National Food Security Needs Our Young Scientists

National Food Security Needs Our Young Scientists

The Filipino youth is being harked upon to enter the field of the sciences, specifically into agro-biotechnology. This will enable the country to ensure its food security. This was disclosed by agriculturists at a recently held biotechnology convention. “We need the young ones, our future scientists and agriculturists, to continue our works for the agriculture sector, so that more food will be served on our table in the next years,” Rita Laude of UP Los Baños (UPLB) said at a science and technology forum on agri-biotechnology during the National Biotechnology Week celebrated by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) last week.

Laude, who gave a presentation on “Genomics Overview and Its Application in Crops,” said that agri-biotechnology was seen as a field of science that can address global concerns on food security.

Genomics has been in use in agriculture for some time by now and it has resulted in increasing the yields of crops, make the crops more resilient to climate change and infestation by parasites.  The sequencing of the genome of plants, animals and microorganisms has resulted in understanding the dynamics and their interplay within the whole ecological framework.

The Philippines, despite its vast fertile farmlands, might face a possible food shortage if the government will not invest in biotechnology, experts warned at the forum.

In a discussion dubbed S&T Forum on Agri-Biotech held in the recent National Biotechnology Week (NBW) 2015 at SM Dasmariñas in Cavite, scientists and agriculturists from the DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD), UPLB, and UPLB – National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (UPLB-BIOTECH) discussed the programs, processes, and researches associated with biotechnology and genomics, with mostly agriculture and biology students in the audience.
The other speakers at the forum were Hayde Galvez of UPLB who discussed the “Coconut Genomics Program” of the Philippine Genome Center Development Program for Agriculture, and Mannix Pedro of UPLB-BIOTECH who presented his group’s project on the development of a plant biostimulant funded by PCAARRD.

A biostimulant is any substance based on natural resources made into a specific form and applied to plants, seeds, soil and others to stimulate the natural processes of plants and make them benefit from nutrient efficiency.

Monday, December 14, 2015 Agriculture, Science, Technology

The SC kills Bt talong, and takes down Philippine science as well

The SC kills Bt talong, and takes down Philippine science as well

By: Michael Purugganan

 

“No consensus on safety,” says the headline as news outlets reported yesterday that the Supreme Court has banned field trials for Bt talong, a GMO eggplant developed to resist pests.

I have no words. But as a scientist and as a plant biologist, I have to speak up.

There is clear consensus! Ask the various national academies of science around the world, or the various independent scientific professional societies. They have concluded that GMO technology is safe. 

An Italian research in 2014 published a major review of 1,783 research papers, reports and other material on GMO safety in the journal Critical Review of Biotechnology. They found “little to no evidence” that GMO crops had a negative impact on the environment. 

In a review of European Union-funded research on GMO safety conducted between 2001-2010, the European Commission concluded that there is “no scientific evidence associating GMOs with higher risks for the environment or for food and feed safety than conventional plants and organisms.” The EU Science Adviser Anne Glover declared publicly that GMO crops are safe – and was fired last year in part because she dared tell the world what the scientific community had concluded.

What the SC ruling stops is work by UPLB scientists who engineered the Bt protein into eggplant, rendering it immune to the ravages of insect pests. 

Bt is so safe, even the organic farming community certifies it can be used as a spray in organic farms. Bt corn, soybean and cotton have been grown since the mid 1990s in the US and elsewhere over tens of millions of hectares. There has been no scientifically credible evidence that growing these Bt crops over the last decade has had a substantial environmental impact. And because of the introduction of Bt crops, insecticide use has been lowered in farms that carry these GMO crops, reducing the exposure of farmers and consumers to synthetic insecticides.

But there is a larger context to this issue that strikes at the heart of our ability as a nation to harness modern technology for our own needs. 

In this one ruling, the Supreme Court just declared that the Philippines should no longer invest in this technology. They have set a high bar for allowing GMO trials by our scientists, a bar so high that no one can reasonably overcome the legal obstacles they have put in place.

Shackled scientists

The SC has just halted a major avenue for scientific research in our country, and has ceded future agricultural progress to the developed world, to China, or other countries that are using this technology to develop the next generation of crops. 

This SC ruling guarantees we will never be able to develop this technology for our own country. In 5-15 years, when it becomes clear that GMOs are the key to feeding the world, we will have to depend on other countries to provide the technology because we prevented our own scientists from working it out. 

Remember whom this decision affects. The big agricultural companies such as Monsanto will continue to work on GMO crops in their US labs, where there is no restriction on their work. This ruling affects our own Filipino scientists, those who have been working hard to develop biotechnology as one of the tools we can use to help our own farmers. The ones who are now shackled are the scientists at UP Los Baños, or PhilRice, or those hardworking researchers at any other agricultural laboratories in the country. 

In the next decade, our country will face enormous challenges. Our population continues to rise and we continue to need to import food because our farms do not have the yields that allow them to feed everyone in the country. Climate change is altering weather patterns, and we also urgently need to develop new crops that can withstand drought, salt water, or even flooding.

GMO crops provide a potential safe and targeted way to help our farmers feed ourselves. It is not the only answer to our food security issues, but every major agricultural scientist agrees that GMOs will be an important tool in helping feed our country (or the world, for that matter). 

This Supreme Court ruling has just decreed that, when we find out we need it the most, our own scientists will be unable to use this technology to bring new crops to the field. At that future day, not long in coming, we will find ourselves completely at the mercy of the big agricultural companies who have continued to work this technology out in their corporate labs. 

