Dr. Alexis De Manuel who pioneered the use of Mykovam in Mindanao
Dr. Joy Zarate and UPLB students making a documentary about the uses of Mykovam
COUNCILOR Alex Paglumotan said Bacolod City will be holding a fisherman’s congress to deliberate marine policies for the protection of common coastal areas.
Paglumotan said he would meet with fishers and fishing organizations in the city and would tap the services of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar). He would also ask the help of city agriculturist Goldwyn Nifras to ensure the success of the congress.
The councilor noted that some fishermen complained of not being prioritized by the City Government in the delivery of services. But he said it has always been the city’s plan to uplift and pump-prime the condition of Bacoleños, especially those living in coastal areas.
Paglumotan emphasized the congress could be the venue to map out strategies and to form a guiding policy for the city to implement in support of Republic Act 8550 or the Fishery Code of the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Paglumotan said the scheduled Chicken Inasal Festival in Bacolod would take off historically on May 15-20, 2009 at the Manokan country area covering the whole Ferrero Street bounded by Ferrero Rizal and Ferrero Burgos Streets.
He said the festival aims to showcase in Bacolod and all over the country how the city became famous through its chicken inasal. Paglumotan cited that in some provinces and even in Manila, there are already some branches of Bacolod chicken inasal. “The festival aims to prove why Bacolod chicken inasal matters the most against other chicken inasal in the country.”
He said Mayor Evelio Leonardia will spearhead the activity as honorary chairman. “This would be another showcase of Bacolod’s pride aside from the MassKara Festival,” he added.
Paglumotan hopes the private sector would also support this newest city festival, which could also evolve into another major tourist destination similar to MassKara.
Leonardia said that even in Manila, stores carry the name “Bacolod” to promote chicken products. He said chicken inasal is one that gives Bacolod an identity. (MAP)
Source: Sun Star
TOP local and international companies have thrown their support behind the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc.’s (NFHFI) 18th hog convention and trade exhibits, which bring together the best practices and services related to the hog industry.
“We’re very fortunate to have the backing of some of the biggest names in the swine industry,” said NFHFI president Albert R.T. Lim Jr. “And we’re looking forward to a stronger partnership with them as we continue to work in ensuring safe and adequate pork production.”
The 18th hog convention and trade exhibits will be held at the World Trade Center in Metro Manila from April 23-25. The theme of the convention is “Leading the Way to Self-Sufficiency and Sustainability in Pork Production.”
The three-day event is open to the public (free admission) and will showcase the latest and state-of-the-art equipment and services for the industry. It will also conduct a series of seminars on various subjects such as swine management prevention and eradication of common swine diseases and swine genetics, among others.
Lim noted: “We have gathered the best and the brightest industry players and individuals not only in the Philippines but also from other countries to share their knowledge on how we can further improve our sector.”
Aside from the major and minor sponsors, more than 75 companies and organizations have signed on to exhibit their latest innovation and services to assist hog farmers – whether commercial or backyard growers.
Another special feature of the convention is the conduct of the second backyard hog farmers congress, which focuses primarily on the needs of backyard hog raisers and on how they can further enhance their livelihood. It will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, also at the World Trade Center.
“We started the backyard hog farmers congress last year because we want to help and reach out to the backyard hog producers and provide them with all the possible assistance to enable them to succeed in producing good quality hogs for the market,” Lim said in a statement.
The country’s hog sector is a P150-billion industry. Backyard hog raisers make up 73 percent of the industry while 27 percent are commercial hog producers.
Department of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap will be the keynote speaker during the opening ceremonies, which will start at 9 a.m. on April 23.
MOTORISTS can expect gasoline blended with locally-produced ethanol to be rolled out in Luzon and the Visayas in the next few weeks.
This as the San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. (SCBI), the country’s first integrated fuel ethanol distillery and power cogeneration facility, has delivered its first shipment of 1.6 million liters to Petron last March 16.
The delivery was preceded by a volume lifted by truck for the Visayas market last March 13.
SCBI’s production is geared towards meeting part of the country’s fuel ethanol requirements as mandated by the Biofuels Law of 2006. The fuel ethanol meets the Philippine National Standards set by the Department of Energy (DOE).
Located in San Carlos City in Negros Occidental, SCBI is positioned to deliver on the twin objectives of energy security and environmental sustainability. The project will displace approximately 15 percent of the country’s imported petroleum, based on the five percent mandate to be implemented from 2009 to 2011.
The construction of the facility commenced last quarter of 2006 prior to the passage of the law. With the commissioning stage nearing completion to date, the distillery will continue its production in full swing as planned. The plant has the capacity to mill 1,500 tons of sugarcane per day to produce 30 million liters of ethanol annually and approximately eight megawatts of renewable power.
