Sunday, April 9, 2017

Seaweed Production to Increase


The Philippines used to be the number 1 producer of seaweed or carrageenan since the early 1990s. Seaweed farms ranged from Northern Luzon to Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. The sea between Cebu and Bohol had seaweed farms in the middle between the islands.

Seaweed production was hampered starting in the early 2000s when funding from financial institutions shrank. The Development Bank of the Philippines (DPB) with its Export Finance Unit used to finance seaweed farms and processors based on Letters of Credit. The dynamics of financing and economic policy took its toll when Indonesia overtook the Philippines in carrageenan output in 2008.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) aims to increase output by 5% annually from 2017 to 2022.

“We want to bring back the country as the world’s leading producer of seaweeds such as Euchema and Kappaphycus,” National Seaweed coordinator Irma Ortiz disclosed.

Limited access to financing and credit, dependence on just supplying raw dried seaweed, stunted research and development that benefits seaweed production, lack of market promotion on seaweed products, poor aquaculture support infrastructures and mechanisms and climate resilient technology are cited for the decline in seaweed production. 

BFAR intends to meet these challenges via a 3 point program.

1. Training for seaweed farmers
2. Climate resilient species propagation
3. Training in entrepreneurship for farmers with the aim of being Export Champions

Carrageenan has also been developed into organic fertilizers for rice fields. Now, carrageenan are planned to be used for animal feeds.

This will boost the demand for seaweeds products making the sector more productive and adding to the income of the farmers.

The seaweeds for animal feed come from Pangasinan, La Union and Ilocos Norte. The by products are already being used in the United States and Canada.

Last year, the country’s seaweed production slid 10.3 percent to 1.4 million MT due to the unavailability of planting materials of Cottonii variety, occurrence of disease, decreasing price from traders and high cost of planting materials.

As with regards to the environment, seaweeds contribute to carbon dioxide capture and oxygen generation. The presence of abundant seaweeds reduces organisms that infest other marine life.

Seaweeds are used as extenders, suspenders in beverages and is also utilized for bio-medical requirements





Sunday, April 09, 2017 , ,

Climate Change Resilient Hybrid Rice


The Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. Annually, an average of 20 tropical cyclones affect the country making floods and landslides a yearly event. Owing to its geography, the most productive areas are of course the plains that is also flood plains that floods exacerbate due to the deforested mountains surrounding them.

Its agricultural sector is the worst hit by these climate related phenomena such as severe floods and periods of drought. Rice production is thus one of the hard hit sectors in agriculture. 

The traditional varieties of rice planted can no longer cope with the change in climactic and environmental conditions and the losses suffered by the farmers themselves only contributes to their economic distress. 

Current rice varieties suffer due to lack of irrigation or floods that reduce rice ready for harvest reduced to black grains. By then it is already too late. The farmers endure losses and national rice production, rice being a staple in the Philippines critically affected. This result in importation of rice that also affects the balance of payments of the country notwithstanding food security for the entire population. 

Scientific and technological advances call for a rice variety that is resilient to these factors. Taipan Brand Farm Inc. recently launched PAC 801, a hybrid rice seed from Advanta Seed International (ASI), in several provinces across the country.  This is part of TBFI and ASI’s commitment to providing high quality agricultural seeds to the Philippines.

These hybrid rice varieties were distributed in in Luzon, Occidental Mindoro, Bicol, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Pangasinan, Bulacan and Nueva Ecija, Leyte and Iloilo, Lanao del Norte, Agusan del Sur and North Cotabato.

TBFI disclosed the advantages of the hybrid rice variety PAC 801 Hybrid Rice. These are:

1. Adaptable to wet and dry seasons. The potential of 220 cavans per hectare even through all weather conditions.
2. Longer and slender grains adding to quality

These went along with knowledge dissemination on seedling care, water management, pest and infestation management and even harvesting techniques.





Sunday, April 09, 2017 , , ,

Saturday, April 8, 2017

Food Lane Project in Metro Manila


The traffic situation in Metro Manila has gone from bad to worse. Billions of pesos are lost because of traffic in terms of lost man – hours at work, fuel wastage and reduced ability to transfer goods and service. 

The economic effect also include the transport of perishable agricultural and aquacultural goods. The spoilage of these products are due to increased transport time as a result of traffic.

