared equally by different sectors, regions or income groups. Agriculture appears neglected, even though it still provides jobs for 60 percent of the working population in Asia Pacific,” Escap said in the 2008 Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific, which was released Friday.

Escap said the shifting focus of developmental efforts from agriculture to the industry and services sectors was being done despite the fact that most of the region’s population was dependent on agriculture for their livelihood.

Jovi Dacanay, economics professor at the University of Asia and the Pacific and speaker during the Escap survey’s media launch, said that in the case of the Philippines, 70 to 80 percent of the country’s population directly or indirectly depends on agriculture for their income.

But over the years, agriculture has been overtaken by the services sector in terms of contribution to the country’s overall economic growth. Agriculture accounts for about a fifth of the country’s economic output.

Dacanay said an ideal scenario would be for the agriculture sector to contribute much more to economic output to benefit more of the country’s labor force.

The economist said Escap was pushing for governments in Asia Pacific countries to allot more resources for the development of the agriculture sector. He said more microfinance programs should be made available to farmers.

Many farmers in Asia Pacific countries are “still in the learning process in terms of how to manage funds,” she said.

Escap said many countries in the region still have lack of rural infrastructure and poor delivery of basic services to the rural areas.

Dacanay said Escap was also advocating for the full implementation of agriculture-related commitments of WTO-member countries during the Doha round of talks.

In 2001, members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) made commitments during talks held in Doha, Qatar, to substantially reduce subsidies granted by some countries, especially industrialized ones, to their export sector that leads to unfair competition, and other forms of support that distort trade.

Dacanay said full implementation of the commitments made during the Doha round of talks could lift some 20 million people from poverty in the Philippines alone. More people from other Asia Pacific countries can be freed from poverty if global agricultural trade manifested fairness.

[Fundador]

Agri expert: RP should raise farmers’ productivity

The Arroyo administration needs to invest in farmers’ productivity and raise their level of profitability to be competitive, a leading agricultural economist said.

Arsenio Balisacan, former agriculture secretary and currently professor of economics at the University of the Philippines, and director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak that government has to invest in appropriate irrigation systems for the farmers and link them up with the markets.


“There is no way we can get our farmers out of poverty and be competitive in the world if we don’t invest in their productivity,” Balisacan said.

He added that government needs professionals in the agriculture bureaucracy “who can appreciate and support continuity of programs.”

Balisacan traced the roots of the current rice crisis to the country’s fast growing population and low productivity. This is exacerbated by the soaring food prices worldwide.

“Demand for food is growing fast not because our incomes are growing -- our incomes have not been growing as fast as our neighbors, so we have not shifted to other crops – but because our population is growing at 2.3 percent a year. That’s almost two million additional mouths to feed every year,” he said.



“Our agricultural land is fixed. So the only way to catch up if we want the price of rice to remain stable is to increase productivity on a sustained basis. That means increasing farmers’ output with the same amount of inputs. You do that through investments in research and development, proper irrigation, proper understanding of the needs of the farmers,” Balisacan explained.

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