IKOT.PH
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. urged rice farmers in areas served by rice processing systems (RPS) to focus on planting only one to two rice varieties, a move aimed at maximizing operational efficiency. The call comes in response to feedback from local farmers’ cooperatives operating RPS facilities, which emphasized the need to streamline production […]
The Department of Agriculture (DA), under the leadership of Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., has expanded the rollout of the “Benteng Bigas Meron Na!” rice program in the Province of Aklan, reinforcing the national government’s drive to keep rice affordable and accessible to vulnerable Filipino families. Tiu Laurel said the expanded implementation is aligned with […]
Food poverty in the Philippines fell sharply in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the latest OCTA Research Tugon ng Masa (TNM) Survey, signaling easing pressure on households as food access improves and prices stabilize amid government interventions. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. welcomed the survey results, noting that they reflect the impact […]
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. inspected the recently completed P94.8 million rice processing facility of the Hamtic Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Antique, underscoring the government’s push to modernize agriculture and raise farmer incomes in one of the Visayas’ key rice-producing provinces. The Rice Processing System (RPS), located in Barangay Poblacion […]
In a province known as the country’s main producer of rice, the Department of Agriculture is testing the commercial viability of a very different crop: the Australian redclaw crayfish. The DA is hopeful that the high value species can help reshape local aquaculture in Munoz, Nueva Ecija. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel led the ceremonial […]
The Department of Agriculture kicked off the expansion of the Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!, the flagship food program of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., through local government units, betting that scale, tighter logistics, and steady state procurement can bring affordable rice to vulnerable Filipinos while shoring up farmers’ incomes. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. led […]
A quiet but potentially transformative shift in Philippine agriculture is taking shape in this town named after the nut-producing tree, where a P500-million cold storage facility is nearing completion—an investment officials say could reshape farm incomes, stabilize food supply, and anchor a regional food logistics hub in the Bicol region. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel […]
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. is strongly backing the construction of a deepwater port in Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro, describing it as a structural solution to high food prices and long-standing farm-to-market bottlenecks. The proposed P2-billion Abra de Ilog Deep Water Port, to be implemented by the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA), is […]
The Department of Agriculture has approved the Sugar Regulatory Administration’s plan to export 100,000 metric tons of raw sugar to the US in an effort to reduce domestic raw sugar supply, which was a result of last crops 130,000 tons increase in local farmer production, and help lift sagging farmgate prices. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu […]
The government will roll out next week a major expansion of Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!, the flagship food program of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as it sharpens its push to tame food prices while boosting farm incomes, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said. The next phase will kick off in Lingayen, Pangasinan, with the […]