Our scientists had a chance to work with this technology and help develop crops made by Filipinos, for Filipinos. The SC, metaphorically, just shut down their labs. – Rappler.com

Michael Purugganan is a Filipino scientist, and is the Silver Professor of Biology and the Dean of Science at New York University.

Source: http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/115436-sc-kills-bt-talong-takes-down-philippine-science?utm_content=buffer18a74&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Thursday, December 10, 2015 Agriculture, Genetics, Science, Technology

Bt Talong Field Trials Stopped

Bt Talong Field Trials Stopped

Field testing for genetically modified eggplant, also known as Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) talong, has been permanently stopped by the Supreme Court (SC), while applications for the contained use, field testing, propagation, commercialization, and importation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been temporarily halted.

On their last regular en banc session for the year on Tuesday, high court magistrates upheld the Court of Appeals (CA) in permanently stopping field trials for Bt talong.

The CA ruled that existing regulations by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) are "insufficient to guarantee the safety of the environment and the health of the people."

Using the Rules of Procedure for Environment Cases, the appellate court stressed that "over-all safety guarantee of the Bt talong 'remains unknown.'" The CA issued a writ of kalikasan against respondents led by Greenpeace Southeast Asia Philippines, and held hearings on the petition.

The petitioners in this case before the SC, which sought a reversal of the CA ruling, include International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications, Inc., Environmental Management Bureau, Crop Life Philippines, University of the Philippines Los Baños, and University of the Philippines.

The SC, after reviewing the findings of the CA, stressed that scientists failed to come up with a consensus on the safety of Bt talong which, in turn, reflect the "divergent" and "continuing international debate" on GMOs.

"In sum, current scientific research indicates that the biotech industry has not sufficiently addressed the uncertainties over the safety of genetically modified foods and crops," the high court said.

The high court further said that GMO field trials in the Philippines under DA Order 08-2002 showed that the said administrative order does not meet the minimum requirements for safety under Executive Order No. 514 which established the National Biosafety Framework (NBF).

For this reason, the said order was struck down.

"The Court found that the NBF under EO No. 514 mandates a more transparent, meaningful and participatory public consultation on the conduct of consultations with some residents and government officials, and submission of written comments as provided in Order 08-2002.

"The Court found that petitioners simply followed Order 08-2002 but no real effort was made to operationalize the principles of the NBF in the conduct of field testing of Bt talong," the high court stressed.

Because of these, the high court concluded that "the DA lacks the mechanisms to mandate applicants to comply with international biosafety protocols."

Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/focus/12/08/15/sc-permanently-stops-field-trials-of-bt-talong

Wednesday, December 09, 2015 Agriculture, Genetics, Technology, Technology-Land

Science and Technology based Practices for the Phil. Mango Industry

Science and Technology based Practices for the Phil. Mango Industry

Sustained by strong S&T-based practices, the country’s mango industry is expected to hurdle the growing demand as well as the stringent export requirements of its neighboring countries for quality and safe mangoes. These demands are seen to be tougher with the advent of the ASEAN integration. 

With Integrated Crop Management (ICM) and Postharvest Quality Management (PQM) technologies serving as its strength, the country’s mango industry proves its readiness to address the above-mentioned concerns, especially after these technologies have proved to adequately address serious concerns on mangoes’ insect pests and diseases.

Developed through careful research, ICM and PQM consist of traditional and modern S&T-based practices that complement with the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for Mango.



ICM involves cost-effective, need-based pesticide spray program and improved cultural management interventions such as canopy development and pruning, sanitation, and bagging. These practices improve plant health and fruit yield through reduction of pest and disease incidence and promotion of plant growth and development.

PQM, on the other hand, involves postharvest handling practices to maintain freshness and safety of mango fruits while being brought to the consumers. It also focuses on meeting buyers’ specifications and trade requirements. These practices cover harvesting to transport. They include insect and postharvest disease management and quarantine treatments, packaging, and ripening.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the DOST (DOST-PCAARRD) funded the development of these technologies. 

Adoption of ICM and PQM has increased volume of harvest, recovery of quality fruits, and income of mango stakeholders. It also enabled local farmers to regulate the use of pesticides and other chemical inputs.

DOST-PCAARRD, through its partnership with government agencies and state colleges and universities, promotes the adoption of ICM and PQM practices to mango farmers in mango producing areas. These include La Union, Pangasinan, Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Bataan Pampanga, Zambales, Bulacan, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, Guimaras, General Santos, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, Sarangani, and North Cotabato.

The project involves Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University, Pangasinan State University, Isabela State University, Central Luzon State University, Bulacan Agricultural State College, Tarlac College of Agriculture, Bataan Peninsula State University, Pampanga State Agricultural University, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Bureau of Plant Industry-National Mango Research and Development Center, and Sultan Kudarat State University.

At present, 20 mango clusters, composed of 155 growers and contractors, are provided with hands-on training and lectures on ICM and PQM. Success stories have been documented in the mango clusters after shifting from traditional to S&T-based practices.

Such stories have encouraged more farmers to adopt ICM and PQM in their mango farm.

The clustering strategy enables the experts to guide the mango cluster members in implementing ICM and PQM in their farms. Through the scheme, the members also learn from each other’s experiences on mango production and postharvest practices.

DOST-PCAARRD, together with its partner agencies, hopes to replicate success stories in all project sites and enhance the involvement of local government units to sustain the adoption of the S&T-based practices in mango production.

