MANILA, Philippines (1st UPDATE) – Farmworker-beneficiaries in Hacienda Luisita are expected to receive their land within 1 year, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said on Tuesday. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – The agricultural sector in 2011 felt the full impact of climate change, which thwarted plans by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to raise rice and corn production this year, then moving on to rice self-sufficiency by 2013. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is hoping that 2012 will be a good year for the agriculture sector as the department hopes to finally see results from its preparatory work done this year.

This was the assessment of Agriculture Undersecretary Joel Rudinas who said the DA has not made any downward revision yet of its agri sector growth forecast for 2012 of 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent. Read the rest of this entry »

COMMUNITIES in Southeast Asia face serious food shortages after flooding devastated rice paddies and other crops from the start of September and aid deliveries were disrupted, the United Nations has said. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) have forged a partnership to help farmers and fishermen grow their business.

The two agencies will help farmers and fishermen in business licensing, trade facilitation and export market exposure. Read the rest of this entry »

WASHINGTON — The World Bank on Tuesday launched a new agricultural hedging tool to help farmers in developing countries curb increasing food price volatility. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines — Large-scale conversions of prime agricultural lands in Cavite, Isabela and Quezon into biofuel production areas undermine the agrarian reform program and endanger food security. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines—At a time when college students would rather become nurses, chefs and seafarers, the Commission on Higher Education and the antipoverty NGO Gawad Kalinga have partnered to give agriculture a makeover and attract more students to the rather unpopular course. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – Resource specialists and economists are agreed that the most serious shortage the global economy will face in the next ten to twenty years will no longer be energy. The rising food prices at the beginning of 2011 which have precipitated riots in many parts of the world are symptomatic of the shortages in food that we shall be facing more and more in the coming years as hundreds of millions in the emerging markets, such as China, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Vietnam, and the Philippines graduate from grinding poverty to middle-class status. The most critical resources in the next decade or so will be food and water. More than ever, the Philippines will have to give the highest priority to agricultural development. Fortunately, a focus on agriculture will kill two birds with one stone: reduce poverty, which is predominantly a rural phenomenon, and increase the supply of food for everyone. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture (DA) will push for the creation of agro-industrial plantations through the Convergence Initiative rather than supporting calls from the private sector for an amendment of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Read the rest of this entry »