AGRICULTURE

COTABATO CITY
(Sept. 12/NDBC) – The search is on for 3rd Agri-Pinoy Rice Achievers’
Awards (APRAA) 2014 and the Department of Agriculture (DA-12) is bent on taking
more awards, a DA official today said.

The annual search
encourages the full participation of all local government units (LGUs) involved
in rice production.

KIDAPAWAN
CITY, (Sept. 12/NDBC) – The agriculture department in Central Mindanao region
has opened nominations for next year’s Gawad Saka Search.

Amalia
Jayag-Datukan, DA 12 regional executive director, on Friday has encouraged farmers,
fishers and other farming institutions to join the 2015 Gawad Saka Search for
this will be a great venue where their exemplary contributions in the
agricultural development in the region and in the country shall be recognized.

KORONADAL CITY
(Sept. 8/NDBC) – About 250 hectares of rice fields here and in South Cotabato
are threatened by the damaged portion of a huge irrigation dam in Barangay
Magsaysay.

Engr. Orlando
Tibang, officer in charge of National Irrigation Administration in Koronadal
City, said his office had already submitted to NIA central office a proposed
P50 million budget for the rehabilitation works of the dam.

Tibang blamed
the inundation of Magsaysay river bed due to quarrying activities. The dam was constructed in 1990.

KORONADAL CITY
(Sept. 8) – Here’s one good news from the National Food Authority (NFA).

Guilaluden
Usman, NFA-South Cotabato provincial manager, said the price of commercial rice
had gone down by P4 to P5 per kilo.

He said the
Filipino’s staple sells at P49 to P50 per kilo but to date it costs P44 to P45
a kilo in South Cotabato while NFA rice remains at P27 and P32 per kilo.

Usman
attributed the price rollback to the market injection of NFA rice.

MANILA -Rody Duterte never forgets.Last night, as the 4-hour long third Cabinet meeting came to a close in Malacañang, I approached President Rody Duterte and reminded him of our commitment during the campaign of providing free irrigation water to the country's small rice farmers. Mr. President, I would like to inform you that I have done my leg work to realize our commitment of free irrigation to the rice farmers, I told him. I have not forgotten.

GEN. SANTOS CITY -Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Manny Piñol assured farmers and fisher folks in Sarangani and Gen. Santos City that under his leadership, the Department of Agriculture will have a policy of fast delivery of assistance. Under my term, farm inputs and other agri-fishery assistance will be delivered quickly to ensure that they will immediately utilize the interventions.Before Secretary Piñol addressed the participants, he led the turn-over of more than P191-M worth of agri-fishery assistance to different recipients from Sarangani and GenSan at the said city.

QUEZON CITY-Imagine yourself preparing a plan on how to win a critical battle against the Abu Sayyaf using a map indicating their positions which was drawn two months ago.That would not only be a perfect formula for a certain defeat but that would be the height of madness.Yesterday, in the first briefing I received from officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA), I found out that the soils analysis data used by the department in waging a war against hunger were actually gathered over 40 years ago.The briefing, which was conducted by a special group called AMIA or Adaptation and Mitiga

COTABATO CITY -- To ensure active participation of agriculture and fishery department front liners, the Department of Agriculture and Fishery in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DAF-ARMM) conducted consultations with major program implementations.Alexander Alonto, DAF-ARMM regional secretary, said in a statement that first to participate in the ARMM roadmap community consultations were front liners from Maguindanao's first district, headed by team leader Lucia Nul.Nul said about 60 participants composed of municipal agriculture officers, agriclture technologists, extension workers,

DAVAO CITY - The incoming Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) will engage the street dwellers in highly-urbanized cities to do the green house agricultural farming to make them productive and push food sufficiency.This will also be a step towards reducing poverty incidence of the country’s growing population.But first, incoming DA Secretary Emmanuel Piñol will embark on a nationwide feeding program through Lugawan” which is anchored on the President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s principleand No one must sleep hungry”.Piñol said this could be a venue to develop a data base of people,

MANILA -The country's coconut farmers can now heave a sigh of relief.Last night, in his second meeting with the cabinet secretaries-designate, President-elect Rody Duterte directed incoming presidential legal adviser Salvador Panelo to start the effort to ensure that the coconut levy funds are released to the country's farmers. This is an emotional issue for the coconut farmers, including my late mother.