Aggie Trends July 2010

11
Vol. XXV No. 7 A monthly publication of the Department of Agriculture July 2010 DA aims rice sufficiency, no imports by 2013 DOJ, NBI to help audit NFA “Sa agrikultura, makapagtatayo na tayo ng mga grains terminals, refrigeration facilities, maayos na road networks at post-harvest facilities. Kung maisasaayos natin ang ating food supply chain sa tulong ng pribadong sektor, sa halip na mag-angkat tayo ay maari na sana tayong mangarap na mag-supply sa pandaigdigang merkado.” - President Benigno C. Aquino III, State of the Na- tion Address, July 26, 2010. The National Food Authority (NFA) is seeking the help of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investiga- tion (NBI) to look into the alleged over-importation of rice. NFA Administrator Angelito Banayo said he has requested Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula to help audit his agency. He also asked the assistance of lawyers, financial experts and other professionals in the con- duct of the audit. The move is in response to President Aquino’s disclosure during his first State of the Na- tion Address that the NFA over- imported rice, at 900,000 tons in 2004 and 1.827 million tons in 2007 to address the estimated shortage of only 117,000 tons and 589,000 tons, respectively. He said the excess supply was left to rot in warehouses, while the government had to deal with a debt of P171.6 bil- lion in rice importation costs, as of May 2010. Banayo said the investigations will involve a system and man- agement audit to identify the problems inherited by the food agency from the previous admin- istration. The investigations will also look into the purchase and im- portation protocol regarding tim- ing and volume requirements; inventory system to prevent waste and spoilage of stocks; (Pls turn to p11) Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala vows to increase palay (unmilled rice) production in the next three years, and subsequently reduce rice imports to nil. He said this could be achieved by opening up more areas planted to high-yielding rice varieties. The expansion will cover rainfed and irrigated areas, including uplands and marshlands. “We have already crafted a plan to achieve rice self- sufficiency by 2013. Part of it involves gradually expanding rice farms planted to certified seeds. From the current 20 per cent (%) of total rice areas, we aim to push it to 45% by 2011, and further to 65% by 2012,” the DA chief said. He said the DA through the Philippine Research Institute (PhilRice) will launch a massive campaign to convince farmers to use quality certified and hybrid rice seeds, instead of home- saved or traditional seeds, coupled with location-specific technologies. Likewise, as “irrigation is directly proportional to rice production” he said the DA through the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) will vigorously pursue the rehabilitation and repair of old irrigation systems, and possibly extend, where applicable, the irrigation canal systems and tributaries to cover more areas. For his part, PhilRice execu- tive director Ronilo A. Beronio said Secretary Alcala’s goal is achievable as shown by the fa- vorable results of the agency’s location-specific technology de- velopment (LSTD) program in 22 provinces during the just-con- cluded 2010 dry season. The program benefited 100,000 farmers, as their palay (Pls turn to p2) DA chief swears in 6 officials Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala on August 3, 2010 swore in six officials of the Department of Agriculture, who were recently appointed by President Aquino. Of the six, three were re-ap- pointed, namely: Dr. Segfredo Serrano, as Undersecretary for Policy, Planning, Research and Regulation; Joel Rudinas, Undersecretary for Field Opera- tions; and Bernadette Romulo- Puyat, as Undersecretary for Special Concerns. The other three are new ap- pointees: Antonio Fleta, as Undersecretary for Administration and Finance; Claron Alcantara, as Undersecretary and Chief of Staff; and Leandro Gazmin, as Director of the DA Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Ser- vice. “They are the first batch of DA officials who will form part of our new and revitalized DA manage- ment team that will pursue the (Pls turn to p5) food security program of Presi- dent Aquino,” said Secretary Alcala. “Sila ang ilan sa ating magiging katuwang upang isulong ang minimithi ni Pangulong Aquino na kasapatan sa pagkain, lalong-lalo sa bigas,” added Alcala, who vowed to end rice imports by 2013. Previous to his new post, Fleta was undersecretary and executive director of the Coor- dinating Council for Private Sec- tor Participation, under the Of- fice of the President (April 2000 - March 2001). An accountant-banker, he fin ished an advance management program at Wharton School of Business, Univ. of Pennsylvania, USA, in 1994, and advance banking management at the Asian Institute of Management in 1988. He served as a consult- ant at Equitable PCI Bank, and

description

Vol. XXV No. 7A monthly publication of the Department of Agriculture

Transcript of Aggie Trends July 2010

Page 1: Aggie Trends July 2010

Vol. XXV No. 7 A monthly publication of the Department of Agriculture July 2010

DA aims rice sufficiency, no imports by 2013

DOJ, NBI to help audit NFA

“Sa agrikultura, makapagtatayo na tayo ng mga grains terminals,refrigeration facilities, maayos na road networks at post-harvestfacilities. Kung maisasaayos natin ang ating food supply chain satulong ng pribadong sektor, sa halip na mag-angkat tayo ay maarina sana tayong mangarap na mag-supply sa pandaigdigangmerkado.” - President Benigno C. Aquino III, State of the Na-tion Address, July 26, 2010.

The National Food Authority(NFA) is seeking the help of theDepartment of Justice (DOJ) andthe National Bureau of Investiga-tion (NBI) to look into the allegedover-importation of rice.

NFA Administrator AngelitoBanayo said he has requestedJustice Secretary Leila de Limaand NBI Director MagtanggolGatdula to help audit his agency.He also asked the assistance oflawyers, financial experts andother professionals in the con-duct of the audit.

The move is in response toPresident Aquino’s disclosureduring his first State of the Na-tion Address that the NFA over-imported rice, at 900,000 tons in2004 and 1.827 million tons in2007 to address the estimated

shortage of only 117,000 tonsand 589,000 tons, respectively.

He said the excess supplywas left to rot in warehouses,while the government had todeal with a debt of P171.6 bil-lion in rice importation costs, asof May 2010.

Banayo said the investigationswill involve a system and man-agement audit to identify theproblems inherited by the foodagency from the previous admin-istration.

The investigations will alsolook into the purchase and im-portation protocol regarding tim-ing and volume requirements;inventory system to preventwaste and spoilage of stocks;

(Pls turn to p11)

Agriculture Secretary ProcesoJ. Alcala vows to increase palay(unmilled rice) production in thenext three years, andsubsequently reduce rice importsto nil.

He said this could be achievedby opening up more areasplanted to high-yielding ricevarieties. The expansion willcover rainfed and irrigated areas,including uplands andmarshlands.

“We have already crafted aplan to achieve rice self-sufficiency by 2013. Part of itinvolves gradually expanding ricefarms planted to certified seeds.From the current 20 per cent (%)of total rice areas, we aim to pushit to 45% by 2011, and further to65% by 2012,” the DA chief said.

He said the DA through thePhilippine Research Institute(PhilRice) will launch a massivecampaign to convince farmers touse quality certified and hybrid

rice seeds, instead of home-saved or traditional seeds,coupled with location-specifictechnologies.

Likewise, as “irrigation isdirectly proportional to riceproduction” he said the DAthrough the National IrrigationAdministration (NIA) willvigorously pursue therehabilitation and repair of oldirrigation systems, and possiblyextend, where applicable, theirrigation canal systems andtributaries to cover more areas.

For his part, PhilRice execu-tive director Ronilo A. Beroniosaid Secretary Alcala’s goal isachievable as shown by the fa-vorable results of the agency’slocation-specific technology de-velopment (LSTD) program in 22provinces during the just-con-cluded 2010 dry season.

The program benefited100,000 farmers, as their palay

(Pls turn to p2)

DA chief swears in 6 officialsAgriculture Secretary Proceso

J. Alcala on August 3, 2010 sworein six officials of the Departmentof Agriculture, who were recentlyappointed by President Aquino.

Of the six, three were re-ap-pointed, namely: Dr. SegfredoSerrano, as Undersecretary forPolicy, Planning, Research andRegulation; Joel Rudinas,Undersecretary for Field Opera-tions; and Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, as Undersecretary forSpecial Concerns.

The other three are new ap-pointees: Antonio Fleta, asUndersecretary for Administrationand Finance; Claron Alcantara,as Undersecretary and Chief ofStaff; and Leandro Gazmin, asDirector of the DA Agribusinessand Marketing Assistance Ser-vice.

“They are the first batch of DAofficials who will form part of ournew and revitalized DA manage-ment team that will pursue the (Pls turn to p5)

food security program of Presi-dent Aquino,” said SecretaryAlcala.

“Sila ang ilan sa atingmagiging katuwang upangisulong ang minimithi niPangulong Aquino na kasapatansa pagkain, lalong-lalo sa bigas,”added Alcala, who vowed to endrice imports by 2013.

Previous to his new post,Fleta was undersecretary andexecutive director of the Coor-dinating Council for Private Sec-tor Participation, under the Of-fice of the President (April 2000- March 2001).