Developed by Bronzeoak Philippines, San Carlos Bioenergy’s equity capital was raised domestically through the National Development Company, the government’s investment arm; Majent Group of the Jimenezes, and local shareholders San Julio Realty and Valmayor Ventures. International funding was infused by FE Clean Energy of New York.
Source: Sun Star
A Filipino agricultural scientist is promoting the use of biotech seeds to help local farmers increase crop yields.
Dr. Calixto Protacio, a professor of agronomy at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños, said “biotech seed is a weapon that reaches the farmer and does not need to be trained on improved technology to benefit from the crops grown through genetic improvement.” Reports said biotech is the most rapidly adopted new farming technology in history.
Protacio noted that improved technology seldom reaches the intended targets and that extension workers are not trained appropriately to impart the new knowledge.
“Biotechnology’s potential is to bring science to the countryside even without extension workers. How? Just by giving the farmer improved seed,” Protacio, a US-trained scientist, said.
“If we can incorporate into a seed all that science has to offer, then the fruits of science (actually a seed) would have reached the farmer. This scheme fits in the natural cycle of agriculture where a farmer will secure the best seed he can get,” he said.
Apart from these seeds, he said biotech product may also be a tissue-cultured plantlet.
“But even if produced by tissue culture, especially if by somatic embryogenesis, synthetic seeds can also be produced by encapsulating the somatic embryo in a suitable gel-like medium usually along with everything that the embryo will need- just like a natural seed,” he explained.
Protacio said so far the promise of biotechnology has only been realized commercially in corn.
“Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn’s built-in crop protection capability has reduced the chemical-related expenses for growing the crop and the farmers seem to find it cost effective,” he said.
“The herbicide resistance also incorporated in corn is also relevant to our aging farmers as less labor is required to weed the extensive corn fields,” Protacio said.
He said that while there has been enormous success in propagating Bt corn in the country, commercial seeds developed by biotechnology still have to make their mark in the rice farms and coconut plantations.
“The reason for this is that the private industry invested heavily in corn biotechnology research unlike in the two other crops. Biotech research in rice and coconut are primarily publicly funded. However, the fact that public money is spent on this crops promises that the crop eventually developed will be more relevant to the farmers and the general population,” Protacio said.
Protacio said increasing crop yield would help the government fight hunger and poverty in the country.
The biotech expert also said that government has been working hard to develop “Golden Rice,” which have genes that carry vitamin A. Vitamin A is crucial in battling blindness.
“Nonetheless, experts are still arguing over the practical impact of Golden Rice since vitamin A levels in the variety are still and research has to be done to boost the capability of the strain to harbor a bigger amount of the nutrient,” he said.
Written by: Helen M. flores
Source: Philippine Star
The Department of Agriculture-Biotechnology Program Office (DA-BPO) is eyeing to develop Central Luzon as a hub for agricultural biotechnology products and has conducted a series of seminars in the region to promote the cultivation of crops with many byproducts to raise rural incomes and improve nutrition.
Zambales Governor Amor Deloso and Bataan Vice Governor Serafin Roman attended the seminars in their provinces.
These seminars were attended by farmers, educators, businessmen, non-government organizations (NGOs) and representatives of local government units (LGUs).
Malunggay production was a key topic in the seminars since the versatile tree has proven to be a major source of iron, Vitamin A, zinc and other micronutrients crucial to the improvement of health among children and adults alike.
DA-BPO officials led by Director Alicia Ilaga have been crisscrossing the country to expand the hectarage devoted to malunggay cultivation and in the process have increased the business opportunities offered by the lowly malunggay (scientific name Moringa oleifera Lmk).
Malunggay has also been known to increase the motility of sperm and improve lactation among nursing mothers, which is a boost to children who need to suckle their mothers in order to avoid contracting primary complex, which leads to lung diseases in adulthood.
Other studies conducted in India and other countries showed that the roots of malunggay have anti-cancer agents that can be isolated and used profitably by the global pharmaceutical industry.
Moreover, LGUs interested in joining the biofuel bandwagon also have a ready energy source in malunggay since its trunk can be used to produce ethanol while its seeds are a fount of biodiesel.
Central Luzon is known is the primary rice producer of the Philippines, with 525,700 hectares of land devoted to the staple. Nueva Ecija alone produces about eight percent of the total national production of palay.
The total hectarage for rice comprises 41 percent of the region’s total territory.
Other agricultural products in the region are sugarcane, corn, mango and cutflowers.
In Zambales alone, 25,412 hectares are utilized for rice production.
On the other hand, Bataan has 29,938 hectares earmarked for rice cultivation.
In the seminars conducted by DA-BPO, participants were shown malunggay’s potential as a commodity that has various applications and even bakeries, pastry shops and noodle manufacturers are now using malunggay leaves as ingredients for their products, some of which have already penetrated the international market.