In order to address this problem, a memorandum of agreement has been signed by the Department of Agriculture (DA), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Philippine National Police (PNP) and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)  establishing food lanes for carriers of these products in Metro Manila.

These food lanes will be located along designated thoroughfares, streets and highways in Metro Manila.

 According to Department of Agriculture Secretary  Emmanuel Pinol, these designated food lanes aims to ensure efficient delivery of agri-fishery commodities, reduce post-harvest losses and transportation costs through eliminating additional fees and unnecessary checkpoints.

“The project is in line with President Duterte’s campaign against corruption and kotong cops by ensuring the elimination of additional fees and checkpoints which actually add to the cost carried by farmers and fisherfolk,” Secretary Piñol disclosed.

The memorandum of agreement among the different government agencies will accredit transport firms, individuals and companies that transport farm and fishery products to enable them to use the food lanes and will be exempted from the currently implemented truck ban.

The Bureau of Animal Industry will register carriers and transports of livestock, poultry and meat products as a requirement for food lane accreditation.

Current data cited that the project will decrease post-harvest losses and other informal transport costs.

There is a need to institutionalize distribution of goods from production sites to the markets in the National Capital Region and adjacent regions.  

The DILG will work with local government units so as the food lane project be given proper cooperation between the national and local governments.

The agri and aqua products covered by the project include fresh fruits and vegetables, livestock and poultry and by-products, eggs, fresh and frozen meat, fish and marine products, processed food products, feeds, fertilizers, seeds among others.





Saturday, April 08, 2017 , , ,

Kalinga Coffee Industry gets Boost from the World Bank



The Philippine Coffee industry started in 1740 when the Spanish colonists planted coffee beans from Mexico. The first coffee plantations were located in Lipa, Batangas. The coffee plants were then introduced in other adjacent areas such as Cavite.

By then, the Philippines was the 4th largest coffee producer in the world. When coffee rust infested the plantations in Brazil and Africa, between 1886 to 1888, the Philippines was the only source of coffee in the entire world. Lipa, Batangas was then the coffee capital of the Philippines.

But the coffee rust infestation reached the country by 1891 and devastated the huge plantations and caused the coffee industry to collapse since coffee farmers resorted to planting new crops. 

It was only in the 1950s that coffee plantations started to recover when Americans introduced new strains of coffee that was resistant to pests and coffee rust. But by then, the Philippines, once ranked at No. 4 has now slipped to No. 110 in worldwide coffee production.

Coffee has been diversified into other regions in the country and is no longer concentrated in the Southern Tagalog Region. One of these regions that plant coffee is the Northern Luzon province of Kalinga.

With the aim of assisting and boosting the coffee industry in the province, the World Bank (WB) has identified five coffee cooperatives that will be the recipient of Php14.8 million in financial assistance.

The five cooperatives are the Dupligan Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Tanudan Savings and Lending Coop, Mananig Multi-Purpose Coop, Gawidan Malin-awa Marketing Coop, and Nambucayan Agricultural Cooperative.

The P14.8-million project cost was approved by the Kalinga Coffee Cluster (KCC) as sub-project under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP)’s enterprise development component that covers production, pre-processing and consolidation of green coffee beans and unroasted coffee.

This is also done in cooperation and coordination with the national government, provincial government that also contributed into providing the funds for the project. 





Saturday, April 08, 2017 , ,

Monday, April 3, 2017

Land Conversion Leads to Rural Poverty


The Philippines is reliant on its agricultural sector even if it has a vibrant BPO industry and Services sector. The Agricultural sector accounts for 11% of the country’s GDP and employs 30% of the workforce.

The country is the No. 8 producer of rice in the world, the top coconut producer in the world, the No. 1 pineapple producer and one of the largest sugar producers in the world.

But the reality is that the Philippines is the No. 1 importer of rice globally. 60% of its population lives in the rural areas where agriculture is the main industry. Also, the rural areas account for60% of national poverty incidence.

One of the reasons for shrinking agricultural productivity and its inability to generate jobs in the rural sector is conversion of agricultural lands to other uses. This is brought about by population pressure for more residential areas but also a skewed economic policy that works to the detriment of the agricultural sector.

According to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), between 1988, when the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) took effect, and 2016, a total of 97,592.5 hectares of agricultural land were approved for conversion to nonagricultural purposes. This is comparable to the combined size of the National Capital Region (NCR) and Metro Cebu.