An accountant-banker, he finished an advance managementprogram at Wharton School ofBusiness, Univ. of Pennsylvania,USA, in 1994, and advancebanking management at theAsian Institute of Managementin 1988. He served as a consult-ant at Equitable PCI Bank, and

Page 2: Aggie Trends July 2010

2

Writers: Adora D. Rodriguez, Jo Anne Grace B. Pera, Arlhene S. Carro,

Mc. Bien Saint Garcia

Contributors: DA-RFU Info Officers, Public Info Officers and Staff of DA

Bureaus, Attached Agencies & Corporations, Foreign-Assisted Projects

is published monthly by the Department of AgricultureInformation Service, Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City. Tel. nos. 9288741loc 2148, 2150, 2155, 2156 or 2184; 9204080 or tel/fax 9280588. This issue isavailable in PDF file. For copies, please send requests via email:[email protected].

Editor-In-Chief : Noel O. Reyes

Associate Editors: Karenina Salazar & Cheryl C. Suarez

Photographers: Jose Lucas, Alan Jay Jacalan, & Kathrino Resurreccion

Lay-out Artist: Bethzaida Bustamante

Printing & Circulation: Teresita Abejar & PCES Staff

Editorial

‘Balik-Kabukiran’

“Walang wang-wang,walang counter-flow,walang tong!”

Ito ang mga linyangbinitiwan ni PresidentBenigno Aquino III sakanyang inaugural ad-dress na umani ngpositibong pagtanggapkalakip ang masigabongpalakpakan mula sa mgaPilipino saan mang panigng mundo noong July 1,2010.

Mahigit isang buwanang nakalipas, diretso,walang pasikot-sikot atpayak na maituturing angadministrasyong Aquino.

Tila ang kapayakang itoang hinangaan atnagustuhan ng mga Pinoyna sawa na sa magarboat ma-iskandalongpamumuno noong mganagdaang taon.

Simpleng pamamaraanang tugon nito sa mgaproblema ng bansa.

Katangiang angkin rinng kaniyang gabinete,kabilang na ang atingKalihim, Procy Alcala.

Sa ngayon, sandigan ngpamamahala ni Sec Procyang pagiging transparentat hands-on.

Isa rin siyang man ofthe fields na bukas samga konsultasyon upanghigit na mapagtibay angpagkakaisa ngpamahalaan sa malilit namagsasaka atmangingisda.

Sa kasalukuyan,malalaking hamon angnakapatong sa kaniyangbalikat: maabot angkasapatan sa bigas saloob ng tatlong taon,maitaas ang kita ng mgamagsasaka atmangingsida, atmabawasan ang bilang ngmahihirap natingkababayan sa mgakanayunan.

At para ito’y matugunan,diretso at walang pasikot-sikot ang estratehiyangipatutupad ng DA sa

pamamagitan ng maliliitngunit siguradong mgahakbang.

Baby steps ika nga.Sa isang pagtitipon ng

pasasalamat atbahaginan na ginanap salalawigan ng Quezon,ilang beses na tinuran niSec ang mga katagang:“let’s go back to ba-sics.”

Ibig sabihin, bumaliktayo sa pundamental… sasaligan…sa batayan.

Kung atin ngang iisipin,tunay ngang marapat nabumalik tayo sa basicsupang matugunan angmas malalaking suliranin.

Gawing simple ang mgagawain at hakbang atmagpatupad ng mgaprograma na agarangmagbibigay ng positibongepekto at resulta.

Isa na dito ang veg-etable production programna ipinatutupad ng DAkatuwang ang Depart-ment of Education at ilangnon-government organiza-tions.

Sa ilalim nito, binibigyanng binhi, pagsasanay atmga babasahin ang mgapamilya ng mga mag-aaral para matuto atmakapagsimula ngsariling taniman sakanilang bakuran. Ang aniay maaring kainin o kayanama’y ibenta.

Mainam din namagpatupad ng programahinggil sa wastongpamamahala ng organicfarming dahil tugon ito sapatuloy na pagtaas ngpresyo ng chemicalfertilizer.

Ilan lamang ito sa mgapanimulang gawain naipapatupad upang unti-unting kamtin ang masmalalaking tagumpaypara sa sambayanan.

Para sa ating matatayogna layunin, kailangan nanating simulan ang atingmaliliit na hakbang.

DA aims rice sufficiency ... (from p1)

RP eyes veggie exportsThe Philippines is eyeing to

export organic and non-organicvegetables to South Korea,Hongkong and Singapore.

Agriculture Secretary ProcesoJ. Alcala said Seoul has ex-tended an offer that will assistlocal producers in shipping outvegetables to South Korea.

“The Ambassador from SouthKorea paid me a visit recentlyand he said he’s willing to put inplace a program that will allowthem to import vegetables fromus, especially during the winter,”Alcala said.

Alcala said the DA is also look-ing at Hongkong and Singapore

as possible export markets for lo-cal vegetables.

He said in Hongkong, most oftheir dishes contain vegetables,which it imports from mainlandChina and Thailand.

To increase export revenues,Alcala said his departmenthopes to encourage farmers togo into organic vegetable farm-ing.

As per the Organic AgricultureAct of 2010 (Republic Act10068), which he authored, thegovernment will take the lead inassisting farmers who are keenin organic farming. (Business Mir-ror)

harvests and incomes in-creased by 25% to 36%, particu-larly in Abra, Cagayan and Albay.

“PhilRice is fulfilling its part tohelping the country attain riceself-sufficiency. Of the targetedannual rice production increaseof seven percent, PhilRice candeliver about three percent,” saidBeronio. “Our contribution is at-tributed to appropriate technol-ogy and effective extension ser-vices,” he added.

The remaining 4% increasewould be derived from support in-frastructure such as irrigation,farm-to-market roads, and trans-portation. These will be contrib-uted by other DA agencies, bu-reaus and regional field units.

Last year, the country produced16.27 million tons of palay. Thisyear, the DA targets to increaseit to at least 17.4 million tons, aslong as the country’s major riceproducing areas will not be ad-versely affected by strong ty-phoons in the next few months.

Under the LSTD program,PhilRice assists farmers in devel-oping and packaging technolo-gies and new farm practicessuited in their areas. They plantcertified seeds and employ cost-

saving technologies, such as mi-nus-one element technique(MOET) and leaf color chart(LCC).

Using certified seeds, seedgermination rate is improved anduneven rice plant growth is mini-mized, resulting in increased in-come of P9,000 per cropping,mainly attributed to increase inyield and savings from reducedexpenses. (DA Info Service,

PhilRice)

As required under RepublicAct No. 8559, or the PhilippineAgricultural Engineering Act of1998, the ProfessionalRegulatory Board ofAgricultural Engineering(PRBoAE) is currently updatingthe registry of all agriculturalengineers in the country.

Submit your updatedAgricultural Engineer’s data orprofile to: Engr. Ariodear Rico,Chairman, Board of AgriculturalEngineers, ProfessionalRegulation Commission, P.Paredes St., Sampaloc,Manila.

Attn: DA Ag Engrs

Page 3: Aggie Trends July 2010

July 2010 3

The National Food Authority(NFA) assures the public thatthe country has enough supplyof rice during the July-Septem-ber lean season, citing theagency has a 56-day ricebuffer — aside from those withhouseholds and commercialwarehouses.

NFA Administrator Angelito T.Banayo said the stable rice sup-ply is a result of the agency’sintensive palay buying duringthe summer harvest, in additionto imports.

Presently, NFA warehousesand depositories had some 2million metric tons (MT) or 40.7million bags of rice, sufficientfor the country’s daily needs of36,300 MT of rice for 56 days.

“NFA stock inventory atpresent is almost double the re-quired 30-day food securitybuffer at the start of leanmonths,” Banayo said in astatement.

Rice stocks in NFA ware-houses and depositories ac-counted for 59% of thecountry’s rice inventory of 3.4

NFA: ‘We have enough ricethrough the lean months’

million MT as of the first weekof July, Banayo said.

Rice stocks in householdsaccount for 28% or 972,700MT, while those in commercialwarehouses account for 13%or 460,200 MT.

He noted that NFA was ableto buy from local farmers 3.29million bags of rice from Aprilto June, more than double itstarget of 1.34 million bags.

Total inventory as of June 1,was 3.36 M tons, 25% morethan the 2.68 M tons last year,according to the DA’s Bureauof Agricultural Statistics.

The inventory consisted of1.926 M tons MT with the NFA,972,700 M tons with house-holds, and 446,900 MT withcommercial warehouses.

Palay output dropped 11%to 3.49 million MT in the firstquarter from 3.94 million MTyear on year.

