Philippines

Cebu City — The Cebu provincial government vowed to continue to provide equipment for programs involved in the improvement and progress of the agricultural sector here. This came after Governor Hilario Davide said his goal is to achieve the food security agenda for the entire province. A projection of 1.4 million Filipinos will be at risk of hunger by 2030 and another 2.5 million, 20 years… Read more

TAGUIG CITY, Jan. 3 (PIA) -- The National Nutrition Council-National Capital Region will partner local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila to further intensify its nutrition campaign this year.  During the program implementation review (PIR) of the local media campaign, NNC-NCR and the LGU representatives decided to use multimedia strategies combined with interpersonal… Read more

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is pushing for the conservation of Philippine Rise, an undersea region east of Luzon, for it to be a rich food source for Filipinos. “We are advocating the declaration of the Philippine Rise as a Protected Food Supply Exclusive Zone,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said in his keynote speech at the 14th Regular Session of the Western and Central… Read more

The province of Benguet has been making a mark in the international market as a sourcing hub for premium agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, coffee, and other highland crops. With more than half of its residents or 100,000 farmers toiling on more than 30,000-hectare farms scattered in vegetable-producing towns, Benguet is living up to its moniker as the “Salad Bowl of the… Read more

A research team from the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) recently bagged the 2017 Excellent Research Team of the Year Award by the Japan-based Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA).  The team was awarded for developing the Plant Food Supplement (PFS) through the successful use of radiation technology. The Japanese government… Read more

An international agricultural company urged Filipino farmers on Wednesday to further employ biotechnology in food production, citing that the Philippines as the pioneer Southeast Asian country to initiate a biotechnology regulatory system. Monsanto Company, a publicly traded US multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology firm, said the Philippines ranked 12th worldwide in… Read more

The Philippines has begun implementing sustainable fishing reforms with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) as a partner providing critical support for science and policy, saying that it would establish these reforms for its major commercial fisheries by 2022. “Healthy fisheries are critical to the well-being of all Filipinos, and we are committed to making fishing sustainable nationwide,”… Read more

Any businessman understands that he is required to shell out money before profiting from his ideas. If he intends to expand, he would have to spend more money to earn more. There is a Filipino expression which goes, “Laway lang ang puhunan”. But rare is a business venture that succeeds just by investing only laway, or all talk. Just like businessmen, governments know that they need to spend… Read more

MANILA — On October 17 to 20, around 5,000 Visayan farmers, farm workers, and fisherfolk will gather in Cebu City to demand food security, justice, and end to repression. Dubbed as ”Lakbayan ng Visayas 2017,” the three-day activities will be held simultaneous with the Lakbay Magsasaka, the Luzon peasant protest caravan in Manila. John Ruiz, the coordinator of Bayan Muna Central Visayas… Read more

As the country celebrates national peace consciousness month, we are reminded about the role of peace in food security. Sometime last year, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released a publication entitled, “Peace and Food Security: Investing in Resilience to Sustain Rural Livelihoods Amidst Conflict.” Conflict-ridden areas are characterized by shortages in… Read more