Agriculture.ph Blog

Angara sponsors bill to develop idle farm lands, generate harvest

THE government can immediately address rural poverty by putting to good use arable lands in the provinces, Sen. Edgardo Angara suggested over the weekend.

Enlisting congressional support for the plan, Angara introduced Senate Bill 883, entitled Rural Employment Generation Act of 2007, which seeks to develop idle and underutilized agricultural lands to generate, he said, high-quality produce and employment for the rural population.

A former secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA), Angara pointed out that at least 5 million Filipinos in the rural sector are either unemployed or underemployed largely due to “the underutilization of agricultural lands in the country. At the same time, we are missing the opportunity of harvest.”

He proposed that the DA, as lead agency to implement this Act through the Rural Employment Generation Program, could convert a million hectares of unused lands into farms of hybrid corn, cassava and high-value commercial crops (HVCCs) in a period of two years.

“The program will integrate existing crop areas with idle prime lands into clusters of mechanized and irrigated farms, adopt modern crop production technologies, enhance farmers’ access to credit for their purchases and capital, provide training for farmers on innovations in postharvest mechanization and processing, and promote local capacity-building,” he said.

The senator added that a quality standard system will also be implemented on feed grain, vegetables, fibers, fruits and industrial crops to ensure their quality for consumption as well as better and competitive prices in the domestic market.

Noting that local farm produce has recently taken a slump in the market due to imported goods from neighboring Asian countries, Angara asserted that “this bill will boost our capability to produce high-quality crops.”

Under Angara’s bill, a joint committee between the government and the private sector will be created to facilitate both their active participation in the program, specifically in managing implementation of the program and identifying farmer-beneficiaries, credit channels and markets and service providers.

The bill will, likewise, provide for an Agricultural Development Fund of P5.55 billion for the first year and P4.1 billion for the second year of the program, to be taken from the budget of the DA. The program is then expected to generate rural employment valued at P10.35 billion and private-sector investments worth P10.6 billion.

“Not only are we maximizing the richness of our resources for healthy consumption; we are also creating jobs for millions of Filipinos in the provinces to keep them self-subsisting so they can build better lives. The core objective of this bill is to drastically reduce rural poverty,” he said.

Written by Butch Fernandez

Source: Business Mirror

Onion farmers’ group warns of lower production if smuggling remains unchecked

ONION farmers belonging to the Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magsisibuyas ng Nueva Ecija (Kasamne) warned that onion harvests by 2010 could go down if low prices continue to prevail due to the reported sale of a large volume of smuggled onions in the local market.

Kasamne chairman Rodolfo Niones projected that in Nueva Ecija alone, production could go down by as much as 40 percent as farmers will be discouraged from planting more of the produce.

The group projected that around 4 million bags could be harvested by April 2010, the peak harvest season for onions. The lean season is from June to December.

“Farmers are now about to start planting. If lower prices will prevail, they may turn to other crops than incur losses,” said Niones in a telephone interview.

The Kasamne chief noted that the warehouse price of red onions, for instance, is still at P32 per kilogram. This, he said, is just a “break-even” cost.

“Last year the warehouse price is at P55 per kilogram. It even went up to as high as P60 per kilogram,” said Niones in the vernacular.

In August Kasamne staged a rally at the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to appeal for government action on the reported sale in local markets of 2,500 metric tons (MT) of red onions from China.

The reported sale of smuggled onions depressed local prices as it increased local supply.

Niones disclosed that as of the last week of August, around 23.175 million kilos, or 23,175 MT, of red onions were in cold-storage facilities in Nueva Ecija. This inventory, he said, will be good until December.

Earlier, the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA), said it has not yet issued any permits to any entity to import red onions.

BPI has also called on the BOC to step up its surveillance against smuggled onions.

Niones said the BOC has already held dialogues with farmers. During the dialogue, Kasamne asked the bureau to collar big-time onion smugglers.

Kasamne said if the government fails to act on the smuggling issue, it could spell the doom of the onion sector in the Philippines in view of the impending full implementation of a free-trade scheme among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) on January 1, 2010.