The DA projects a furtherdrop of 9% to 3.11 million MTin the second quarter, and a4% dip to 3.39 million MT thisquarter. (BusinessWorld)

LLLLLGUs to rGUs to rGUs to rGUs to rGUs to receieceieceieceieceivvvvve insecticidese insecticidese insecticidese insecticidese insecticides,,,,,sprsprsprsprspraaaaayyyyyererererers to lics to lics to lics to lics to lick ark ark ark ark armmmmmywywywywywororororormsmsmsmsms

As reports of armywormsattacking farms in Regions IIIand IV started to come in,Secretary Proceso Alcalaimmediately ordered thedistribution of an initial P900, 000-worth of knapsack sprayers andrecommended insecticides foruse in affected areas inBatangas, Cavite and Quezon.

He also instructed DAUndersecretary Joel Rudinasand Assistant Secretary andconcurrent DA-Region 4-Adirector Dennis Araul lo tomonitor the infestation.

Likewise, Sec. Alcala alsoinstructed the DA Regions IV-A(CALABARZON) and III (CentralLuzon), and the Bureau of PlantIndustry (BPI) to coordinateclosely with concerned LGUoff ic ials and agricul turaltechnicians in Bataan, Cavite,Batangas, and Quezon to assistfarmers in controlling the spreadof armyworms.

Rudinas and Araullo assigned

DA assistant secretary Dennis Araullo (right) and agriculturalextension workers assess armyworm (inset) infestation in a farmin CALABARZON region.

two experts--Wilma Cuaterno,BPI Crop Protection Divisionchief, and Cecille Manzanilla,chief of the DA-RFU IV-ARegional Crop Protect ionCenter (RCPC)--to provide thetechnical information needed bythe LGUs, farmers and thegeneral publ ic on how toeffectively control armywormsand other pests.

Cuaterno and Manzanilla saidarmyworms are mostdestructive during the larvalstage and can be controlled byapplying recommendedinsecticides such as Carbaryland Pyrethroids.

The chemicals should besprayed direct ly to thearmyworms or to the vegetationwhere the pests are visibleduring late afternoons whenthese are most active.

“We are urging extensionworkers and farmers to followproper procedures in theapplication of recommended

chemicals as indicated in theirlabels. We are also urgingfarmers to always wearprotect ive gears duringinsecticide application,” the twoexperts said.

Aside from the spray, othernon-chemical solut ionsrecommended by DA-RCPCinclude the cutting of vegetationand digging of shallow ditches.

Armyworms are nocturnalmoth larvae that travel inmultitudes, destroying any kindof vegetation including grassand grain on their path. One eggmass is equivalent to 100 to 300eggs, which turn into voraciousdefoliators once hatched. Theyare most destructive during theirlarval stage, which lasts 14 to 24days, Manzanilla said.

The ini t ia l at tack ofarmyworms in the first district ofBatangas was reported earlyJuly.

Since then, the DA through theBPI and RCPC has beenconduct ing monitor ing andassessment activities to preventfurther damage.

Cuaterno said that the BPI hasbeen conducting a series ofseminars since the 2nd quarterof 2009 until the first quarter of2010.

During the seminars theyforewarned and enjoinedregional, provincial andmunicipal agriculturists, cropprotect ion special ists andtechnicians, and Integrated PestManagement or Kasakalikasanfarmer-cooperators to preparefor the occurrence of pests anddiseases as a result of theprolonged dry spell due to theEl Niño.

Aside from armyworms, BPIhas been conducting seminars

to control other pests such ascutworms, locusts and field rats,and crop diseases like tungroand bacteria leaf blight.

Agriculture Secretary ProcesoJ. Alcala said he has commis-sioned a survey to determineaccurately the country’s rice percapita consumption.

“We have commissioned anindependent survey on our riceconsumption,” the DA chief said.

The DA’s Bureau of Agricul-tural Statistics uses the currentper capita rice consumption of128 kilograms (kg) per year,which is computed via the so-called ‘supply disapperancemethod.’

However, another governmentagency, the Food and NutritionResearch Institute (FNRI) of theDepartment of Science andTechnology uses 112 kg as percapita based on actutal con-sumption survey conducted in2008.

“We are validating the data sowe won’t have to import rice af-ter three years. Our target is toreduce imports by 50 percentnext year,” Alcala said in a pressbriefing.

The survey will focus in MetroManila, where 65 percent of thecountry’s rice supply is con-sumed.

Hence, the current rice percapita consumption of 128 kg issuspected to be way above theactual consumption of most Fili-pino households.

DA commissionssurvey to knowrice per capita

(Pls turn to p4)

Page 4: Aggie Trends July 2010

4

RP-Korea Partnership in Agriculture. Agriculture SecretaryProceso J. Alcala (right) shares a light moment with Lee HyeMin, newly-installed ambassador of Republic of Korea to the Phil-ippines, as they discussed opportunities to further expand part-nership in agriculture, including the setting up of Multi-IndustryClusters (MICs) in selected provinces funded by the Korea Inter-national Cooperation Agency (KOICA). Said initiative is on top ofthe current KOICA grant that involves construction of four mod-ern rice processing centers. Ambassador Min was accompaniedby Korean Embassy economic counsellor Kim Myoung Joon.

DA to strengthen cropinsurance program

The Philippines has the ca-pability to be self-sufficient inrice as long as the governmentwould invest in farm-to-marketroads, extension work and irri-gation, the International RiceResearch Institute (IRRI) said.

IRRI director general RobertS. Ziegler said the timely deliv-ery of crop-management infor-mation to farmers would alsoboost efforts of the Philippinegovernment to wipe out rice im-ports.

“I wouldn’t say that rice self-sufficiency could be achievedin three or five or 10 years. [But]to achieve this, there has to beproper infrastructure, continu-ous investment in farm-to-mar-ket roads, extension work andirrigation,” said Ziegler in an in-terview on the sidelines of In-vestment Forum for Food Se-curity in Asia and the Pacific atthe ADB Headquarters in PasigCity.

He said the Philippine

Agriculture Secretary ProcesoAlcala plans to strengthen theDA’s crop insurance program asa necessary component of itsrice, corn and other high-valuecommercial crops productionprograms.

In an interview, Alcala said,“we have to review the program.If we have to strengthen ourplanting programs, we also needto strengthen crop insurance.”

However, as far as Alcala isconcerned, he would prefer asimple and direct insurance pro-gram that allows farmers to becompensated as soon as pos-sible for damages they incur dueto certain events.

“What is needed is fast release(of insurance claim payments)and (insurance) personnel,”Alcala said, elaborating “if onearea is hit (by a calamity), recallothers, (deploy) full blast there.We need to put up a (quick re-sponse) mechanism.”

Alcala, however, remainednon-committal on repeated re-quest of the Philippine Crop In-surance Corp. (PCIC) for addi-tional funding support.

Alcala was also wary about aproposed weather-based cropinsurance.

According to the DA chief,“from what I see, what we shouldhave is something that the ordi-nary farmers understand.”

Thus, from the viewpoint of theordinary farmers, Alcala said thatthe ordinary farmers only want tosee the repayment of what theyhad spent on their destroyedfarm, notwithstanding the timeand effort they had already putin, so that they can buy the nec-essary inputs to start all overagain.

The DA, however, has beenexploring the possibility of adopt-ing a new insurance for agricul-tural crops that would allow for amore effective and efficient insur-ance coverage.

Agriculture UndersecretarySegfredo Serrano, who has beentasked to study the new insur-ance scheme, had noted that thepresent crop insurance schemeis expensive.

According to Serrano, the DAis studying the proposedweather-based crop insurancesystem to see if it is the moreefficient way of ensuring farmers.

Serrano pointed out that thecurrent system is expensive.

“It is expensive to administerkaya if it is expensive to admin-ister and if it expensive to farm-ers, then you have limited cov-erage… while ang goal namannatin is to be able to expand in-surance so this is another mo-dality that we are trying to seewhether it is viable,” Serranosaid

Furthermore, Serrano ex-plained, under the present cropinsurance system, farmers payan insurance premium for insur-ance coverage for which thegovernment contributes addi-tional coverage through thePCIC.

Unfortunately, Serrano ex-plained, if the farmer’s crop isdevastated, an adjuster isneeded to assess the actualdamage which will be the basisfor the insurance compensation.

The adjuster process, Serranosaid, becomes expensive be-cause it takes time for the ad-juster to evaluate the extent ofthe damage especially if the in-sured crop area is located in aremote area and there are sev-eral claims to be investigatedand evaluated.

However, in the new insur-ance system that the DA isstudying together with Swiss Re,

Serrano elaborated, one systemwould involve “an area unit thatwill be defined, let us say a dis-trict or a municipality or a prov-ince for which the historical yieldwould be determined.”

Under such a system, the in-surer such as Swiss Re, agreesto a “trigger” like a 10 percentbelow yield in the coverage area.

If that trigger is met, Serrano

said, all of the farmers (who en-rolled would be paid) whether

they suffered damage or not.