Secura International president Danilo Manayaga also joined the seminars and discussed how how Moringa oil can be profitable for malunggay growers.
He further said that as the world market shifts to biofuel as a primary energy source, the demand for Moringa oil will rise tremedously.
In an interview, Vice Gov. Roman said Bataan is now ready to make malunggay a primary product.
“Bataan is a mountainous area, so maraming upland farming, ang malunggay ay hindi nangangailangan ng maraming tubig, kaya kung upland farming, suitable ang lugar para sa pagtatanim ng malunggay,” he adds.
When asked on the province’s stand on biotechnology, he said Bataan has been cultivating Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn to help the farmers gain more profit. Corn is a prime crop in Bataan.
Roman added other crops like coconut and cassava are open to enhancement through biotechnology.
While the land devoted to farming is small, the people of Bataan are very keen on intensifying agricultural production through the efficient use of farms.
Lagundi, another plant that has gained fame for its medicinal properties, is cultivated in Bataan. A pharmaceutical company in Bagac is planting it and manufacturing various preparations from the active ingredient derived from the plant.
There is also a plan to set up a malunggay nursery in the province to help boost the growing malunggay industry. This, he said, will be realized through the collaborationn of the LGUs and the DA-BPO.
Biotechnology is a major part of Gov. Deloso’s vision to develop Zambales as a key agricultural producer.
His long term plan for Zambales is to create a community that can stand on its own. Biotechnology should play the role of realizing the industrialization of the province as well.
Deloso said that while the province is undergoing industrialization, biotechnology should take care of the food and nutrition needs of the people of Zambales.
“Napapabayaan,” this was his answer when asked on the status of malunggay farming in the province. “Hindi talaga tinutuunan ng pansin. Pero kung mayroon talagang magbibigay ng primary concern diyan, lalaki kasi we can easily adapt to malunggay.”
He also revealed the provincial government’s plan to buy malunggay seedlings and distribute it to his constituents.
Zambales is also working on a project to build a biogas plant, where waste generated by Zambales, including Olongapo, will be used to produce butane.
Aside from Bataan and Zambales, a malunggay nursery has been put up in Tarlac earlier in this year.
This was done through the initiative of BIONet-Pilipinas, an organization that aims to help farmers and stakeholders reach their products to the market, DA-BPO and the LGU. (biolife news service)
Source: Philippine Star
ZARAGOZA, Nueva Ecija , Philippines — Mayor Lydia Pagaduan yesterday expressed high hopes that Nueva Ecija will someday become the “hybrid rice granary of the Philippines.”
“Sa nalaman kong napakalaki ng inyong inaani taon-taon sa pagtatanim ng hybrid rice, magagawa natin ito if we will join hands to make our province the country’s No. 1 producer of hybrid rice,” she said during a brief talk before farmers at a hybrid rice festival held here the other day.
Among those present during the festival were Espie Martines, Land Bank account manager; Henrry Lim, SL Agritech chairman and CEO; Josie Farnacio, special assistant to the chairman of SL Agritech and Doy Carino, SL Agritech provincial sales manager.
Serafin Santos, Nueva Ecija provincial agriculturist, said the province is expected to register an all-time production record of hybrid rice this year despite the recent rice scare that swept the province. Of the total rice area in the province, some 41,000 hectares were planted to hybrid rice, mostly SL-8H variety produced by SL Agritech Corp., and the rest planted to inbred rice variety.
According to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) “2007 Rice Figures in the Philippines,” Nueva Ecija had an average production of 1.13 million metric tons since 2002, followed by Isabela, 1.006 MT; Pangasinan 832,114 MT; Iloilo, 763,893 MT; Cagayan, 548,369 MT; and Tarlac 469,316 MT.
Bentro Bayudan, chairman of the 184-strong Alizar Farmers Support Team Multi-Purpose Cooperative of the towns of Zaragoza and Aliaga, said his group, which is managing a 500-hectare farm planted to SL-811 hybrid rice, is expecting a good harvest early next week.
Rodolfo Bernardo, a former sales officer of a pharmaceutical firm in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, said he was a near victim of the rice scare report.
“Kamontik ko ng pinaararo ang aking tanim sa aking walong ektaryang lupa sa Llanera at Talavera. Sa tingin ko rito, the quality of the SL-8 seeds is all that matters. Magaling talaga. Next week, I expected to harvest a little more than 200 cavans per hectare. Last year, I made 185 cavans compared to 70 to 80 I used to get from the inbred variety,” Bernardo, who is a holder of a bachelor of science degree in engineering said.
Farmers Antonio Bac Jr., Gerardo Simon and Angelina Jaballa of Zaragoza. And Michael Relucio, Guillermo Santos and Florencio Pascua, of Aliaga, were one in saying that planting the SL-8H seeds variety “has already become our habit.”