There are also pending applications for further land conversions. It should be noted that the CARL has failed to alleviate the plight of farmers. The law has a poor support structure to the farmer beneficiaries of the law so that in order to be able to plant their crops, the farmers would then get financing with their land as collateral for the farm inputs. But the economies of scale militated towards the farmers losing money I the transaction and their lands will be forfeited by the lending institutions. 

This led to the lending institutions being awash with real estate assets but the rules of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has strict liquidity level requirements for these institutions. In order to meet those requirements, the institutions had to liquidate the assets and a big portion of these lands were then converted for other uses.

The DAR is now contemplating a two-year ban on land conversions. This will arrest the shrinking of lands devoted to agriculture and together with a comprehensive agricultural policy from the Department of Agriculture, it is hope that the agricultural industry will be revived and will be able to be competitive. This will result in the “inclusion” of the rural poor I the economic development of the country.

(To be continued…) 





Monday, April 03, 2017 , ,

Friday, March 31, 2017

More than 100 thousand coconut trees infested



The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) disclosed that more than 100,000 coconut trees are infested by the “cocolisap” in Zamboanga.

At least 100,000 coconut trees here had been infested with “cocolisap” as farmers struggle to secure chemicals to fight it, according to the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).

Farmers depended on the rains to retard the onslaught of the pests but summer is already here and the  problem is expected to worsen as evidenced by the leaves of coconut trees turning to yellow and then brown.

The PCA in the locality is acting on the problem but infestation has already affected 112,117 coconut trees. This represents 51 villages out of 98 that are already affected.

A state of calamity needs to be declared said Joselino Mirabuena, a PCA agriculturist. They are now limited to disseminating information and recommending that pruning be done by the coconut farmers.

Systematic application of pesticides are the only known solution to combat the infestation. The downside is the cost.  A sachet of the pesticide, which can be used on five coconut trees, costs P280. For the 112,117 infected trees, at least P6.3 million worth of pesticide is needed. Currently, the PCA has no funds set for the acquisition of pesticides.

Another solution is offered by City Agriculturist Diosdado Palacat “We have made a local concoction, from vegetable oil and liquid detergent,” he said. “All you need is power spraying, long sturdy bamboo tubes and farmers who can climb coconut trees,” Palacat added.

The Philippines has been experiencing the “cocolisap” infestation since the year 2014 and has spread to other areas of the country.

The Philippines is the leading copra producer in the world and has already overtaken Indonesia in that category.

This compounds the problem of the coconut industry since the average age of the coconuts have exceeded 20 years old. The planned replacement planting has fallen short of target and a long term crisis is being forecasted if these problems go unchecked.





Friday, March 31, 2017 , ,

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Northern and Eastern Samar farmers severely affected by crop infestation


The Eastern Visayas office of the Department of Agriculture (DA) disclosed that at least 4,000 farmers are experiencing losses due to pest attacks on their crops. 

Nine towns in Northern Samar and seven in Eastern Samar are affected by the infestation.

According to the DA report, bacterial leaf blight and brown plant hoppers have infested 10,291 hectares of rice farms.

The DA according to U-Nichols Manalo, the regional DA head has already offered help to the farmers by sending teams to deal with the infestation.

The teams advised that initial response be that palays that are unaffected be harvested immediately and the ricefields be drained of water.

The infestation has already costed at least 10,57 metric tons of palay that was planted on 3,935 hectares of farmlands. The farmers numbering 3,607 from the towns of San Julian, Sulat, Taft, Dolores, Arteche, Oras and Jipadpad of Eastern Samar were the worst hit by the infestation. The farms of Palapag, Las Navas, Victoria, Allen, Lavezares, Rosario, San Jose and even the provincial capital of Catarman in Northern Samar were also severely affected by the blight.

Some 375 farmers that planted palay to 309 hectares of land saw 234 metric tons of palay destroyed by the infestation.

Farms in the Samar provinces are ravaged by these infestations is due to use of nitrogenous fertilizers, high humidity, indiscriminate use of pesticides that causes ecological imbalance. The pesticides kill even the natural predators that kill the pests.

Northern Samar has 34,988 hectares of land while Eastern Samar has 26,737 hecatres devoted to rice farming.