That is one modality.”

Another modality, Serrano

continued, is a weather-based

insurance scheme which is ac-

tually under pilot-testing in

Cagayan Valley andPanay.(Philippine Star)

FFFFFarararararm inm inm inm inm invvvvvestments needed festments needed festments needed festments needed festments needed for rice sufor rice sufor rice sufor rice sufor rice sufffffficiencicienciciencicienciciencyyyyygovernment also needs to en-sure that rice farmers would re-ceive good prices for their pro-duce.

While the motivation of theAgriculture department behindthe emphasis on upland ricefarming is good, the IRRI offi-cial advised against focusing onplanting rice in upland areas.

“I wouldn’t recommend thefocus on rice in upland areas.Farmers should grow crops thatcan [guarantee] better returns,”said Ziegler.

These crops could includefruits, vegetables, high-valuecommercial crops and maize,he said.

The IRRI noted that the Phil-ippines has the capacity to propup rice production and wipe outrice imports, as it is a “leader inrice-technology developmentand rice technology adoption.”

Meanwhile, Ziegler noted thatglobal rice prices should settleat around $300 to $350 per

metric ton if it is to become af-fordable to poor consumers allover the world.

“[That price range] is some-thing that consumers can man-age. Prices had been anywherefrom $200 to $300 per metricton for about a decade, andpeople were able to managethat,” he said.

To prop up global rice produc-tion, Ziegler said there is a needto expand yield on remainingrice areas. (Business Mirror)

Alcala said the survey will alsoask the people’s perception onthe DA’s performance.

“I want to know how accept-able the DA is to the farmers. Iwill gauge our performance af-ter that. I have to gauge myself.Farmers should get to directlyfeel the impact of our programin six months,” he added. (Ma-nila Bulletin)

DA commissions ...(from p3)

Page 5: Aggie Trends July 2010

5July 2010

Agriculture SecretaryProceso J. Alcala (left) isshown with the six DA offi-cials (from left):undersecretaries BernadetteRomulo-Puyat, SegfredoSerrano, Antonio Fleta, JoelRudinas and ClaronAlcantara, and directorLeandro Gazmin.

Stakeholders of the fisheriessector have requested JusticeSecretary Leila De Lima to re-verse former DOJ SecretaryAlberto Agra’s decision of drop-ping the case against nine Chi-nese nationals caught poachingin Philippine waters.

Director Malcolm I. Sarmiento,Jr., of the DA’s Bureau of Fish-eries and Aquatic Resources(BFAR) said his agency togetherwith the Palawan Council forSustainable Development Staff(PCSDS) have officially filed amotion for reconsideration at theDOJ to set aside the earlier rul-ing of former Sec. Agra.

The Chinese nationals werecaught fishing and in possessionof endangered marine turtles inMay, off Balabac Island inPalawan, by BFAR and the Phil-ippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Consequently, BFAR, PCGand the Department of Environ-ment and Natural Resourcesfiled a criminal complaint at thePalawan Provincial ProsecutorsOffice for violations of Philippinefisheries laws particularly Sec-tion 87 of RA 8550 or the Philip-

DOJ asks to pursue case vs. Chinese poachers

president of Far East SavingsBank.

Alcantara has worked at thePresidential Management Staffsince President CorazonAquino’s time, and thereafter aschief of staff of Sec. Alcala, dur-ing his term at the House of Rep-resentatives.

He finished economics at theUniversity of the Philippines (UP)in 1987, and Masters in Devel-opment Management at theAsian Institute of Management in1997.

DA chief swears in ...(from p1)

Gazmin, a UP mechanical en-gineering graduate and an or-ganic farming advocate, hasdone a joint project with theUPLB-Institute of Plant Breedingon commercial snap hydropon-ics.

At least 300 families lost theirhouses, while two buildings atthe Department of Agriculturecompound were destroyed in aJuly 20, 2010 fire that razed acommunity of illegal settlers,along the corner of North Avenueand Elliptical Road, in Diliman,Quezon City.

QC fire departmentsuperintendent Bobby Baruelosaid the fire broke out at 1:27 pmin the house of Felipe Saguisagon Asparagus Street, Sitio PlanasA, Barangay Vasra, and wascontained at 3:30 pm.

The National Agriculture andFisheries Council (NAFC)motorpool, property and auditingsections, and offices of theIntegrated Pest Management(IPM) and Minimum AccessVolume (MAV) was totally burneddown, while the two-storeybuilding of the Livestock andDevelopment Council was half-burned. The fire also destroyedthe DA’s printing section.

FirFirFirFirFire re re re re razazazazazes Des Des Des Des DA bA bA bA bA buildingsuildingsuildingsuildingsuildings

The July 20 fire, which lasted for almost two hours, tore down partsof the LDC and NAFC offices and resulted to P10M-worth ofdamages. Sec. Alcala who witnessed the raging fire, commended theunited efforts of the BFP, QC fire department, Dear John janitorialservices and other volunteers.

Agriculture Secretary ProcesoAlcala witnessed the fire whenit was still raging until it wascontained. He commended thejoint efforts of the Bureau of FireProtection, QC fire department,and fire brigade volunteers, andDA, NAFC and LDC employees,and Dear John janitorialservices.

Estimated damage wasplaced at P10 million.

The displaced NAFC and LDCemployees are temporarilyhoused at the DA-ITCAF andfourth floor of the main NAFCbuilding. (Phil. Daily Inquirer, DAInfo Service)

pine Fisheries Code.In June 29, 2010 former DOJ

secretary Agra granted the peti-tion for review by a Chinese law-yer and directed the ProvincialProsecutor of Palawan to with-draw the information that werefiled against the respondents forlack of criminal intent.

However BFAR and PCG fileda motion for reconsideration, cit-ing the following:

·Agra’s resolution failed toconsider that RA 855 is a spe-cial law. Violation of its provi-sions shall be considered malaprohibita or acts that are punish-able only because they are pro-hibited by law and not mala ense or acts that are inherently im-moral.

·The resolution erroneouslytook the respondents’ claim thatthe place of apprehension is notwithin the territorial sea of thePhilippines, when such issuecan be properly ventilated dur-ing a full-blown trial as it is evi-dentiary in nature.

·There was deprivation of theright to due process of the com

(Pls turn to p11)

Page 6: Aggie Trends July 2010

6 7July 2010

Agriculture SecretaryProceso J. Alcala urgedfarmers, fishers, and localofficials to go back to basicsduring the Pasasalamat andBahaginan assembly held atthe Kalilayan Hall in LucenaCity, Quezon on July 17,2010.

“We have to go back tothe bedrock of agriculture,”Alcala stated stressing theimportance of agri andfisheries to the nationaleconomy of the Philippinesduring the one-day gatheringwhere he laid out parts of hismaster plan as a hands-on

‘Let’s go back to basics’

Rice and corn farmers cannow save up to 45% and 38%respectively of the fertilizercost per hectare and stillachieve optimal productionwith the Bio N technology.

Five to six packs of Bio Norganic fertilizer which costP60 per pack are sufficient toreplace half the recommendedfour bags of chemical fertilizerper hectare of land planted torice or corn that cost over P1,000 per bag.

With the continuous rise inchemical fertilizer cost, Bio Nserves an ideal alternative inincreasing crop production.Currently, there are 68 Bio Nmixing plants to keep up withthe growing demand of farm-ers nationwide.

Bio N has been extensivelytested in different varieties ofrice and corn at the National

Bio N replaces chemical fertilizerInstitute of Molecular Biologyand Biotechnology (BIOTECH)demo sites and in variousareas nationwide before itscommercialization in 2002.Various studies and farmers’experiences proved thesuperior performance of theproduct in significantly increas-ing rice and corn production.With Bio N alone, rice farmerscan yield an average of 21%higher than sans fertilizer.While, replacement of 50% ofthe required chemical fertilizerwith Bio N gives an average of14% higher rice yield com-pared to chemical fertilizeralone.

Bio N has also been provenbeneficial to corn, producing12% yield increment than ofchemical fertilizer, whilereplacement of 50% of chemi-cal fertilizer with Bio N in-

creased corn yield by anaverage of 15% over the useof the chemical fertilizer alone.

Bio N is a microbial-basedfertilizer that containsAzospirillum and soil charcoal.It was developed by Dr.Mercedes Umali-Garcia andTeofila S.J. Santos ofBIOTECH, University of thePhilippines Los Baños (UPLB)in 1985 in response to highcost chemical fertilizers.

Bio N comes in powder formin a 200-gram packet. It isenvironmentally safe and idealfor seed immunization, directbroadcasting, or root dip whenmixed with water. Bio N is alsocapable of supplying 50% ofthe nitrogen requirement ofrice, corn and other high valuecrops. For further inquiriesplease call UPLB BIOTECH at(49) 536-1620.

