AGRICULTURE

In the last Cabinet meeting on Monday, August 22, President Rody Duterte has confirmed his commitment of free irrigation for the country's millions of rice farmers starting the first planting season in 2017.President Duterte during the election campaign and even before he decided to run for President, said that irrigation water should be provided free to the country's small rice farmers to improve their productivity.Initially, there were some opposition, especially from some officials of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) themselves who said that the free irrigation scheme would

KIDAPAWAN CITY -If you have been dreaming of getting of the taste of the exotic but highly perishable Marang or the new variety of Rambutan called Mt. Apo Red, then prepare for October.Kidapawan City, the capital of North Cotabato, and other fruit-growing towns are staging a Fruit Festival in Metro Manila and the Dept.

A Muslim Maguindanao rice breeder and scientist has been appointed as the new Executive Director of the country's rice research agency, the PhilRice.Last week, I signed the appointment of Dr. Sailila Abdula as Officer-in-Charge Executive Director of PhilRice. He replaced Dr. Calixto Protacio whose term has ended.Dr.

COTABATO CITY -- Moro, lumad and Christian peasant groups will receive bonuses” from the Department of Agrarian Reform during the 27thanniversary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) on June 15.Amihilda Sangcopan, regional secretary of DAR in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, on Saturday said they will disperse on June 15 brand new farm tractors and other farm equipment to different farmers’ organizations in the ARMM.More than a dozen tractors procured by the agency’s national office, some now parked along a thoroughfare inside the 32-hectare ARMM compound in Cotabat

COTABATO CITY -- A dream come true for about 100 farmer-beneficiaries from the province of Maguindanao after they received certificates of land ownership (CLOs) on Wednesday. The farmer beneficiaries received the much awaited CLOs during the Department of Agrarian Reform-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s (DAR-ARMM) first Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARB) conference here. Amihilda Sangcopan, DAR-ARMM regional secretary, Lawyer Rasol Mitmug Jr, ARMM chief of staff and Lawyer Laisa Alamia, ARMM executive secretary, handed over the CLO awards to the visibly happy beneficiaries.

MANILA — The social action arm of the Catholic Church has denounced the violent dispersal of farmers staging a rally yesterday in front of the House of Representatives in Quezon City.Fr. Edwin Gariguez, Caritas Philippines executive secretary, said the security officers should have negotiated diplomatically instead of using tear gas, pepper spray, and water cannons. These poor farmers were unarmed. They are not animals and definitely not criminals.

KIDAPAWAN CITY -Agriculture officials in North Cotabato started on Monday the distribution of fertilizers and seedlings to farmers affected by drought. About 16,000 bags of seedlings of rice, corn, and vegetables, along with 16,000 bags of fertilizers were appropriated for Cotabato farmers, according to provincial agriculturist and Engineer Eliseo Mangliwan. These will cover at least 16,000 hectares affected by dry spell that hit the province since February, Mangliwan said.

KORONADAL CITY - Agriculture officials in South Cotabato said the drought has already destroyed some P340 million worth of crops, mostly rice and corn.Justina Navarette, South Cotabato provincial agriculture officer, said about P273 million worth of corn on its vegetative stage have been damaged in South Cotabato's 10 towns and one city. The dry spell destroyed beyond recovery about P273.6 worth of corn planted in 144 out of South Cotabato's 199 villages, affecting 5,506 villages.

COTABATO CITY - The Department of Agrarian Reform in Maguindanao will host Tuesday the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Conference. DXMS Radyo Bida reported that the event will be conducted inside the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex andin partnership with DAR regional office in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DAR-ARMM).The conference will gather DAR beneficiaries and discuss issues that directly affect them.ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman and Maguindanao Gov.

COTABATO CITY – Dozens of peasant groups in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on Friday benefited from government interventions meant to improve agricultural productivity in areas wracked by conflicts and drought.ARMM Gov.