Tuesday, March 28, 2017 , , ,

Monday, March 27, 2017

Quandary of the PH Sugar Industry


Agriculture PH reported in February this year that the long drawn out issue about High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) importation that is highly damaging to the local sugar industry has been addressed by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA). This was a result of pressure exerted by farmers and sugar industry associations.

The issue stemmed from the importation and use of HFCS in the softdrinks industry. The backdrop of farmers and sugar industry stakeholders having losses worth Php10. Billion annually since 2011 prompted the action. The SRA issued SO 3 that called for the implementation of guidelines in regulating the importation of HFCS.

In a sudden turnabout, Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol ordered SO 3 deferred since the SRA did not consult stakeholders, such as softdrinks manufacturers prior to its issuance of SO 3. 

“There’s a problem with SO 3 of the SRA because it regulates the importation of HFCS, which Coca-Cola uses in producing its soft drinks. Now, Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola appealed to me, saying  they were not properly consulted,” the DA Secretary said.

 It was added that this will also affect the country's ties with China since HFCS were imported from China.

But it is not only with regards to its industry opponents that HFCS is the subject of recent controversy, another dimension is about its effects to health.

HFCS causes the following: 

1. Weight Gain – A Princeton University study discovered that HFCS causes more weight gain than use of refined sugar
2. Cancer – American Association for Cancer Research found that fructose in HFCS promotes cancer growth specifically pancreatic cancer.
3. Fatty Liver and Liver Stress – Fructose causes fat accumulation in the liver. Fructose also overwhelms the liver’s processing capacity. 
4. Increased Cholesterol Levels

Aside from an ambiguous agricultural industry policy that is detrimental to the local sugar industry, the health issue is also a significant and crucial factor to be considered.

Given such, the importation and use of HFCS comes with too high a cost for the country.





Monday, March 27, 2017 ,

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Dagupan City to be an Aquaculture Zone


Dagupan City, known as the bangus capital in Northern Luzon is now being considered as an aquaculture zone by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.

PEZA officials led by Emmanuel Lopez discussed the hosting of an aquaculture zone by the city with Dagupan City officials. 

Dagupan City known for its Bonuan Bangus may enter into packaging and branding the bangus as Dagupan’s Best.

This is but one step in strengthening the aquaculture industry of the city and synergizing the other strengths of Dagupan that includes its current demographic sweet spot in human resources that is backed up by its reputation as a center of education in Northern Luzon owing to the 3 universities, several colleges and other educational institutions in its premises.

He said strengthening the city’s aquaculture industry was a step in the right direction.

This will enable Dagupan City to be technically prepared to meet the demands of the future owing to economic, technological and social dynamics that are ever changing. The technical skills improvement required will be provided by the educational institutions.

This is complemented by the Comprehensive Land Use Plan CLUP of the city that was developed and crafted by the city administration led by Mayor Belen Fernandez. The CLUP is just awaiting approval by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB).

A CLUP guide the city in maximizing its land utilization by assigning areas that will complement each other with regards to human settlement, economic development, disaster risk reduction and management, utilization of natural resources and general economic improvement.

This also addresses on how to optimize the human resources of the city not only for the present but also for the future.  “Sooner or later, artificial intelligence will replace the traditional call centers and we need to be ready for it,” Lopez discloed.

 At the end of the day, what Dagupan needs is a system that works to be a potential economic zone, Lopez said. 





Wednesday, March 15, 2017 ,

Friday, March 10, 2017

Conference for Small and Family Farmers


The 1st National Small & Family Farmers; New & Beginning Farmers Conference will be held on March 20-21, 2017 at SEARCA at UPLB Laguna. This is for all small farmers and farms that are family run.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) the average small scale farms have an average size of 1.29 hectares. Even so, of all the 5.56 million farms 38% are half a hectare or less in size. 

Given this backdrop and also according to the PSA, 60% of the Philippine population resides in the rural areas and thus have agriculture as the main industry for their livelihood, the economic upliftment of the country is now dependent of how the agricultural sector contributes to the national economy.

This serves as the impetus in having a comprehensive developmental plan for the agricultural sector with emphasis on small and family farms of the above mentioned scale. 

Thus, the The 1st National Small & Family Farmers; New & Beginning Farmers Conference, brings together for the first time stakeholders of this very important yet often neglected segment of our agricultural industry. 