Secretary and organicfarming advocate.

Alcala reiterated hisearlier announcement thatDA will gradually stop riceimportation and achieve itsgoal of rice self-sufficiencyby 2013 as part of the mainagenda being pushed by theAquino government.

The DA chief said he willpush for the expansion ofrice hectarage, the rehabili-tation and upgrade ofirrigation systems, as well asencourage the planting ofbetter-yielding rice varieties,including indigenous variet-ies.

“We will strengthen theseed certification andhybridization programs ofthe government to purify ourcrops,” he said, inviting seedgrowers to form groups sothey can be protected andbe given proper incentives.

“Kaya naman pong gawin,kailangan lang re-educationng ating mga farmers andextension workers,” he said.

Alcala, who representedthe 2nd district of Quezon fortwo terms, vowed to carry anall-out war against smug-gling which has affected thelives and livelihood of smallfarmers and fishers nation-wide. He also intends toestablish grains terminalsthat will provide cheaper rawmaterials for feeds produc-tion and trading post forvegetable and other agriproducts.

“We will replicate theSentrong Pamilihan in theVisayas and Mindanaoregions to show to everyonewhy we’re so proud of ourtrading post here. Ilalagaypo natin itong mga tradingposts na ito sa mga strategiclocations,” he said.

The Sentrong Pamilihanng mga ProduktongAgrikultural sa Sariaya wasestablished to provide avenue for veggie trading andmarketing as well as an agriinput depot and educationand training center tofarmers. Minus your usualmiddlemen, the center isable to sell about 50 tons ofagricultural products daily.

Recent findings andevaluation by the Bureau ofAnimal Industry (BAI) showthat a plant scientificallyknown as Trichanteragigantea can be usedeconomically for theproduction of organic pigsand chicken.

Whole leaves ofTrichantera could be fed topigs, but need to bechopped for chicken.

Research at the BAI’sNational Swine and PoultryResearch and DevelopmentCenter (NSPRDC) inTiaong, Quezon showedthat pigs fed withTrichantera at twenty (20)percent level ofreplacement of commercialfeed in growing-finishingrations produced cheaperliveweight gain, with costper kilogram gain lower byPhp2.00 compared to thosefed 100% commercialration. Pigs in both rationshave similar liveweight gainand meat quality.

Trichantera is alsopalatable to and good for

Raise ‘organic’ pigs, chickenchicken and ducks.Mr.Ricky Malolos of Sto.Tomas, Batangas raisesnative chicken and ducksbut could only feedTrichantera to his free-range chicken due tolimited area for growingthe plant.

He feeds chicken, with50 % Trichantera and50% commercial feedwhich costs him anaverage of sixty centavosper head per day.

Selling his chicken at 5to 6 months old for 250pesos/ head, he gets anaverage net return of 100pesos/ head.

Last June, he was ableto sell 500 heads forPhp125,000.00 which gavehim an income ofPhp50,000.00.

These results andobservations prompted BAIDirector Efren C. Nuestroto direct Dr. Rene C.Santiago (Center Chief,NSPRDC) to go intomassive propagation of theplant.

“Planting materials ofTrichantera should bemade readily available toenable farmers to benefitfrom the results of ourresearch” Director Nuestrosaid following his recentvisit to the Center andRicky’s farm.

“This is consistent withthe program on organicfarming of the newDepartment of AgricultureSecretary, HonorableProceso J. Alcala,” DirectorNuestro further stressed.

T. gigantea, known asNacedero or Madre deAgua in Colombia andArgentina was introducedto the Philiipines in 1995.

It is a non-leguminousfodder tree which growswell in tropical conditions ina wide range of soil types,even under shade between

plantation crops andelevations of up to 1,800

meters.It can produce 40 to 60

tons of fresh leaves with aprotein content of 16 to 22percent of protein in drybasis.

It is easily propagated bycuttings with at least 2nodes grown in plastic

bags or planted directly inclean field.

Rooted cuttings ofTrichantera are available atthe BAI Central Office,Visayas Avenue, Diliman,Quezon City and atNSPRDC, Lagalag,Tiaong, Quezon with priorarrangement.

The Philippine Coconut Au-thority said a village in Jomaligisland, Quezon Province, isnow enjoying electricity as aresult of successful experi-ments on the use of filtered co-conut oil as bio-fuel in station-ary and mobile engines.

PCA administrator OscarGarin said Barangay Apad wasgiven a Filtered Coconut Oil(FCCNO) plant with a one-toncopra capacity and a 25 KVA(kilovolt-ampere) generator setor genset. One KVA is equiva-lent to 1,000 watts.

The 25-KVA genset was pro-vided by the Department ofEnergy through the QuezonElectric Cooperative togetherwith the Asian and Pacific Co-conut Community, an inter-governmental organizationwith 15 member-countries.

Garin said the pilot projecton the production and demon-stration of FCCNO now pro-vides electricity to 47 of thetarget 56 households.

Dina Masa, PCA productdevelopment departmentmanager, said Jomalig waschosen as site since copra isaffordable.

She said to make the pro-cessing plant’s operation fi-nancially feasible, the copraprice should not be higher thanP20/kilogram and the fuelprice P40/liter. (Malaya)

Coco oil fuelspower generators

Top two photos show chicken and pigs fed with Trichantera.Shown above are Bureau of Animal Industry officials led by di-rector Efren C. Nuestro (2nd from left) with ass’t. dir. DalmacioTibay, planning officer Louie Mariano and research division chiefFrank Moog.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala (3rd from left) partakes a lunch ofboiled vegetables, grilled fish, pork adobo, and banana with farmers, localofficials and other agriculture and fishery industry stakeholders duringthe ‘Pasasalamat at Bahaginan’ in Lucena City. Flanking him are DA-4ARegional Technical Director Abelardo Bragas (3rd from right), ArielMañalac (left, partly hidden), manager of Sentrong Pamilihan ngProduktong Agrikultura ng Quezon, and farmer-leaders.

Page 7: Aggie Trends July 2010

8

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala (2nd from left) assures farmer-leaders and rice industrystakeholders that the DA will continue to promote hybrid rice, as it forms part of the Aquinoadministration’s holistic strategy to attain rice self-sufficiency by 2013. With him from left are farmer-leader Ricardo Buenaventura of the Nagkakaisang Magsasaka sa Tabucao, Talavera, Nueva Ecija,Nelson Licup of Candelaria, Quezon, and Henry Lim, president of SL Agritech.

Veggie Seeds for QC backyard gardens. Agriculture UndersecretaryBerna Romulo-Puyat (4th from left) hands over to Quezon City ViceMayor Joy Belmonte assorted vegetable seeds for distribution to dif-ferent barangays as part of the DA-QC joint food security program.With them are QC Mayor Herbert Bautista (4th from right) and Coun-cilors Allan Reyes, Anthony Crisologo, Raquel Malangen, JaimeBorres, Godofredo Liban, Alfred Vargas and Edcel Lagman, Jr.

New peanut varietynow available

Asha (Arachis hypogaea), anew certified peanut varietyseed, is now being planted byfarmers in Isabela, Sorsogon,and Quezon through a projectfunded by the DA’s Bureau of Ag-ricultural Research (BAR).

Asha, which means ‘hope’ inthe Hindi language, was intro-duced from India through the In-ternational Crops Research In-stitute for Semi-Arid Tropic(ICRISAT) in 2005.

It was successfully field-testedin Isabela, where it producednuts larger than those tradition-ally grown in the country. Givenits size and high-yielding quali-ties, Asha shows great potentialin increasing the harvest and in-comes of farmers, said BAR di-rector Nicomedes P. Eleazar.

Asha’s package of technology(POT) was developed by the DA-Cagayan Valley Integrated Agri-cultural Research Center(CVIARC) through a three-yearproject.

Just recently, BAR, led by Dr.Eleazar and CVIARC, distributed15 sacks of Asha peanut seedsto 15 marginal farmers repre-senting six municipalities of thesecond district of Quezon to tryand cultivate in the province.

The project will be imple-mented by the Earthkeepers, anon-government organization(NGO) on organic farming,based in Tiaong, Quezon, in co-operation with the CVIARC,which will provide technical as-sistance to farmer-cooperators.

The European Union recentlyfunded a farmers’ field school(FFS) in the towns of La Paz andVictoria, in Tarlac.

To date, there are dozens ofFFS that benefit 4,000 farmersin 32 municipalities in Luzon.

The setting up of FFS is a com-ponent of the EU-funded projectcalled, ‘Increasing Rice Yield andProductivity through the Promo-tion of Small Scale Irrigation andIntegrated Crop ManagementSystems in Rainfed Areas.’

The project is implemented inBulacan, Nueva Ecija,Pangasinan, Pampanga, andTarlac--where average rice yieldsare below 2.9 tons per hectare.