The research and development initiatives to ensure quality and safe mangoes with the use of S&T-based practices is one of the many initiatives of DOST-PCAARRD in connection with Outcome One.

Outcome One seeks to provide science-based know-how and tools that will enable the agricultural sector to raise productivity to world-class standards.

Source: http://www.pcaarrd.dost.gov.ph/home/portal/index.php/quick-information-dispatch/2631-ph-mango-industry-sets-to-address-demand-for-quality-and-safe-mangoes-with-s-t-based-practices

Thursday, December 03, 2015 Agriculture, Philippine Mangoes, Science

Possible Food Shortage in the Philippines

Possible Food Shortage in the Philippines

A bio-technology expert said the Philippines could face a food shortage if the government fails to implement a sound food security policy that encourages the use of modern, agricultural biotechnology.

Dr. Harvey Glick, senior expert for Scientific Affairs for Asia of Monsanto Asia, told members of House special committee on food security that current practices in local agriculture are not enough to satisfy the growing food requirements of the people.

As the country’s population hits 101 million, Glick said demand for food is increasing each year but agricultural production remains at 2000 levels.

He said more farmers should be trained and encouraged to use biotechnology as the method of modern plant breeding allows for the development of high yielding crops.

Glick cited a 2014 research that shows 147 other published findings on the impact of biotech crops.

Among the findings include a 22 percent increase in crop yield, 37 percent reduction in the use of pesticides, and a resulting 68 percent increase in profitability, mainly due to higher yield alongside the lowered cost of production,” Glick said.
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AAMBIS-OWA party-list Rep. Sharon Garin, chairman of the committee, said it was the first time that an expert in the field spoke to legislators on the important role of biotechnology in food security.

“We need this knowledge to decide on whether to pursue it as one of our advocacies in the 16th Congress. I gladly accepted this opportunity to hold this forum because it could enlighten us, not only the legislators, but also of other stakeholders of the potential of biotechnology and the issues it currently faces,” Garin said.

Compared with other nations in the region, the Philippines leads in allowing farmers to choose whether to use modern or conventional methods in corn farming, Glick said.

He however said the government should do more and encourage more farmers to use  modern farming methods to at least satisfy local requirements.

“I acknowledge the leadership that the Philippines has shown for being the very first country in Asean and Asia to allow their farmers the choice of using either conventional or hybrid corn. Other countries are only catching up in terms of corn production, like Indonesia and Vietnam which  have only started adopting the use of this technology,” Glick said.

He said as of last year an estimated 18 million farmers were using these new varieties of corn, soybeans, canola, and cotton that have been improved through biotechnology.

Glick  said 28 countries have already given their farmers a chance to plant these new and improved varieties.

He said food security entails sufficient nutrition for all.

“The challenges of food security in the Asean is very clear: The population is growing, and the demand for food is growing very quickly. In fact it is growing faster than the production of food crops. Farmers are requesting scientists to develop high-yielding crop hybrids that are also resistant to weeds, insectpests, and stress such as drought, in order to conserve on resources,” Glick said.
 

Source http://www.philstar.com/agriculture/2015/11/29/1526943/expert-warns-possible-food-shortage-philippines#sthash.JhXju1uJ.dpuf

Wednesday, December 02, 2015 Agriculture, GMO, Technology

Growth Industry: Philippine Native Pig Raising and Breeding

Growth Industry: Philippine Native Pig Raising and Breeding

The Native Pig Industry Association of the Philippines is going full blast towards 2016. During their seminar on Effective Management for native pig breeding and raising held at the Quezon Memorial Circle last November 28, 2015, Mr. Ferds S. Medina welcomed new members of the industry association and conducted a seminar on native hog raising.

The topics included were native hog identification and physical characteristics, economic outlook on the native pig industry and tips on feeding, weaning, proper housing, health maintenance and even marketing.

The seminar also put emphasis on feeding and weaning of native piglets. The right mixture of organic and inorganic feeds was discussed at length by Mr. Medina. The need to give the native pigs access to ranging areas so that they could avail themselves on organic food.  Included in the presentation were local food sources and the kind of feeds that are ideal for native hogs.

The selection of native pigs based on proper physical characteristics were discussed as well and an important section on the health maintenance of the hogs. Common diseases were featured and the necessary steps in managing the health of the animals.

Another subject that generated interest was the EcoPig Landless Farming Program. This program allows those who do not have farmlands or a piggery compound to engage in the raising and breeding of native pigs thus generating revenues from their investment. This was crafted so as to take advantage of the potentials of the native pig industry.

The advantages of raising and breeding native pigs is that it is highly sought for the lechon industry, high value meat, adapted to native conditions, economic advantages, relatively healthy (its cholesterol content is less than the commercial breeds) and it is “organic” in nature.

The target market includes:

Lechon industry
Breeders
Medical Research

Its meet products can be made into:

Longganisa
Bagnet
Bacon
Tapa
Etag
Organic Pork Meat 

Tuesday, December 01, 2015 Agriculture, Native Pigs, Organic, Piggery

Use of Seaweeds Boosts Rice Yields by up to 65%

Use of Seaweeds Boosts Rice Yields by up to 65%

The Philippines supplies 80% of the worldwide demand for Carrageenan and this might just be the answer in increasing rice productivity in the country. Carrageenen is a carbohydrate found in edible seaweeds was found to increase rice yields by 63.6% to 65.4% according to scientists based at the National Crop Protection Center (NCPC) at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).

