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The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to rollout of Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!—the flagship affordable rice initiative of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.—on Tuesday, September 16, to initially reach more than 57,000 public transport workers across five major cities. From bus, jeepney, and tricycle drivers to transport operators, the transport sector now joins the ranks […]
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has officially declared Camarines Sur free from avian influenza, five months after the province’s last recorded case of the highly pathogenic H5N9 bird flu virus. The declaration, issued through Memorandum Circular No. 27 signed recently follows a comprehensive disease control and surveillance campaign. The last confirmed case was detected […]
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is urging Congress to back its bid to restore and expand the grains purchasing powers of the National Food Authority—a move aimed at bolstering food security by empowering the agency to directly buy corn and rice from local farmers and cooperatives. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the proposal […]
The World Bank is backing a five-year, $70 million initiative to create a co-insurance pool that will cushion Philippine agriculture from escalating climate-related risks. Set to roll out in 2026, the project aims to benefit 750,000 small farmers and fisherfolk by the time it wraps up in 2030, according to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. “The […]
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the official launch in Bien Unido, Bohol of his flagship food program, “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!”, an initiative that makes the P20-per-kilo rice available to thousands of qualified beneficiaries. This flagship initiative of Marcos carried out by the Department of Agriculture is a key step toward delivering affordable food to […]
The Department of Agriculture (DA) launched the expanded rollout of the “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!”—the flagship food program of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.–at select major fish ports in Luzon for the benefit of fisherfolk and registered fishery sector workers. Initially covering the Navotas Fish Complex in Metro Manila, Sual Fish Port in Pangasinan, and the […]
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. fired back at allegations of “ghost deliveries” of fertilizer raised by the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag), calling the claims unfounded and potentially damaging to the Department of Agriculture. “We’ve already admitted before the Senate that there were indeed delays in fertilizer deliveries in Regions 1, 2, and 4B. […]
The Department of Agriculture hailed the Food and Drug Administration’s approval for commercial use of the country’s first vaccine against avian influenza—a disease that has significantly harmed the poultry industry and poses risks to public health—as a major boost to the sector and the government’s food security goal. “With the FDA’s approval of Volvac B.E.S.T. […]
Camarines Sur Governor LRay Villafuerte and Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. inspected the ongoing construction of a P500-million cold storage facility—a major infrastructure project of the Department of Agriculture (DA) that is expected to enhance food security, generate jobs, spur agri-investments, and significantly boost farmers’ incomes in Bicol and nearby regions. “This mega cold […]
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 […]