It is jointly implemented by theFood and Agriculture Organiza-tion, DA and attached agencies(PhilRice, Bureau of Soils andWater Management, and Agricul-tural Training Institute) and localgovernment units.

The project provides farmerssurface water pumps and shal-low tube wells or small farm res-ervoirs to improve irrigation andhelp increase yield by an addi-tional one ton per hectare.

Under the project, half of thecost of the water pumps is sub-sidized, while the other half isshouldered by the farmers, pay-able in installment basis.

With shallow tube wells andpump sets, farmers can plant asecond crop of rice, or corn orvegetables during the dry sea-son, and thus earn additional in-come.

Dr. Eleazar said “with Ashapeanut adapting well in the Phil-ippine soil and the developedPOT, peanut yield has increaseddramatically from 600 to 1,100kg/ha.”

This is equivalent to P15,000to P27,000 per hectare increasein farmers’ income, according toCVIARC experts.

Each farmer-cooperator hasallotted an area of 1,000 squaremeters to plant their Asha.

Cooperators were provided aone-day hands-on training lastAugust 3, 2010 to teach themthe appropriate POT on the pro-duction and management ofAsha peanut.

Ms. Rose Aquino of CVIARCserved as the resource personduring the training which was at-tended by 15 farmer-beneficia-

ries and community organizersof Earthkeepers.

As part of the repaymentscheme of the project, eachfarmer-cooperator will have togive back two sacks of seedsafter harvest to ensure seed mul-tiplication so that other farmerscan also avail of the POT andbenefits of cultivating Asha.

Dir. Eleazar said: “We hopethat through these seeds we willbe able to help the marginalfarmers in Quezon by providingthem alternative livelihood toimprove their incomes. Hope-fully, after Isabela, Sorsogon,and now Quezon Province, wewill be able to promote the tech-nology on Asha peanut produc-tion nationwide so that morefarmers will be benefited.”

He added that this project onAsha peanut production is in linewith DA Secretary Proceso J.Alcala’s initiatives to promoteagricultural crops and productsthat have potentials to improvefarmers’ incomes, but are not yetin the mainstream market.

Asha peanut is one of thetechnologies highlighted at the6 th Agriculture and FisheriesTechnology Forum and ProductExhibition, at SM MegatradeHall, August 5-8, 2010.

Alcala was represented by Dir.Leandro Gazmin of the DA-Agribusiness and Marketing As-sistance Service (AMAS) whocommended BAR for its initia-tives on bringing viable technolo-gies to farmers and other agri-culture industry stakeholders.(Rita dela Cruz, DA-BAR)

EU project benefitsrainfed farmers

Page 8: Aggie Trends July 2010

9July 2010

Sustained DA-UPLB Partnership Towards Food Security andSelf-Sufficiency. Sec. Proceso J. Alcala (center) welcomes the offerand assurance of continued support by the University of thePhilippines Los Baños (UPLB) through Chancellor Luis ReyVelasco (left) and Vice Chancellor Roberto Rañola to sustain thegrowth and modernization of the country’s agriculture sector toattain food security and self-sufficiency. Velasco said UPLB willcontinue to provide available research and development (R&D)field-tested and mature technologies, technical expertise, adviceon major agricultural policy issues, and continuous conduct ofR&D programs to produce high-yield, sustainable, pest-resistantand sturdy crop varieties, including efficient farm production,processing and marketing systems.

To enhance and sustain the de-velopment of the local dairy in-dustry and complement thegovernment’s effort of mitigatinghunger and minimizing nutritionproblems in the countryside, theDA Regional Field Unit IXlaunched the Dairy Goat Devel-opment Project (DGDP). Theproject gives emphasis on herdbuild-up through an appropriateanimal loan scheme in coopera-tion with the DA’s attached agen-cies.

A total of 170 dairy goats fromAustralia and Davao del Sur weredispersed to Zamboanga del Sur,Zamboanga Sibugay,Zamboanga del Norte,Zamboanga City, and IsabelaCity in Basilan. The animal loanscheme is based on the recom-mendation of the livestock tech-nician coursed through the Mu-nicipal Agriculturist which, how-ever, has to pass the initial andfinal validation conducted by theoffices of the City and ProvincialVeterinarians and the DA regionaloffice, respectively.Loan criteria

A beneficiary for an importeddairy goat should be an existingcommercial goat raiser within thedairy zone area; preferably amember of the association affili-ated with the Federation of Goatand Sheep Producers Associa-tion of the Philippines, Inc.(FGASPAPI), and has attendedthe project briefing/ seminar andtraining.

A recipient for a locally pur-chased upgraded dairy goat musthave engaged and/or have hadknowledge and skill in raisinggoats; ensure that sources ofgrasses or legumes and otherforage materials are readily avail-able and sufficient; have a shedor goat houses; and that he/shemust be financially capable of

Not long after the first launch-ing of the Greenhouse project inCatbalogan City, Samar lastmonth, more of the same projectwere turned over in the provincesof Biliran, Leyte and SouthernLeyte.

Twelve greenhouses have al-ready been turned over to differ-ent recipients in the region spe-cifically the LGUs of Sta. Rita,Catbalogan and Calbayog, inSamar; Naval, Biliran; OrmocCity, Baybay City, Palo,Kananga, Bato and Barugo, inLeyte; and Maasin City, South-ern Leyte.

Regional Executive DirectorLeo P. Cañeda revealed that 33more greenhouses are slated tobe awarded to different LGU-ap-plicants. “We commit to estab-lish more in keeping with the in-terest of other LGUs to have thesame project for their farmer-constituents. Perhaps, this is in-dicative of their realization of thebenefits that can be derived fromthis project,” he claimed.

The greenhouse project is aprotective techno-demo andtraining program designed toprovide the necessary technol-ogy on greenhouse cultural man-agement of short-term, highvalue crops as well as open field

More greenhouses rise in EVplanting using plasticulture to or-dinary farmers.

“This is a hedging techniqueagainst the adverse effects of cli-mate change, a cultivation optionunder a controlled environmentinsulating vegetables from pro-longed extreme weatherchanges,” he clarified.

If fully maximized and properlymanaged, the greenhouse tech-nology would make vegetablefarming a much more profitableventure for farmers, thus in-creasing the region’s productiv-ity.

Regional HVCC Program Co-ordinator Dr. Veronica J.Berenguer disclosed that theP180,000-worth greenhouseproject comprises 3 compo-nents: a greenhouse, drip irriga-tion and training program. Atleast 1,000 sq.m. area, on theother hand, must be provided bythe LGU-recipient to accommo-date the greenhouse which re-quires only 144 sq.m.

The remaining area wouldserve as an open field where thesame crops as those grown inthe greenhouse would beplanted so that there would be acomparative showcase betweenthe two sets of vegetables grownunder different conditions. (DA-RFU VIII)

DA-10 offers dairy loansproviding feed supplements andbiologics, and of repaying theloaned animals.Repayment Scheme

According to Dr. VictorinoGuillermo, DA-Livestock BannerCoordinator, the repaymentscheme for first-line beneficia-ries consists of two sets of op-tion. The first option is to repaywith three bucks (male goat) forevery buck received; buckshould be at least 75% up-graded, at least 20kg and 6-8months old or, three does (fe-male goat) for every doe re-ceived, with each doe at least75% upgraded, weighs at least20kg and 6-8 months old.

The second option is to repaywith two bucks for every buckreceived; should be purebredoffspring, each weighing at least20kg and 6-8months old.

Or, two does for every doereceived, purebred offspring atleast 20kg each, and 6-8 monthsold.

A recipient of locally upgradedgoats, however, must repay withone doe for every doe received.This may be an offspring of thedoe received or out-sourced.The doe must be at least5months old, weighing at least20kg, and 50% upgraded dairygoat.

A recipient of a buck must re-pay with one offspring or out-sourced. If the loaned buck hasproduced 50 kids within one anda half years upon receipt, therecipient/beneficiary need notmake a repayment. This in-stance, however, must be certi-fied by the technician in thearea.

The primary responsibility ofa beneficiary is to maintain theanimals in good health in orderto maximize their capability toproduce milk. (DA-RFU IX)

Saanen dairy goatsfrom Australia

Page 9: Aggie Trends July 2010

July 2010 10

China will import some 1.7 mil-lion tons of corn this year, 5.8 mil-lion tons next year and as muchas 15 million tons in 2014-2015.This is according to Hanver Li,chairman and chief consultant ofShanghai JC Intelligence Co. Ltd.(JCI) when he spoke at the U.S.Grains Council’s 50th AnnualBoard of Delegates Meeting.

He said demand for corn inChina is simply outstripping pro-duction. China’s economy contin-ues to grow, he explained, whichis driving an increase in demandfor meat, milk and eggs becauseas incomes rise, food is one of thefirst items people look to buy.