Field trials made in Bulacan disclosed that small portions of carrageenan added to fertilizers resulted in an increase in the weight of grains. The NCPC team led by Gil Magsino found that by adding 29 milliliters  per liter of carageenan to 3 to 6 bags of fertilizers per hectare resulted in an increase of grain weight by 450 to455 grams as compared to grain weight of  275 grams that is the result of the usual methods of Filipino farmers.

The research was funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology.

Previous studies showed that when carrageenan is degraded or reduced to tiny sizes through irradiation technology, it can promote growth in rice plants and make it resistant to certain pests. Thus, at very small doses, it becomes an effective natural fertilizer.

Higher yield, more savings

Carrageenan can improve rice productivity by strengthening rice stems which, according to the Department of Agriculture, helps prevent lodging or when stems become too weak to carry the weight of the rice grains that they fall to the field.

The substance can also promote resistance to rice plant diseases like the rice tungro virus and bacterial leaf blight.

“This innovation of applying seaweed as fertilizer empowers our farmers to have access to cheaper but highly effective plant growth enhancers that boils down to improved harvest and increased income,” said Science Secretary Mario Montejo.

Because the use of carrageenan was found to decrease the number of bags of fertilizer needed per hectare, this could mean bigger savings for farmers who devote much of their expenses to farming inputs.

The government’s finding could also impact other agricultural workers, namely seaweed farmers, by boosting demand for the substance.
Seaweed is heavily farmed in places like Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga, Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Samar, and Antique. In fact, the Philippines is a major global supplier of carrageenan. In 2011, it reportedly supplied 80% of the world's seaweed needs.

It is commonly used as a thickener or stabilizer for food products like ice cream and salad dressing, or as a binding agent for toothpaste and shampoo.

Source: Pcaarrd DOST

http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/life-health/112677-carrageenan-fertilizer-boost-rice-yield-dost?image_id=31A7D622D42D4324A8F7BF4AC5A20C0C&utm_content=image_sharebar&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=imagesharing&utm_source=facebook.com#31A7D622D42D4324A8F7BF4AC5A20C0C

Friday, November 27, 2015 Agriculture, Aquaculture, Carrageenan, News, Rice Yields, Science, Seaweeds

Not Your Usual Vegetables at the Negros Showroom Market

Not Your Usual Vegetables at the Negros Showroom Market

On Tuesdays and Fridays, a farmers' market occupies the parking space at the Negros Showroom on Lacson Street. Early morning joggers, and the meticulous, health-conscious set make a stop here, and office people find this a convenient, welcome addition to an urban commercial strip.

The farmers themselves bring and sell their fruits and vegetables in this space. From farms in San Carlos City and Barangay Patag, Silay, these crops are transported in protective crates, not sacks, as a rule. Another rule is that only potable water should be used in the final wash of the produce. These rules are just part of the major reason why these fruits and vegetables are not the usual. The fruits and vegetables available at the Negros Showroom farmers' market are GAP-certified.

GAP stands for “Good Agricultural Practices,” the certification of which is issued by the Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Product Standards (BAFPS).

The Philippine GAP certification, adopted from the ASEAN and the global GAP, is an export requirement. Therefore, the produce at the Negros Showroom farmers' market are export quality.

A hallmark of a farm that is GAP-certified is its traceability. In the Code of Hygienic Practice for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, “traceability is the ability to follow the movement of produce through specified stages of production and distribution.”

Traceability means that one is able to identify the source of a crop, the conditions--whether of soil, water, weather, or farmer--with which it was planted, grown and picked, and even the farm inputs administered on it. Farm lots are properly coded, mapped, and fenced, water is analyzed for cleanliness, and fertilizers and pesticides are kept at the safest levels. All these agricultural activities and information are duly recorded and maintained for two years.

Good Agricultural Practices strictly uphold food safety, environmental protection, and worker's health, but if issues on these arise, traceability ensures that things can be tracked, addressed and corrected.

From planting, to harvesting, to selling, traceability gives vegetables a history that confidently deals with questions like, how far back into the chain can you claim that a product is “safe”, “fresh”, “clean”, “chemical-free”, and “fair trade”?

Indeed, these fruits and vegetables sold at competitive prices at the Negros Showroom farmers' market are not the usual; not the usual because these are unlike most of the crops in the local market that fall below food safety standards.

In the Philippines, only 39 farms are GAP-certified. Three (3) of these are farmers' organizations are in Negros. The members of these are mostly agrarian reform beneficiaries. They were all trained in GAP, qualified, and are continuously updated and linked to market.

A program called OURFood, or “Optimizing and Upscaling Roles in the Food Supply Chain” of the AFOS Foundation from Germany guides them in GAP. Its local partner is the Association of Negros Producers (ANP) which runs the Negros Showroom.

Thursday, November 26, 2015 LGU, LGU News, Organic

Margarita Fores discusses the “The Philippines' Ark of Tastes” at Slow Food Summit in Negros

Margarita Fores discusses the “The Philippines' Ark of Tastes” at Slow Food Summit in Negros

BACOLOD, Philippines - The Third Speaker at the Slow Food Summit is famous for her expert hand at modern Itialian Cooking that gave the public Cibo, Lusso and Grace Park.Her talk is entitled,  “THE PHILIPPINES’ ARK OF TASTES”.  The Slow Food Negros Island Summit, one of the projects of the Slow Food movement which draws attention to endangered food products in the country, on November 27, 11:00 AM at the Social Hall of the Provincial Capitol, Bacolod City.

