It was in May 2014 when former President Benigno S. Aquino III decided to transfer the supervision of four agencies attached to the Department of Agriculture (DA) to the Office of the President (OP). Removed from the supervision of the DA were the National Food Authority (NFA), the National Irrigation Administration, Philippine Coconut Authority
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has announced that the country has achieved a 103-percent self-sufficiency in yellow corn production last year, the first in more than two decades. Quoting a report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said gross yellow corn output in 2017 reached 5.811 million metric tons
Indonesia has won an appeal against the EU in a dispute over the bloc’s anti-dumping duty on biodiesel, the Ministry of Trade said in a statement on Wednesday (21/03). The European Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court, ruled that the bloc must do away with anti-dumping duties of between 8.8 percent to 23.3 percent
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) extends substantial support in boosting farm productivity. Technology-sourcing trips and technology-matching sessions abroad are organized by AVA to enable local farmers to learn from other countries’ best practices, and partner with solution providers and technology developers. For instance, a recent technology-sourcing trip in Norway exposed Singaporean farmers to the
A new type of banana, coined as Mongee, has been developed by a Japanese farmer named Setsuzo Tanaka, a technical development manager of D&T Farm in Okayama, Japan. Mongee banana has an edible peel and was invented by using an innovative deep freezing technique. It is made using “freeze thaw awakening,” a new pesticide-free cultivation
Agriculture is facing the same challenges in worldwide. These include water scarcity, limited farmland, shrinking labor, chemical use, increasing demand for protein, and food loss. Technology, particularly information technology, has encouraged the youth to engage in the farm sector to address the problem of aging population in the sector. Companies are also starting to engage
Taiwan plans to ban single-use plastic drinking straws in fast food chains from 2019. Environmental Protection Administration, Minister Lee said today the EPA plans by 2020 to also expand a restriction on free plastic shopping bags to all retail stores that issue uniform invoices while imposing a blanket restriction against offering plastic bags at all
A three-year joint programme (2018-20) has already commenced, under which the Centers of Excellence (COEs) are being set up across the country to train farmers about Israeli farm and water technologies. As many as 28 such centers are being set up under the programme. One new center at Bhuj, Gujarat, will be inaugurated by Prime
India is considering simpler regulations to attract more corporate investment in agriculture as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to keep his promise to double farmers’ income by 2022, an adviser to the government said. Asia’s third-largest economy, more than half the country’s population depend on farming for their livelihood, should relax rules for companies investing
The Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) found that the number of Filipino children who were underweight and “underheight” or stunted increased from 2013 to 2015. Underweight and stunted are defined as children with weight and height below the standard for their age. The prevalence of underweight children aged 0-5 years increased from 20.0 to