JCI estimates that meat con-sumption per capita will grow from59 kilograms (kg) in 2005 to 61.7kg this year to 63.1 kg in 2015.

Milk consumption will growfrom 22.0 in 2005 to 30.1 and 33.4in that same time frame, while

FAO: RP should increaserice yield to meet demand

To meet the needs of the grow-ing population, the Philippinesneeds to increase its grain pro-duction by at least 1.8 percentevery year for the next 20 years,according to the Food and Agri-culture Organization (FAO) of theUnited Nations.

In a press briefing, HiroyukiKonuma, FAO assistant directorgeneral and regional representa-tive for Asia and the Pacific, said“food production will need todouble or post a 100-percent in-crease by 2050 to feed the grow-ing population.”

Konuma said that for the past10 years, rice production in Asiaand the Pacific region had onlygrown by 0.8 percent and wheatproduction, only 0.2 percent.

“We need to increase at least1.8 percent per year, for grainproduction, in the next 20 years.This is the average in Asia andthe Pacific region,” Konuma clari-fied in an interview after the brief-ing.

The FAO said world populationis expected to increase to 9.1 bil-lion by 2050. This means theworld needs to increase food pro-duction by around 70 percent by2050.

Konuma said the world mustincrease investments in agricul-ture to over $200 billion everyyear until 2050. Of this amount,around $120 billion every year isneeded for Asia and the Pacific.

Konuma said investments inthe farm sector in Asia and thePacific had averaged $80 billionevery year for the past threeyears.

To meet the $120-billion annualinvestment, investments in thefarm sector in the region must riseby 50 percent, he said.

Increasing investments is alsoimportant in bringing down foodprices.

Haruhiko Kuroda, Asian Devel-opment Bank (ADB) president,cited FAO figures showing thatwhile food prices have stabilized,they were still 85 percent higherthan 2003 levels.

FAO figures also showed thatfood prices will remain high forthe next 10 years.

Kuroda said FAO data showedfood prices will remain 15 percentto 40 percent over the 1997-2006levels from 2010 to 2019.

The increased investments,Konuma said, should go to re-

China turns into corn importer

search and development andagriculture infrastructure, like ir-rigation facilities, farm-to-marketroads, postharvest facilities andother associated infrastructure.

Investments must be gearedtoward financing agriculture in-surance, marketing chain facili-tation, and other agriculture sup-port services.

Some investments should bein education, health care andother known agriculture income-generating activities.

“Achieving food security at re-gional, national and householdlevels has long been a strugglefor the region, even during thebest of economic times.

A sustainable and balancedrebound in Asia, coupled withthe hard lessons we learnedduring the 2008 food crisis, pre-sents us with a golden opportu-nity to harness our collective re-sources in order to achieve foodsecurity,” said Kuroda.

The forum, co-organized byADB, FAO and the InternationalFund for Agricultural Develop-ment, gathered hundreds ofpolicymakers, development ex-perts and representatives fromthe public and privatesectors.(Business Mirror)

aquatic products will grow from39.2 to 44.1 and 48.9.

Li said rural areas will drivemeat demand, while urban cen-ters will drive milk and aquaticproducts demand.(US GrainsCouncil website)

International law has failed toprotect coral reefs and tropicalfish from being decimated by agrowing collectors market, butU.S. reforms can lead the waytowards making the trade moreresponsible, ecologicallysustainable and humane.

Using data from the UnitedNation’s conservation monitoringprogram, the authors say tradein coral and coral reef species issubstantial and growing,removing 30 million fish and 1.5million live stony corals a year.The aquarium industry alonetargets some 1,500 species ofreef fishes. Many die in transit,leading collectors to gather evenmore animals to compensate fortheir losses.

The result is some specieshave gone “virtually extinct. TheBanggai cardinalfish, which isunique to a remote Indonesianarchipelago, has had its

Over-production and lowerexports have left rice farmers inVietnam’s Mekong Delta holdingon to their stocks in the face oflower prices, analysts say.

Vietnam is the world’s second-largest exporter of rice withMekong Delta accounting formore than half of the country’sproduction.

But surpluses, in the beginningof the wet season, and a shortageof places for drying wet rice areadding up to heavy potentiallosses, said Vo Tong Xuan, aninternational rice expert.He fearsVietnam will lose one million tonsof the grain this season.

The country hopes to sell aboutsix million tons in the internationalmarket in 2010, similar to lastyear’s, but shipments fell in thefirst half. Between January andJune, Vietnam exported morethan three million tons, down to8.76 percent versus last year.

Le Van Banh, director of theMekong Delta Rice ResearchInstitute, said that competitionfrom other exporters leaves lessroom for Vietnamese grainabroad, while at home “we havean abundance of rice so theprices are relatively low.”

One kilogram of paddy orunmilled rice currently sellsbetween Vietnam Dong (VND)3,200 and 3,300 (about US $ 0.18or roughly P 8.40. That is a dropfrom VND4,000 to 4,200 last year.

To help farmers, thegovernment has announcedloans to local businesses forbuying up to one million tons ofrice.(Agroviet)

Int’l law fails to protectcoral reefs, tropical fish

numbers reduced and eveneliminated through much of itsrange after it became a popularaquarium fish in the late 1990s.

With U.S. buyers accountingfor more than half the trade inlive coral, reef fish andinvertebrates, the authorsrecommend leveraging U.S.market power to reduce thetrade’s environmental effects.They suggest laws to protect awider variety of species, betterenforcement that includestracking a product’s chain ofcustody, and reforms in sourcecountries. They alsorecommend changes inmarketing to promote sales ofspecies certified as beinghumane and sustainable.

The U.S. should assume itsrole as an international leader incoral reef conservation and takesteps to reform the internationaltrade it drives. (ScienceDaily)

Vietnam rice prices falldue to oversupply

Page 10: Aggie Trends July 2010

11

and methods and proceduresof selling the stocks.

Among specific concerns thatwill be investigated are over-stocked warehouses, the P177-billion debt as of June 30, spoil-age of imported rice, allegationsof irregularities and possibility ofcorruption, and smuggling.

Banayo requested JesusPosadas--commodities tradingexpert and former San MiguelCorp. vice president for purchas-ing--to head the investigation.

Meanwhile, the NFA hasasked an importer (VietnamSouthern Food Corp.) to deferdelivery until September be-cause there are no availablewarehouse space.

“The lack of warehouses isproof of oversupply,” he said.

Banayo added that it will bethe last batch of rice to be im-ported for the year.

The NFA rice inventory is goodfor 56 days, while the house-holds and private sector’s sup-ply are good for 25 and 30 days,respectively.

DOJ, NBI ... (from p1)

The DA regional information officers (RIOs) held their recent 3rd quarter meeting, July 28-30, in DipologCity, hosted by DA-RFU 9, where they shared the initial pronouncements and directives of Sec. ProcesoJ. Alcala, and discussed other major initiatives such as: rice and commercial crops production program;national farmers’ registry system; automated import permit application, processing, approval and issu-ance; tariff exemption on agri equipment and machineries and other related services; agri-fishery mar-ket info system and Nokia data gathering solution. Shown above (1st row, from left) are: RIOs MelbaWee of DA9, Dhigs Abdullah (ARMM), Mabelle Ilan (DA5, representing Emily Bordado), Jun Espiritu(DA3), Tecs Vidal (DA11), Claire San Felipe (DA4B), Flor Cablar (DA-PMED), Joy Mogado (DA-ITCAF), Nelly Ylanan (DA12), Francis Rosaroso (DA8), and Juvy Gaton (DA6). Others (2nd row, fromleft) are: Hector Tabbun (DA2, representing Edito Banares), Gloria Parong (DA1), DA-AFIS OIC-Director Noel Reyes, Grace Sta. Elena (DA10), Mar Samar (DA-AMAS), Francis Lopez (InterCommerceNetwork), Grace Dagala (DA7), and Becky Atega (DA -CARAGA). National rice program director Dr.Frisco Malabanan also served as a resource person during the meeting. RIOs Robert Domoguen (DA-CAR) and Pat Bulanhagui (DA4A) were not able to attend.

The Department of Agricul-ture, through the Mindanao Ru-ral Development Program(MRDP), has prepared a pack-age of development invest-ments for its flagship programon poverty alleviation, a com-ponent of the second phase ofthe said project for SouthernPhilippines.

In line with this, the DA-MRDP has conducted a seriesof briefings to attract invest-ments as an option for the newlocal government chief execu-tives to hinge their developmentplans.

“The program is a good op-tion for the newly installed LCEs(local chief executives),” pro-gram director Lealyn Ramossaid, “as it is a holistic ap-proach to development, whichis designed to open up eco-nomic opportunities for ruralcommunities and also to capi-talize on the rich natural re-sources on their respective lo-calities.”