At the Slow Food Negros Island Summit, chefs, farmers, slow food advocates—even converts—will unite to give interesting insights on the most pressing issues about food, our food systems, and the way we eat.  

At the summit, an introduction to Slow Food will be made by Pacita Juan, Reena Gamboa-Peña, Mia Gonzaga and Dr. Anabel Villanueva at 8 to 9 a.m. of November 27.

Ige Ramos will speak on “Tuklasin ang Katutubong Kulinaryo ng Pilipinas (discover Filipino dishes) at 9 a.m., and Nico Aberasturi -Homesteading Growing Food Instead of Lawns at 10 a.m., Villanueva said.

Margarita Fores will discuss the “The Philippines' Ark of Tastes” at 11 a.m., Hindy Weber Tantoco and Melanie Go – The Holistic Life at 1:30 p.m., Amy Besa – Green is Gold in Negros at 3 p.m. 

A Slow Food tasting by the Slow Food Negros Island Convivium will be held at noon.

Slow Food Negros Island is a group of volunteers dedicated in saving endangered food, celebrating gastronomic traditions, promoting good, clean, and fair food, as well as building a healthy relationship among producers, chefs, and consumers.

Slow Food is a global, grassroots movement founded in 1989 by Carlo Petrini and a group of passionate individuals. It started when an international fast food franchise expressed its interest in opening a branch at the famous Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy. The citizens protested by sharing a big bowl of penne pasta with the crowds and began chanting “we don’t want fast food, we want slow food.” Perhaps it was the first time that it was officially coined, the tedious processes of producing and preparing various ingredients for select dishes like cheese, wine, fish, meat, as well as the traditional cooking methods have always been practiced in different parts of the world. After that incident in the ‘80s, what started as a protest to fast food grew to a global movement active in over 100 countries.

Thursday, November 26, 2015 Events, Events-Conferences, Events-Educational, Organic

True Food Security for All

True Food Security for All

True Food Security for All
By: Cielito F. Habito

I’M CONVINCED that a crucial reason we have fared so badly in agriculture relative to our neighbors has been the way too many among us, including past and present policymakers, confuse and equate food security with rice self-sufficiency. To be sure, there are other culprits as well, like the massive leakages of huge sums from the farm budget into private pockets, overcentralized management of the sector, and others. Still, some of those other reasons appear to have been an offshoot of longstanding distortions resulting from our rice self-sufficiency policy.

It’s often said that the success of a Philippine secretary of agriculture—and even of a Philippine president, to some extent—is measured on the basis of our rice production performance. Sadly, for as long as we actually believe that, the less likely it will be that we will achieve the success in agriculture that most of our neighbors have.

Last week, I wrote of four ironies associated with the country’s traditional drive for rice self-sufficiency. One, our annual farm budgets have always been inordinately skewed toward rice, even as our avowed goal of self-sufficiency in the commodity consistently eludes us. Two, the government’s rice budget mostly benefits those who need the least help—that is, the more productive (hence better-off) rice farmers. Three, Malaysia, much richer than us but similarly naturally disadvantaged in rice production vis-à-vis the rice-surplus Mekong river delta countries of Thailand, Vietnam and others, had deliberately not targeted 100-percent rice self-sufficiency. This way, they freed substantial resources that allowed them to strengthen their farm sector overall, and can now raise their rice targets more rationally and realistically over time. Four, the more we pursued 100-percent rice self-sufficiency, the more we made most Filipinos less food-secure by making the commodity unnecessarily more costly, hence less accessible, to the lesser endowed among us.

The last point is very important. It seems to me that many of those mouthing “food security” may be seeing it from an aggregate national perspective of food availability—but missing the critical aspect of accessibility, hence cost, of food at the level of families and communities. One could say outright that Thais, Vietnamese and people from the other Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries are more food secure than Filipinos—not so much because their countries can produce much more rice, as because Filipinos must pay two to three times more for their rice than their Asean neighbors do. And the reason for this is that unlike the vast fertile plains of the Mekong Delta, many of our rice lands can attain comparable yields only through more intensive application of high-cost inputs, including irrigation, fertilizers and mechanization. And when our farm yields range from as high as 200 cavans (50-kilogram sacks) per hectare to as low as 10 cavans, production cost averages out nationally to be quite high—indeed up to two to three times that in our better-endowed neighbors.

Note that some Filipino rice farmers, through no fault of their own, are inherently less productive or end up with more costly yields because of land and agro-climatic conditions less suited to rice—certainly not because they are less competent. The GMS countries are rice-surplus countries not because they have better farmers, but because of the vast, rich and fertile river deltas they possess, making them naturally more richly endowed with rice-conducive lands than Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. As with Indonesia, our archipelagic nature deals us an even greater handicap. Worse, we have allowed domestic shipping costs to be high, owing to the lack of competition due to cabotage rules. Is it any wonder that there’s strong impetus to (illegally) ship in already cheaper rice from our neighbors, when even the cost of shipping it from abroad is also much lower?

It will probably help all Filipinos if we help those farmers who can only squeeze 10-50 cavans per hectare out of their marginal rice lands to shift to crops more suited to their lands—crops that will earn them higher incomes and finally get them out of poverty. It makes no sense to keep them producing rice while staying poor as they do. Once our rice production is focused on our inherently more productive rice lands, then the overall average cost of production of rice in the country will fall, and we can begin to approximate the costs of imported rice. Then we would also help our Filipino poor, as their purchasing power would grow as rice prices go down.

