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The Department of Agriculture (DA) formally accepted the Senate’s challenge to take the lead on farm-to-market road (FMR) projects—a responsibility long held by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). In remarks delivered during the Senate Committee on Finance hearing for the DA’s proposed 2026 budget, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. declared the […]
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. led the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) visit to Batanes, one of the northernmost provinces of the Philippines, to roll out critical support for the local farming and fishing communities. The visit marked the official launch of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s flagship food program–“P20 Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!”–in the province, […]
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the government will extend the ban on rice importation until the end of this year, allow imports only in January 2026, and reimpose the ban in February, to stabilize supply in time for the dry season harvest. Speaking before the House of Representatives’ Committee on Agriculture, Tiu Laurel […]
Philippine Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and Japanese Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi met on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Agriculture and Forestry Ministers Meeting to discuss deeper bilateral cooperation in agriculture, including enhanced trade, technology transfer, and sustainability efforts. A key focus of the bilateral talks was increasing Philippine […]
The National Food Authority (NFA) has mobilized truckloads of rice to storm‑ravaged Masbate—one of multiple relief measures ordered by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.—to alleviate the suffering of tens of thousands of families hit by Severe Tropical Storm Opong over the weekend. “For one month in Masbate, we will be selling ₱20 rice to […]
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is poised to issue an executive order for emergency government procurement of palay, aiming to stabilize prices triggered by adverse weather and a bumper harvest—factors that have blunted the impact of the two‑month rice import ban. Speaking on the sidelines of the House’s 2026 budget […]
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is moving to tighten the country’s rice import policy by extending the current two-month import suspension and raising tariffs on foreign rice, in a bid to stabilize palay prices and protect Filipino farmers during the peak of the harvest season. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. made the announcement, saying the […]
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has lifted its temporary import ban on poultry and related products from Israel and South Dakota in the United States, following the successful containment of recent avian influenza outbreaks in those areas. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. issued separate administrative orders ending the bans, which previously halted the entry […]
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the inauguration of a P61.7 million Rice Processing System (RPS) in this rice-producing town, marking the fifth such facility established in the province of Pampanga under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF). Designated as RPS 2, the newly inaugurated facility features a multi-stage rice mill with a capacity of up […]
From the Committee on Agriculture public hearing, privilege speech, and back-to-back meetings with different agricultural sectors, Senator Kiko Pangilinan wasted no time in fulfilling his campaign promise since returning to the Senate–showing diligence in examining details, grounding discussions on data, and demonstrating a deep grasp of the issues at hand. Most recently, as Chair of […]