The MRDP is a long-term al-leviation program funded jointlyby the national government, thelocal government units, and aloan portfolio from the WorldBank. The program has fourmajor components, namely:Rural Infrastructure (RI), Natu-ral Resource Management(NRM) and Investment for Gov-ernance reform (IGR).

The Rural Infra componentfocuses on the relevant andmuch needed infrastructureseen to improve productivityand farmers’ incomes like irri-gation, farm-to-market roadsand post-harvest facilities.

The CFAD focuses onpeoples’ organizations, em-powering these groups so theywill develop the initiative to ven-ture into agri-based enter-prises. While the NRM imple-ments environmental conserva-tion projects, the IGR is gearedtoward reinforcing the man-dates of the Local GovernmentCode.

Currently, the local govern-ment executives of the prov-inces of North Cotabato, SultanKudarat and South Cotabatoare attending the orientation

DA-MRDP offersnew local chiefs

investment optionsto reduce poverty

course of the program; like-wise the other regions acrossMindanao shall have similaractivities in the ensuing weeks.“What we desire is for LCEs toavail of the whole investmentpackage to maximize its impacton the community,” Ramos said.

Further, she said, “By puttinginfrastucture on production ar-eas or where CFAD projects areimplemented, plus the institut-ing governance reform to bet-ter improve collection of rev-enues, it won’t be long for thecommunities to see the socialand economic impact of the pro-gram.”

As proof of the positive effectof such program, Mr. RomyZaragoza, chairman of the Sul-tan Kudarat provincial planningand development office said,“We have seen how the pro-gram has improved many ruralpeople’s lives and we now fullyunderstand and appreciate itsprocedures.

That’s why we in the provincehelp promote it among the

towns in our area.This year, the MRDP is set to

achieve P2 billion worth of agri-cultural infra, which will benefit151 towns that will implementvarious livelihood projects.

It has also earmarked P42million for environmentalconservation projects.

The five-year phase II pro-gram, which kicked-off in May2007, has a total of 225 enrolledmunicipalities in six regions ofMindanao.

Fisheries sector ... (from p5)

plainants because they werenot given a chance to file a com-ment to the petition for reviewfiled by the respondents.

Samiento said if the resolutionis not withdrawn, it would createserious implications, since therespondents claimed they werein Chinese territorial waters,when it was clearly establishedand, in fact, admitted by themthat they were in coordinates thatwere only 50 miles west ofBalabac, Palawan. (DA-BFAR)

Page 11: Aggie Trends July 2010

BSWM begins mapping

La Niña areas

The Arroyo administrationused “bloated” rice-consump-tion statistics to justify its riceimportations during the lastnine years, Agriculture Sec-retary Proceso Alcala said.

The Philippines is now re-garded as the world’s top riceimporter. This year, it is im-porting some 2.4 million met-ric tons of rice to plug a pro-duction shortfall and beef upthe stocks of the NationalFood Authority (NFA), anagency under the Depart-ment of Agriculture.

Before Alcala was ap-pointed Agriculture secretary,the department had revealedthat the country’s rice self-sufficiency was 81 percent.

He said that he believedthe country would not haveimported that much rice hadthe Arroyo administration notused “bloated” statistics onrice consumption.

Alcala said that the bloatedrice-consumption statisticsresulted in the huge P171-bil-lion debt of the NFA this year,up from just P28 billion in2003.

“I just don’t know if it’s doneintentionally or not. But I thinkthat the figure they used for

Past rice imports padded

Blamed for NFA’s debt to P171 Bthe multiplier is too much,”he noted, referring to the 128kilos capita consumptionprovided by the Bureau ofAgricultural Statistics (BAS).

Alcala said that he hadcommissioned an indepen-dent survey company tostudy why the NFA’s debtload increased more than sixtimes in as many years.

”Heads will roll if they findany irregularities in the fig-ures,” he warned.

Alcala, however, said thathe was giving the BAS thebenefit of the doubt.

Meanwhile, he assuredthat there would be a con-tinuing decline in rice impor-tations in the next two years,while expressing hope thatthe country would be self-sufficient in the staple by2013 by producing at least21.6 metric tons of rice thatyear.

“The price of rice shoots upbecause we import rice atvery high prices,” he said, re-ferring to the country’s help-lessness when importing ricefrom countries that have asurplus production of thestaple. (Manila Times)

The DA’s Bureau of Soils andWater Management (BSWM)has started mapping uplandand lowland farms vulnerableto flooding and landslides in abid to reduce the impact of theonslaught of La Niña.

La Niña causes prolongedheavy rains due to the coolingof sea surface temperatures.

The Philippine weather bu-reau (PAGASA) has already is-sued an advisory, saying thereis an increasing probability ofLa Niña occurrence beginningthe third quarter that may resultto above normal rainfall, espe-cially in the eastern parts of thecountry.

La Niña conditions also favortropical cyclone formation overthe Western Pacific that entersthe Philippines.

Residents in low-lying areasand those near mountainslopes are advised to take pre-cautionary measures against

The DA’s Bureau of Animal In-dustry (BAI) celebrated on July28, 2010 the recognition ofZones 1 and 3 of Luzon as Footand Mouth Disease (FMD) freezones where vaccination is notpracticed.

The zones were recognized bythe World Organization for Ani-mal Health (OIE) on May 25,2010, during the World Assem-bly of Delegates of the OIE.

Zone 1 covers north Luzon,particularly the Cordillera Admin-istrative Region, Cagayan Valley(Region 2), and the province ofAurora in Region 3 and IlocosNorte, Ilocos Sur and La Unionin Region 1.

Zone 2 or mid-Luzon coversRegion 3 except Aurora prov-ince, Region 4-A, National Capi-tal Region, and Pangasinan inRegion 1.

Zone 3 or south Luzon in-cludes Regions 4-B and 5.

The OIE is expected to act onthe pending application of thePhilippines to declare Zone 2 asFMD-free.

Agriculture Secretary ProcesoAlcala was represented by As-sistant Secretary SalvadorSalacup during the affair held atGreat Eastern Hotel, in QuezonCity.

Among those present wereBAI Director Efren Nuestro,AusAID Counsellor AndrewEgan, FAO Representative in thePhilippines Mr. KazuyukiTsurumi, and OIE Sub-Commis-sion President for FMD in SouthEast Asia, Dr. Gardner Murray.

BAI celebrates FMD-free statusPartner agencies, stakeholder

groups and associations, andcounterparts in the local govern-ment units were also presentduring the occasion.

Nuestro said the DA-BAI willcontinue to undertake initiativesto address the challenges ofemerging and re-emerging dis-eases, while maintaining efficientanimal production systems.

“Although the industry still hasa lot of work to do, we are verygrateful for this opportunity toexpress our appreciation to ev-eryone who has been a part ofthe government’s FMD Eradica-tion Program,” Nuestro said.

He said the country’s FMD-free status will scale-up the DA-BAI’s animal health programsand strengthen border controlmeasures to prevent the entry ofdreaded animal diseases.

With the opportunity lent bydisease freedom in the country,the Philippines will soon be en-gaged in trade with other neigh-boring countries.

FMD is endemic in South EastAsia.

The Philippines, parts of Ma-laysia, and Indonesia have beenrecognized by the OIE as FMD-free areas, entitling them to tradewith countries with similar free-dom status or with lower status.

In the past 15 years, the FMDeradication program activitieshave contributed to establishingdisease freedom throughout thecountry, and has re-stabilized theproduction of swine.

possible flash floods and land-slides during heavy rains.

BSWM Executive DirectorDr. Silvino Q. Tejada said theyhave lined up activities to miti-gate the adverse effects of LaNiña.

These measures would becentered on coastal provinceswith moderate and severeflooding as well as mountain-ous and upland or hilly areas.

BSWM has already identifiedand mapped areas that areprone to flooding and vulner-able to erosion and landslides.

The maps will serve as toolto help the DA and local gov-ernment units implement plansto prevent damage to lives andproperty, and crop losses inagriculture and fisheries.

Tejada said the BSWM pro-poses to construct 990 smallfarm reservoirs (SFRs), total-ing P61 million, for harvestingrainwater and surface runoff.

These structures could mini-mize soil erosion and flood dur-ing the wet season.

The water stored in SFRs canbe used for irrigation.(ManilaBulletin)

DA Chief thanks UN for continued support. On behalf of PresidentBenigno Aquino III and Filipino farmers and fisherfolk, Agricul-ture Secretary Proceso Alcala (right) extends his gratitude to offi-cials of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO) and Development Program (UNDP) for their continued tech-nical and financial support through the years in implementing foodproduction and rural development programs in the country. TheUN officials are (from right): Hiroyuki Konuma, FAO assistant di-rector-general and regional representative for Asia and thePacific;Kazuyuki Tsurumi, FAO representative in the Philippines;and Dr. Jacqueline Badcock, UN resident coordinator and UNDPrepresentative in the Philippines.