Historically, agriculture or farming started out even in pre-historic times wherein the pressure of population gave the necessity of having farms together with the hunter-gatherer segments of a tribe and even a family so as to sustain its food supply.

This changed the usual nomadic existence to a more stable gathering of people for common security and food supply sustainability. Early farms were family owned and run farms. Owing to the size of the family, they can only manage efficiently a relatively small piece of land for their food needs. This form of subsistence farming still continues to this day in the Philippines.

The current small and family farms are run not only for family subsistence but also in integration with a modern economic system and thus also in the context of a modern social and cultural system that integrates domicile, recreation and even education.   

The objective of this conference is promote the creation of systems of farming capable of maintaining their productivity and usefulness to the community. The central theme of this conference is how to mobilize our small and family farmers; new and beginning farmers for food security, sustainable tourism and rural development.

This conference is organized by a network of family farmers advocating promotion of family farming.

The conference aims to bring together a diversity of stakeholders primarily from the grassroots farming community together with professionals and leaders from academia, non-governmental organizations, governmental agencies and policy makers, whose goals and activities support the sustainability of small & family farmers and encouragement of new & beginning farmers. The conference aims to strengthen collaborations and partnerships among stakeholders, and will provide an opportunity to share new ideas in research, extension, and outreach that aim to build resilient farming systems and the quality of life within communities. 

The conference will have plenary sessions, breakout sessions, poster, exhibits and success stories presentation. Pamiliyang Magsasaka Nights

For online registration, please follow this link : http://www.smallandfamilyfarmersconference.com/online-registration






Friday, March 10, 2017 , , , , ,

Monday, February 27, 2017

Tawi-Tawi from Rice Importer to Exporter


Rice being the staple food of the Filipinos has always been a crucial issue not only for the economy but also for politics. It was said that no Filipino leader must touch the issue of rice since it may lead to their downfall.

It is ironic that Philippines being an agricultural country is a net importer of rice. There has never been an instance that the Philippines exported rice with the exception of the year 1977. And not in substantial amounts at that.

Tawi-Tawi Province is at the southernmost tip of the Philippines and is geographically closer to Malaysia than to Manila. 

It is currently relying on imported and even smuggled rice for its sustenance since it is cheaper than locally produced rice which is ironic.

In fact, Tawi-Tawi has less than 200 hectares that is planted to rice and that tells the true story of food supply.

In this regard, Governor Rashidin Matba of Tawi-Tawi has vowed to expand and develop 6,000 hectares of new rice farmlands so as to help the province’s rice industry. This aims to attain self-sufficiency in rice as per the government target of 3 years.

The province has a population of  100,000 and the new farmlands will meet the demand for the staple.  

 “The low price resulted in the province relying mainly on smuggled rice instead of developing its rice industry,”  Department of Agriculture (DA) Secertary Piñol said.

The smuggled rice comes from Vietnam and is then coursed through Malaysia and then finds it way to the markets of the province, Sulu, Basilan and Zamboanga. 

“Tawi-Tawi hopes to reverse its fortune, from a net importer of smuggled rice to an exporter of high quality rice to neighboring Malaysia,” Piñol disclosed.

To complement this, the DA will come in with production enhancers such as seeds, fertilizers, and mechanical equipment, as well as storage facilities and a rice-processing center.

New solar powered irrigation systems will also be introduced to keep farm input costs down to make the price of locally produced rice cheaper.





Monday, February 27, 2017 , ,

Hazardous Work for Minors Updated by DOLE


Historically, Philippine agriculture is an all hands operation for the family. It is not uncommon that the children of farmers end up as farmers themselves in tilling, planting and harvesting the produce of the land that they farm. 

But the Department of Labor and Employment has updated the list of hazardous work that children are banned into performing. 

According to Department Order No. 149-A proscribes banned child labor from farm related activities as follows.

1. Plant propagation activities (grafting, marcotting, budding and weeding of soil)
2. Clearing of land
3. Plowing
4. Harrowing
5. Irrigating
6. Irrigating
7. Constructing of paddy dikes
8. Cutting
9. Handling, spraying and application of harmful fertilizers
10. Handling of pesticides
11. Handling of herbicides and other toxic materials
12. Loading and carrying of heavy loads
13. Stripping and burning of fields

According to the Department Order also listed are activities in post-harvest, minors may not be employed in de-husking, scooping, sacking of products, charcoal making, hauling of products as led by animal guide, loading and unloading of packed farm products, coconut kilning and de-meating from shell or core, sealing and carting of produce for warehousing and transport to market and all ancillary work such as clearing, cleaning, and recycling of farm waste in its preparation as animal food and other related processes.

