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Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. is championing the Bicol region as a major force in the country’s cacao industry, aiming to boost national output while positioning the region as a reliable source of premium beans and specialty chocolate. Speaking at the first Bicol Cacao Congress and the fourth Cacao Festival, Tiu Laurel highlighted Bicol’s […]
The Department of Agriculture launched the latest phase of its flagship food security initiative, “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na! Para sa Magsasaka,” in four additional locations across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. According to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., the P20-per-kilo rice is available in Laoag City (Ilocos Norte), Roxas City (Capiz), Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City […]
A week after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced a two-month suspension of rice importation starting September 1, farm gate prices of palay have begun to rise in six of the 13 key rice-producing regions, according to data from the National Food Authority (NFA). Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the government is closely monitoring […]
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is accelerating the rollout of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s flagship food security program “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!,” which aims to provide rice at P20 per kilo to 15 million households by 2026. On August 29, the DA will include fisherfolk to the growing list of beneficiaries of the affordable rice […]
The maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported rice will remain during the two-month suspension of rice imports ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced. The MSRP for 5 percent broken imported rice was reduced to P43 per kilo from P45 on July 16. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. decided […]
Eighteen warehouses of the National Food Authority (NFA) across Central and Northern Luzon opened their gates, welcoming rice farmers and farm workers seeking access to the P20 ‘Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!’ Rice Project—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s flagship initiative to make rice more affordable for those who grow it. Eligible rice farmers—those tilling two hectares or […]
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and National Irrigation Administrator Eduardo Guillen joined thousands of rice farmers and members of irrigators’ associations across the country’s top rice-producing province to celebrate this year’s Second Dry Season Harvest Festival. During the event, a ceremonial harvesting of palay was conducted on a 5.7-hectare farmland of Arsenio Mallare, a […]
The Philippines and Canada have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening agricultural cooperation during a high-level meeting between Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and Canada’s Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath Macdonald. The two agriculture ministers met recently at the Conrad Hotel in Manila as part of a renewed push to elevate Philippine-Canada agri-fishery trade and […]
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is moving forward with expansion of the P20 rice program of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to smallholder rice farmers despite criticisms of self-styled farmer leaders. Slated for launch on August 13, the initiative will allow millions of rice farmers—those tilling no more than three hectares and registered under the Registry […]
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the decision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to suspend rice imports for 60 days—while holding off on a tariff hike—is a “measured response” to the current challenges faced by rice farmers. “The suspension is a more calibrated action—one that we can quickly reverse if needed,” Tiu Laurel said. “It gives […]