Asean as a region is not only self-sufficient in rice; it produces a surplus and can continue doing so for a time. The Philippines need not aspire to grow all the rice it needs, in the same way that Benguet would be foolhardy to try to grow all the rice it needs, and produce as much rice as, say, Nueva Ecija. In Asean, food security would be best pursued at the regional level, through a stronger regional buffer stock mechanism where the rice-surplus countries can fill the deficits of the rest. That way, rice could be cheaper for all, and Asean peoples, particularly in the rice-deficit countries, would generally be much more food-secure. This, among other things, is what the Asean Economic Community should be about.

Meanwhile, we in the Philippines can take better care of the rest of our agriculture, and address not only the calorie side of food security, but also meet our people’s need for protein- and other nutrient-rich foods as well. We could then do a much better job at pursuing true food security for all.

Source: http://opinion.inquirer.net/86487/true-food-security-for-all

Tuesday, November 24, 2015 Facts & Figures, News, Statistics

Ironies in Rice Self-Sufficiency

Ironies in Rice Self-Sufficiency

Ironies in Rice self-sufficiency

By: Cielito F. Habito

More than once, and on different occasions, I’ve heard farmers in Mindanao voice wonder at how too many farmers in Luzon persist in growing rice, even as that crop has failed to lift them out of poverty. In the same breath, they’d cite how they’ve made a good living growing higher-value crops such as rubber, cacao, bananas and oil palm. Rubber farmers, for one, liken their trees to banks’ automatic teller machines that yield money on a regular basis, for minimal “deposits” of fertilizer and basic plant care.

Those Mindanao observers were probably not alluding to more productive rice farmers who can produce 70 to 100 sacks (3-4 tons) of palay per hectare, well above our national average yield of 35 sacks (1.5 tons) per hectare over the last 20 years. We have many of these, and they need little government help. But there are also numerous marginal rice farmers tilling less productive lands, much of these unirrigated, unmechanized and underfertilized owing to lack of access to credit for needed working capital to buy productivity-improving inputs. It’s these rice farmers who might do well to consider planting something more remunerative than rice, especially if the lands they are tilling are less suited to rice anyway. But government, and seemingly Philippine society as a whole, want them to keep on planting rice, in the name of achieving the dream of full rice self-sufficiency—never mind that they are likely to remain in poverty if they do.

Some stark ironies come with our seeming obsession with full rice self-sufficiency. Countless papers written over the years by respected scholars (notably agricultural economists Cristina David, Ramon Clarete, Arsenio Balisacan, Rolando Dy and Roehlano Briones, among others) have observed how rice has traditionally received the lion’s share (up to 70 percent) of our farm budget, at the expense of many other important commodities. And yet rice contributes less than a fifth of the country’s total agricultural value added, and rice farmers are not even the poorest in the Philippine rural sector. It’s the coconut farmers and artisanal fishers who are. Ironically, we have not gotten any nearer the self-sufficiency goal, and have in fact become the world’s largest rice importer. Analyses by the same authors point to another irony: The rice farmers in greater need hardly benefit from the huge sums allocated yearly by government for increased rice production. Evidence indicates that the primary beneficiaries of government budgetary allocations for rice have been the better-off, more productive farmers, not the worst-off among them.

Similarly ironic is the fact that Malaysia, a country now far ahead of us in economic growth and development, has long had the deliberate and more sensible government policy of not targeting 100-percent rice self-sufficiency. And yet Malaysia trades rice actively in both directions, profiting from significant exports of premium-quality rice even as it imports substantial amounts to fill the domestic demand-supply gap. Since the 1980s, it had targeted to produce only 65-85 percent of its rice requirements. The Malaysians had long recognized that relative to the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma (Myanmar), they are naturally disadvantaged in the production of rice, along with neighbors Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. Our countries lack the vast river deltas highly favorable to rice production with which the GMS is richly endowed. Malaysian policymakers understood that the resources needed to fill the domestic rice gap could be put to much better use, such as supporting lucrative farm export crops like oil palm and rubber. These crops have earned them ample foreign exchange, enabling them to import rice when they need it, even from as far as Latin America (as I learned from a Malaysian former classmate in graduate school, who had been responsible for sourcing his country’s rice imports).

The most unfortunate irony of all is that under current circumstances, the more we pursue 100-percent rice self-sufficiency, the more we make most Filipinos food-insecure. Food security and food self-sufficiency are two different things. Food security denotes reliable access to adequate, affordable, safe and nutritious food. Our self-sufficiency policy has had the perhaps unwitting effect of making rice much more expensive to Filipino consumers than it needs to be, with the Filipino poor suffering the most.

It’s the basic economic law of diminishing returns at work: Once beyond the level of maximum productivity that natural endowments will support, the cost of producing more and more of the product rises, often steeply. Unlike the GMS countries, our point of natural maximum productivity appears to be well below our level of sufficiency. For us, full self-sufficiency can only come at the inevitable cost of much higher rice prices or huge taxpayer subsidies, posing an undue penalty to all Filipinos, especially the poor. Indeed, when poverty incidence rose in 2014, it was not because incomes fell (they had actually risen). The National Economic and Development Authority clarified that the culprit was the inordinate rise in the price of rice, the single largest item in the family budgets of poor Filipino households.

