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Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. expressed “disappointment” over Vice President Sara Duterte’s remarks questioning the quality of rice from the National Food Authority (NFA), which is to be sold at P20 per kilo. “With all due respect to the Vice President, the Department of Agriculture (DA) family is deeply hurt by her suggestion that […]
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. instructed the National Food Authority (NFA) to begin repositioning rice stocks to the Visayas in preparation for the launch of the P20-per-kilo rice program. “It will take several weeks to transfer tens even hundreds of thousands of 50-kilo bags of rice from NFA warehouses, particularly from Mindoro, to various […]
The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), under the Department of Agriculture (DA), met its rice mechanization targets in 2024, delivering thousands of machines and expanding its support programs for farmers, cooperatives, and local government units (LGUs). Backed by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF)—a key provision under the Rice Tariffication Law of […]
The National Food Authority (NFA) has built up a buffer stock equivalent to 7.17 million 50-kilogram bags of milled rice—a volume enough to feed all Filipino for nine days. This is the agency’s highest inventory level since the end of 2020, helped by higher palay buying price that averaged P27 a kilo last year and […]
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the launch of the Department of Agriculture’s Agri-Puhunan at Pantawid (APP) program, a comprehensive initiative offering financial and technical assistance to eligible rice farmers. The program includes input credit access, monthly allowances, and intervention monitoring cards. The event in Alabel, Sarangani gathered approximately 2,000 rice farmers from the provinces of Cotabato, Sarangani, […]
The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have intensified their joint Bantay Presyo market monitoring operations across the National Capital Region (NCR) to curb overpricing and protect consumers. This inter-agency initiative aims to ensure compliance with the government’s Maximum Suggested Retail Prices (MSRPs) for essential food items, particularly rice […]
The Department of Agriculture has imposed a temporary ban on the import of both wild and domestic birds from Belgium after the European country reported an outbreak of bird flu. Belgian veterinary authorities had earlier informed the World Organization for Animal Health of an H5N1 High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza outbreak in Sint-Niklaas, Oost-Vlaanderen, Vlaanderen, which […]
Rice farmers in Marinduque are primed for an extra planting season with the delivery of certified inbred seeds, a vital input to the recently adopted double dry cropping system that promises higher farm productivity and farmers’ incomes. Spearheaded by the Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the National Irrigation Administration, this initiative is designed to […]
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. will seek the support of key government agencies, particularly the Central Bank and the Department of Foreign Affairs, in the Department of Agriculture’s renewed effort to revitalize the abaca industry—an essential sector that provides livelihoods for over 1.5 million Filipinos. Abaca, internationally known as Manila hemp, is indigenous to […]
The Department of Agriculture (DA) bestowed the 2024-2025 National Winner of the DA Search for Outstanding Rural Women (SORW) to organic and climate-resilient agriculture practitioner Sonia Padilla of San Miguel, Catanduanes during the culmination of this year’s National Women’s Month celebration (NWMC). In her acceptance speech, Bicol Region’s flagbearer Padilla likened herself to the island […]