In livestock farming, work and related activities that are declared hazardous to minors are rearing activities that involve collecting, loading, unloading and transporting of feeds, maintenance and care of large and/or dangerous animals, collecting and disposal of dead animals, animal manure and other waste materials, administering of vaccines and vitamins, and handling of disinfectants used for cleaning animal pens/enclosures or for disinfecting animals.

In harvesting activities, work and activities that involve catching or collecting, ranching, and milking in preparation for warehousing or transport to market, and post-harvest activities including the packaging and processing of dairy and other animal by-products in preparation for warehousing and transport to market; and working in slaughterhouses or abattoirs.


According to DOLE, the best interest of children is the paramount consideration to ensure that their employment does not endanger their life, safety, health and morals, nor impair their normal development.

This is based on DO 149-A, series of 2017, issued on January 16, 2017, is an amendment to Department Order no. 149, series of 2016 on “Guidelines in Assessing and Determining Hazardous Work in the Employment of Persons below 18 years of age” particularly Section 6 – B “on Hazardous Work and Activities”, subsection (i) Farmers and Other Plant Growers and (ii) Animal Producers.







Monday, February 27, 2017 ,

Friday, February 24, 2017

Small Farmers and Jollibee in Farm Entrepreneurship Program


Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) continues with its Farmers Entrepreneurship Program (FEP)  with Filipino farmers for 9 years. Launched in 2008, the program helps small farmers by integrating them with its supply chain for its giant fastfood business.

Initiated by the Jolibee Group Foundation (JGF), the farmers through their cooperatives supplies the vegetable requirements of the fastfood chain. Currently, supplying 20% to 30% of the the vegetable requirements, they aim to increase the participation by adding 3 more cooperatives in 2017 according to JGF Executive Director Giselle Tiongson.
.  
 “We’re also looking at additional sites possibly in Calabarzon, Luzon and Metro Manila,” Tiongson disclosed

Farmers and cooperatives from the Visayas and Mindanao are also being considered in increasing the local supply component.

 “We are continuously looking for partners such as local government units and micro-finance institutions that will help the farmers,” added Tiongson.

One participant in the FEP has doubled his income since being part of the program and is presently earning Php1.5 million annually. 

Instead of just being limited to supplying the public wet markets, the contract farming under the FEP also has assistance from micro-finance institutions and the Local Government Units (LGUs)

This enables the farmers to program their production and output and has enabled them to be more financially and economically independent as farmers should be.

Their crops include palay, onions, and corn including “siling labuyo”.

This guarantees their income and have a stable customer base for their products.

With the guaranteed market, these farmers need not go into the usual mortgage of their lands so as to begin planting of their crops. This comes about because they are backed up by cooperatives that give guarantees to the micro-finance institutions.

Such exposure as being a supplier to a fastfood giant also opens up opportunities to other  industry markets that require farm and agricultural produce such as restaurants chains and food processors.






Friday, February 24, 2017 , ,

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Bitter-Sweet Symphony. Philippine Sugar Industry vs. HFCS


In 2011,  Sugar Watch, composed mainly of labor groups and agrarian reform beneficiaries initiated a boycott of Coca-Cola products nationwide if  the Coca Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. (CCBPI) refused to heed their call to stop importing sugar premixes and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and instead use domestically produced sugar. They were joined by the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations, National Federation of Sugarcane Planters, United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines, and other independent sugar groups. 

But the CCBPI replied that premix importations of HFCS’ have always complied with government’s Tariff Code and does not violate any of its provisions. The company cited that it also buys locally produced sugar but refused to give the exact volume citing “competitive information” reasons.

HFCS is sourced from corn syrup and Coca Cola has been cited in many other countries for substituting it for sugar as in cases also in Mexico.

HFCS comes as a cheaper sugar substitute since the corn industry in the United States, a top corn producer in the world is highly subsidized by the US government.

Thus, the battle lines has been drawn since 2011.