The sooner we help marginal (hence high-cost) rice farmers shift to more lucrative crops and focus our rice production on those farms most productively endowed for it, the sooner we can lower our overall rice production costs and prices—and ironically, the more food-secure Filipinos, especially the poor, will become.

Source: http://opinion.inquirer.net/86268/ironies-in-rice-self-sufficiency

Tuesday, November 24, 2015 Facts and Figures, News, Statistics

Negros Occidental Spearheads the Revival of the Philippine Silk Industry

Negros Occidental Spearheads the Revival of the Philippine Silk Industry

A province in the Visayas is spearheading the revival of the once blooming silk industry in the Philippines. Teaming up with a Japanese NGO, the Philippine government  is set to restart an industry that has flourished even during Pre-Hispanic times.

The Fiber Industry Development Authority (FIDA) sees the growth potential of the silk industry and is formulating a long-term strategy in increasing silk  production. In a project by the Organization of Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement in Negros (OISCA) that was initiated in 1999, OISCA Negros Occidental now supplies the highly valued materials for the kimono industry.

According to FIDA  administrator Cecilia Gloria Soriano, the majority of the global silk market is supplied by China owing to its huge silk production capacity. In order to be competitive in the global silk market, it would entail the tapping of other partners in the local industry, such as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that will facilitate in the establishment of a textile mill which will capture the production.

Local entrepreneurs and investors are encourage to put up textile mills since markets for possible products are now existing. FIDA in partnership with OISCA will identify products that will serve the needs of markets in Europe, the US and Asia.

OISCA accounted for 80% of the country’s silk production in 2012. Negros Occidental was also discovered to be a suitable location ion the growing of mulberry trees whose leaves are the food of silkworms.

The sericulture program generated jobs for 150 farmers at the OISCA Training Center  in Tabunan, Bago City, Negros Occidental.  This was through the introduction of cocoon production, silk reeling, thread plying, weaving and the manufacture of finished products of shawls, gowns, bag and a variety of products based on silk fabric.

As a livelihood project, increased production is sought since the Silk Trading Association of Japan approached their NGO seeking alternative sources of silk since Japanese production has declined because younger Japanese no longer wanted to go into silk-farming.

It is hoped that Negros Occidental will continue to increase its production. The challenge is that Negros is still oriented towards sugar production and that it took a lot of orientations and meetings before it was deemed acceptable to the farmers.

OISCA is optimistic that more and more farmers will go into sericulture and silk production since the climate in Negros Occidental is conducive to sericulture that requires a temperature   between 24 to 28 degrees Celsius.

Monday, November 23, 2015 Sericulture, Technology

Social Entrepreneur To Talk On "Making Agriculture Smart and Sexy" at Slow Food Summit

Social Entrepreneur To Talk On "Making Agriculture Smart and Sexy" at Slow Food Summit

Social Entrepreneur Cherrie Atilano

BACOLOD, Philippines - A 28-year-old Negrense social entrepreneur, agriculturist and farmer, will talk about making agriculture smart and sexy at the eighth installation of Organic Market at The Slow Food Negros Island Summit happening on November 27 at the Social Hall of the Capitol Building in this city.

Cherrie Atilano, who grew up in Silay City in this island was a scholar of the Provincial Capitol under the Pagkaon Scholarship Program, will talk on "Making Agriculture Smart and Sexy" on Friday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Atilano graduated magna cum laude from the Visayas State University with a degree on agriculture. She is a founder of AGREA Agricultural Systems International, and a consultant of the Department of Agrarian Reform.

She has worked at the Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation as executive assistant of its founder, Antonio Meloto, and at Ayala Land Inc. as landscape horticulturist supervisor and head of Land Development.

At the Slow Food Negros Island Summit, chefs, farmers, slow food advocates—even converts—will unite to give interesting insights on the most pressing issues about food, our food systems, and the way we eat.  

At the summit, an introduction to Slow Food will be made by Pacita Juan, Reena Gamboa-Peña, Mia Gonzaga and Dr. Anabel Villanueva at 8 to 9 a.m. of November 27.

Ige Ramos will speak on “Tuklasin ang Katutubong Kulinaryo ng Pilipinas (discover Filipino dishes) at 9 a.m., and Nico Aberasturi -Homesteading Growing Food Instead of Lawns at 10 a.m., Villanueva said.

Margarita Fores will discuss the “The Philippines' Ark of Tastes” at 11 a.m., Hindy Weber Tantoco and Melanie Go – The Holistic Life at 1:30 p.m., Amy Besa – Green is Gold in Negros at 3 p.m. 

A Slow Food tasting by the Slow Food Negros Island Convivium will be held at noon.

Slow Food Negros Island is a group of volunteers dedicated in saving endangered food, celebrating gastronomic traditions, promoting good, clean, and fair food, as well as building a healthy relationship among producers, chefs, and consumers.

Slow Food is a global, grassroots movement founded in 1989 by Carlo Petrini and a group of passionate individuals. It started when an international fast food franchise expressed its interest in opening a branch at the famous Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy. The citizens protested by sharing a big bowl of penne pasta with the crowds and began chanting “we don’t want fast food, we want slow food.” Perhaps it was the first time that it was officially coined, the tedious processes of producing and preparing various ingredients for select dishes like cheese, wine, fish, meat, as well as the traditional cooking methods have always been practiced in different parts of the world. After that incident in the ‘80s, what started as a protest to fast food grew to a global movement active in over 100 countries.