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) has discovered new parasitoid insects which could prove to be of great importance in the country’s continuing battle against Brontispa longissima which has previously attacked more than 1.6 million coconut trees nationwide.
“Our research center in the Davao City has identified two indigenous small insects that parasitize Brontispa by laying their eggs in the larva or pupa of the pest” PCA Administrator Oscar G. Garin said.
He said the PCA-Davao Reseach Center conducted a study where a total of 1,948 parasitoid adults were released in infested barangays in Region XI and parallel laboratory tests.
“The parasitoids collected in the field inflicted about 30-50 percent parasitism on the pest’s larva or pupa” Garin noted, adding that laboratory results showed that seven to 47 adult parasitoids emerged from one larva/pupa 18 to 26 days from injection for parasitization.
“With the earwigs, we now have three indigenous species for biological control of this foreign pest” the administrator enthused as he underscored the need to adopt a long-term integrated pest management system.
Garin advised the use of chemical insecticides through trunk injection or spraying to be done only in severe cases and at first treatment, with the long term and sustainable approach to be comprised of biological control, use of entomophatogen fungi, good farming practices and strict quarantine controls.
“Our research centers are now mass rearing these parasitoids for immediate use in areas that may suffer recurrence of Brontispa infestation” he concluded. – Coconut Media Service
The damage inflicted by the Cecid fly on mango fruits, more popularly known as ‘Kurikong,’ is becoming an important concern of mango growers in many parts of the country.
Affected fruits are usually unmarketable because of the circular black or brown scabby lesions on the skin of the fruits. Both small and big fruits are affected. If the infestation is early, the affected young fruits usually drop from the tree.
On the other hand, affected fruits that reach maturity are unattractive and if they can be sold at all, they fetch a very low price. Some of the affected fruits also crack, according to the BPI experts.
The Cecid fly is a small mosquito-like insect that is active at night so spraying should be done at night or late in the afternoon. It lays its eggs on the developing fruits. If the mango tree is not in fruit, the Cecid fly lays its eggs on the leaves, causing circular protuberances on the surface.
The egg and larval stages are spent in the fruit while the pupal stage is spent in the ground, according to the BPI. The adult lives for only three to five days. Being small, the adults can be carried by wind. The pupa can be introduced in a new place when infested soil of planting materials is transported to that new place.
The BPI advises mango growers to undertake early precautionary measures so that adults will not develop and spread. This will also avoid damage to young fruits.
Here are preventive measures recommended by the BPI. One is pruning after harvest to allow light penetration in the crown and to reduce relative humidity. The experts point out that the insect prefers to stay in crowded and shady areas in the tree canopy.
Another recommendation is to keep the mango plantation free of weeds and grasses. The pest is observed to be rampant in weedy and uncultivated areas.
Bagging the fruits is also an effective method of avoiding Kurikong damage. Bag the fruits about 40 days from flower induction. Fallen fruits should be collected and burned or sprayed with insecticide.
Meanwhile, Kurikong will be one of the topics that is expected to be taken up at the National Mango Congress which will be held from April 27 to 29 at the Bohol Convention Center in Tagbilaran City.
Written by: Zac sarian
Source: Manila Bulletin
The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) has discovered two new parasitoid insects which could help control the dreaded Brontispa longissima which has previously attacked more than 1.6 million coconut trees nationwide. This was announced by PCA administrator Oscar G. Garin.
Brontispa is a beetle that feeds on the emerging leaves of coconut trees, seriously damaging them and making them unproductive. In severe situations, the trees could be killed.
“Our research center in Davao City has identified two indigenous small insects that parasitize Brontispa by laying their eggs in the larva or pupa of the pest,” Garin said during the recent Brontispa in-house evaluation and action planning session held at the PCA in Quezon City.
Garin revealed that the PCA-Davao Research Center conducted a field release evaluation where a total of 1,948 parasitoid adults were released in infested barangays in Region 11 and parallel laboratory tests.
The parasitoids collected in the field inflicted about 30 to 50 percent parasitism on the pest’s larvae,” he said adding that laboratory results showed around 7 to 47 adult parasitoids emerged from one larva 18 to 26 days from injection for parasitization.
“With earwigs, we now have three indigenous species for biological control of this foreign pest,” Garin enthused as he underscored the need to adopt a long-term integrated pest management system.
The administrator further stressed that use of chemical insecticides through trunk injection or spraying should only be done in severe cases and at first treatment. The long term and sustainable approach should comprise of biological control, use of entomophatogen fungi, good farming practices and strict quarantine controls.
He added that PCA’s research centers are now mass rearing the parasitoids for immediate use in areas that may suffer recurrence of Brontispa infestation.
Source: Manila Bulletin