Recently,  a forum on the HFCS issue was conducted undertaken by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA). This was the first held outside of Quezon City being hekld at Ormoc City for the first time. This was participated in by the SRA Board and attended and lauded by 70 sugar farmers and associations.    

The SRA issued an order to regulate the importation of HFCS in the country.

Importation of HFCS is proving to be detrimental to the local sugar industry with losses amounting to billions of pesos. HFCS imports recently surged to an equivalent of 5 million bags of sugar that affected the prices of locally produced sugar and hurt the welfare of sugar farmers.

“Non-compliance with the provisions,” SRA warned, “shall subject the importer or consignee to the penalties provided under Sugar Order No. 10, series of 2009-2010, as amended by Sugar Order No. 10-A, series of 2009-2010, without prejudice to any other administrative and/or legal action that the SRA may pursue.”

Ever since the collapse of the Philippine Sugar Industry in the 1970’s, the once mighty industry sector has never fully recovered. Philippine sugar was once one of the twin towers of the Philippine agricultural industry, the other tower being the coconut industry. Even during this time, most of the Philippine population resides in the rural areas and poverty incidence has remained high in this. In fact, 60% of those living in poverty come from the rural areas.

The sugar industry needs all the help it can get to be more competitive again. Importation of HFCS will be like driving nails into the coffin of the industry.





Tuesday, February 21, 2017 ,

Monday, February 13, 2017

Mangroves potential lab for antibiotics



Philippine mangrove ecosystems have abundant bacteria whose bioactive compounds can be used to produce powerful antibiotics, according to research conducted by the University of the Philippines in Los Baños (UPLB) and Department of Science and Technology-National Research Council of the Philippines.

DOST-NRCP researcher Teofila Zulaybar of UPLB was able to isolate bioactive compounds from actinomycetes bacteria found in 10 mangrove areas in 10 provinces in the country.

The research positively tested its efficacy in treating mastitis in cows by targeting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), its main causal organism. 

MRSA is a bacteria resistant to many antibiotics. Staphylococcus and MRSA can cause a variety of problems ranging from skin and bloodstream infections to pneumonia. 

Zulaybar was also able to screen which of the actinomycetes isolates are more effective in inhibiting the growth of different organisms other than MRSA that cause mastitis.  

Analysis of the biochemical properties of these actinomycete isolates is still ongoing but may soon be ready for patent application.

Zulaybar said that the isolates could serve as a new line of drugs for veterinary health. 

The next step in her study would be the formulation of antibiotic cream, ointment or an injectible form using the isolated bioactive compound from actinomycetes for treating mastitis in dairy cattle, she said.  

She called on other researchers to engage more in bioprospecting of novel microorganisms from rare environments that are yet to be studied in which potentially valuable compounds may be obtained for medicinal use and drug development.

Zulaybar is a member of a team of researchers from the UPLB-National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) doing research on indigenous actinomycetes. The team is led by Irene Alcantara-Papa.

The DOST-NRCP noted that the Philippines’ antibiotics supply is heavily dependent on imports.
Actinomycetes, the DOST-NRCP explained, are microorganisms that are crucial in the production of metabolites such as antibiotics, anti-tumor agents, immunosuppressive agents (or anti-rejection drugs often used by liver, kidney or heart transplant patients) and enzymes. 
These metabolites can be anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-cancer, anti-algal, anti-malarial, and with anti-inflammatory activities.

In the ongoing R&D on indigenous actinomycetes of the BIOTECH-UPLB, 272 actinomycetes in its collection have already been screened against organisms, among them MRSA.

MRSA is a form of bacterial infection difficult to treat because it is resistant to some antibiotics such as methicillin, amoxicillin, penicillin and oxacillin. 

Of the 272 studied, 19 actinomycetes inhibited five strains of MRSA while 14 showed activity against the others.

Papa said that this research is essential for the continued search for novel bioactive compounds that could be used as antimicrobials, thus eventually enhancing the Philippine’s self-sufficiency and lessening importation of vital drugs.

Source: http://www.philstar.com/science-and-environment/2017/02/09/1670273/mangroves-potential-lab-antibiotics





Monday, February 13, 2017 , ,

Fish-yalan broodstock area at the Hundred Islands



Farm Tourism is one of the bright spots in the Philippine Tourism sector. There are now farms that are part of guided tours. It has developed from its nascent stages way back in the early 1980s with Villa Escudero as a prime example.