Sunday, November 22, 2015 Events, Events-Conferences, Events-Educational, Slow Food

Negros Island Is The Sweet Spot of the Philippines.

Negros Island Is The Sweet Spot of the Philippines.

Negros Island Is The Sweet Spot of the Philippines.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Slow Food Negros Island Summit to be held in Bacolod, Nov. 27

Slow Food Negros Island Summit to be held in Bacolod, Nov. 27

BACOLOD, Philippines - Chefs, farmers, slow food advocates - even converts, unite at The Slow Food Negros Island Summit to give interesting insights on the most pressing issues about food, our food systems, and the way we eat.  The Slow Food Negros Island Summit will be held at the Social Hall of the Capitol Building in Bacolod City on November 27, Dr. Anabel Villanueva said yesterday.

At the summit, an introduction to Slow Food will be made by Pacita Juan, Reena Gamboa-Peña, Mia Gonzaga and Villanueva at 8 to 9 a.m. of November 27.

Ige Ramos will speak on “Tuklasin ang Katutubong Kulinaryo ng Pilipinas (discover Filipino dishes) at 9 a.m., and Nico Aberasturi -Homesteading Growing Food Instead of Lawns at 10 a.m., Villanueva said.

Margarita Fores will discuss the “The Philippines' Ark of Tastes” at 11 a.m., Hindy Weber Tantoco and Melanie Go – The Holistic Life at 1:30 p.m., Amy Besa – Green is Gold in Negros at 3 p.m. and Cherrie Attilano – Making Agriculture Smart and Sexy at 4 p.m., she added.

A Slow Food tasting by the Slow Food Negros Island Convivium will be held at noon, she said.

Slow Food Negros Island is a group of volunteers dedicated in saving endangered food, celebrating gastronomic traditions, promoting good, clean, and fair food, as well as building a healthy relationship among producers, chefs, and consumers.

Slow Food is a global, grassroots movement founded in 1989 by Carlo Petrini and a group of passionate individuals. It started when an international fast food franchise expressed its interest in opening a branch at the famous Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy. The citizens protested by sharing a big bowl of penne pasta with the crowds and began chanting “we don’t want fast food, we want slow food.” Perhaps it was the first time that it was officially coined, the tedious processes of producing and preparing various ingredients for select dishes like cheese, wine, fish, meat, as well as the traditional cooking methods have always been practiced in different parts of the world. After that incident in the ‘80s, what started as a protest to fast food grew to a global movement active in over 100 countries.

Sunday, November 22, 2015 Events, Events-Conferences, Events-Educational, Global News, LGU, News, Slow Food

Making Agriculture Smart and Sexy

Making Agriculture Smart and Sexy

Social Entrepreneur Cherrie Atilano

BACOLOD, Philippines - A 28-year-old Negrense social entrepreneur, agriculturist and farmer, will talk about making agriculture smart and sexy at the eighth installation of Organic Market at The Slow Food Negros Island Summit happening on November 27 at the Social Hall of the Capitol Building in this city.

Cherrie Atilano, who grew up in Silay City in this island was a scholar of the Provincial Capitol under the Pagkaon Scholarship Program, will talk on "Making Agriculture Smart and Sexy" on Friday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Atilano graduated magna cum laude from the Visayas State University with a degree on agriculture. She is a founder of AGREA Agricultural Systems International, and a consultant of the Department of Agrarian Reform.

She has worked at the Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation as executive assistant of its founder, Antonio Meloto, and at Ayala Land Inc. as landscape horticulturist supervisor and head of Land Development.

At the Slow Food Negros Island Summit, chefs, farmers, slow food advocates—even converts—will unite to give interesting insights on the most pressing issues about food, our food systems, and the way we eat.  

At the summit, an introduction to Slow Food will be made by Pacita Juan, Reena Gamboa-Peña, Mia Gonzaga and Dr. Anabel Villanueva at 8 to 9 a.m. of November 27.

Ige Ramos will speak on “Tuklasin ang Katutubong Kulinaryo ng Pilipinas (discover Filipino dishes) at 9 a.m., and Nico Aberasturi -Homesteading Growing Food Instead of Lawns at 10 a.m., Villanueva said.

Margarita Fores will discuss the “The Philippines' Ark of Tastes” at 11 a.m., Hindy Weber Tantoco and Melanie Go – The Holistic Life at 1:30 p.m., Amy Besa – Green is Gold in Negros at 3 p.m. 

A Slow Food tasting by the Slow Food Negros Island Convivium will be held at noon.

Slow Food Negros Island is a group of volunteers dedicated in saving endangered food, celebrating gastronomic traditions, promoting good, clean, and fair food, as well as building a healthy relationship among producers, chefs, and consumers.

Slow Food is a global, grassroots movement founded in 1989 by Carlo Petrini and a group of passionate individuals. It started when an international fast food franchise expressed its interest in opening a branch at the famous Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy. The citizens protested by sharing a big bowl of penne pasta with the crowds and began chanting “we don’t want fast food, we want slow food.” Perhaps it was the first time that it was officially coined, the tedious processes of producing and preparing various ingredients for select dishes like cheese, wine, fish, meat, as well as the traditional cooking methods have always been practiced in different parts of the world. After that incident in the ‘80s, what started as a protest to fast food grew to a global movement active in over 100 countries.

Sunday, November 22, 2015 DA News, Events, Events-Conferences, Events-Educational, News, Organic, Slow Food