Not wanting to be left behind, the Hundred Islands in Alaminos, Pangasinan will not just offer white sand beaches, island hopping and water sport activities but  “Fish-yalan” as well. 

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)’s Regional Mariculture Technology Demonstration Center just opened to tourists its broodstock area with the aim of educating people on raising high-value species.

“We have our Fish-syalan here,” said Martin Allayban, head of BFAR Cariaz Island broodstock development center. 

Fish cages will be found in the island. 

 “Our fish here are not commonly seen by people… like pompano and grouper that weighed up to two kilos each not commonly seen by people in the market,” Allayban disclosed.

The site is Cariaz Island and has broodstock of malaga, pompano, abalone, grouper, snapper, including seaweeds. 

Initially brought weighing only at 250 grams each, they were then placed in fish cages for 5 to 6 years.

The fish for broodstock purposes were given enriched feeds as supplements in order to boost gonadal developments that will result in the production of good quality eggs.

BFAR Region 1 Assistant Regional Director Rosario Segundina Gaerlan disclosed that the center was initially for research purposes eventually went to production of said fishes.

The foray into farm/aquaculture tourism will not only boost tourism revenues but also serve as training areas for those who want to engage in the culturing and production of the above-mentioned fish species for commercial and livelihood purposes.





Monday, February 13, 2017 , ,

Raising Native Chickens

Philippine Native Chickens

During my youth, we had a large family compound. Although we had a front fence, there were no fences between houses and a creek ran at our back yard. I grew up familiar with chickens, ducks, geese and even pheasants. The chickens were native of course and they ranged freely, laid eggs and their eggs hatched and they had chicks, same way with the geese, ducks and pheasants. It was rare that they had to be butchered since we bought our eggs and chickens for food from the public market. They were more or less treated as pets and part of the clan wealth.

The Vantress and Peterson chickens were part of my science experiment in grade school and I managed to breed them and they grew faster than the native chickens and they were also bigger. But they were not for consumption too since they were my “experiment.

As time went on, the need for increasing the sizes of the houses in the compound meant that there will be less space for them. The time came that the native chickens, ducks and other fowls died out and they no longer bred. It was my science experiments that survived the longest but they were no longer free ranging but were kept in coops.

Little that I know that the time will come when native chickens would be scarce in our community and can be only available in the public market. 

I the current setting, native chickens are still raised in rural areas and accounts for 46% of the country’s total chicken population (76 million). Being native chickens, they catch a premium price in the mrket and is a source of additional income for the poor rural households.

Recognizing this, the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) through its Industry Strategic Science and Technology Program (ISP) for Native Chicken, has developed guidelines to enhance these raisers’ pastures and range areas to further improve production.

As with our past experience, native chickens must have a large but confining area. The chickens are free range as it is called now. The chickens can forage for their own food while having an environment where they can even ensconce themselves in the dirt and soil. 

Thus, DOST-PCAARD developed range enhancement strategies and supplemental feeding protocols. These will enable the owners of the chicken to maximize their income potential with healthier native chickens that can then be sold in the market.

A combination of farm-mixed feed and commercial feed is also encouraged and part of the management process for native chickens. Fresh drinking water must also be provided at all times.  Kitchen discards can form part of the nutritional requirements of the chickens. It is recommended by DOST-PCAARRD that a range area of at least two- meter per bird is recommended for free range area.  Vegetation may be planted which would serve as food for breeder chickens.

The planting of edible vegetation improves the quality of the existing range area for native chicken. Good quality forages are nutritious, palatable, highly digestible, and non-toxic and has anti-nutrient compounds. Some forage species are carabao grass, pinto peanut, Madre de Agua, Guinea grass, signal grass, and centrosema.

Other forage species include ‘gabi’, ‘malunggay’, Azolla, and duckweeds.

Raisers may also opt to use kitchen waste and farm by-products such as ‘sapal,’ rice/corn bran, fruit rinds, kitchen waste/leftover food, and vegetable rejects  such as ‘pechay,’ ‘kangkong,’ ‘mustasa,’ sweetpotato, and ‘alugbati.’ Fresh drinking water should be provided at all times.





Monday, February 13, 2017 , ,
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