Under the Asean Free-Trade Area-Common Effective Preferential Treatment, tariffs for most farm products will go down to anywhere between 0 percen to 5 percent. Indonesia and Thailand are among the major producers of onion in Asean.

The Philippines produces mostly red onions in around 18,000 hectares of farmland. Kasamne said around 65 percent of onions comes from Nueva Ecija, 17 percent from Pangasinan, and 13 percent from the Ilocos region.

Other producers of onion in the country are Mindoro, Nueva Vizcaya and Tarlac.

Written by Jennifer A. Ng

Source: Business Mirror

Davao City growers complain vs flood of cheap Chinese potatoes

DAVAO CITY—Local potato growers have sought the help of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte here to investigate the alleged flooding of the market with cheap Chinese potatoes.

In a regular Sunday public-affairs television program of the city government, the program host, councilor Mabel Sunga-Acosta, read a letter sent by local potato growers indicating their resentment to the perceived “unfair” competition posed by the Chinese potatoes that have recently flooded the local market.

The letter said it was seeking Duterte’s help “to investigate if flooding the market with Chinese potatoes was legal and if [the] government has already warranted its health safety.”

Acosta did not mention the name of the sender nor the name of the organization.

“I would take this letter as your complaint and bring this issue to the attention of the proper authorities,” Duterte said.

The mayor said he would assume that “if the national government has allowed the importation, then the selling of these potatoes could be legal.”

He said he has “no adequate know-how” to determine the health concern raised by the local growers regarding the Chinese potatoes. He assured the growers that their complaint would be sent to the Department of Trade and Industry.

Written by Manuel T. Cayon

Source: Business Mirror

Follow agri standards

FRUITS and vegetable growers and farmers are urged to seek certification of good and agricultural practices (GAP) for their products, to ensure food safety and quality crucial to increasing market access both in the local and foreign markets.

This advice was given by Director Gilberto Layese of the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standard (BAFPS) during the recent agriculture and fisheries technology forum.

Layese said the GAP certification will enable the farmers to comply with food safety standards at par with national and international standards.

He said the BAFPS has put in efforts toward benchmarking the country’s GAP with the GlobalGAP.

“We have initiated contacts with accredited consultancy firm of GlobalGAP in Asia,” Layese said. “(We) will revise existing Philippine standards to fit the requirements of GlobalGAP.”

Likewise, he said with GAP certification, consumers can also exercise the option of buying quality fruits and vegetable from traceable and certified sources.

Layese said the GAP certification will involve the inspection of the farm’s location, structure, environment (soil and water conditions), facilities maintenance and farming practices (use of pesticides, fertilizers, other agrochemicals, disease management, harvesting, packaging and cold storage).

Clarence Agustin, also of BAFPS, explained that under the GAP program, farmers are allowed to use fertilizer and pesticide as long as these are within appropriate dosage.

“You should not exceed the (dosage) recommendations of the manufacturers,” he noted.

Layese further said participants of DA’s GAP program should renew certification by submitting a new application three years after the issuance of the previous one.

But Layese said successful audit compliance with GAP and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) principles does not guarantee food safety.

“An audit is an informed opinion on the state of farm operation at a particular time,” he said. “It is, however, an important first step in improving food safety and signaling to buyers that certain practices that conform to food safety guidelines are in place.” (Philexport News and Features)

Source: Sun Star

CARP costly and passé, says former DA official

A FORMER official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) believes the country’s Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (Carp) is very costly and the government can resort to alternative means to reduce poverty without resorting to land reform.

In a lecture at the University of the Philippines School of Economics (UPSE), titled “Pathways Out of Rural Poverty: Is Agrarian Reform Passé?” agriculture expert Dr. Arsenion Balisacan discussed the opportunities and pitfalls provided by Carp.

He said the government must concentrate on providing infrastructure support in the rural areas to enable the rural poor to move out of poverty.  The government also needs to increase investments in health and education and create market-friendly institutions that will enforce property rights and safeguard land tenure.

“Carp has been a mute—and very costly—instrument for rural poverty reduction,” Balisacan said during the sixth Ayala Corp.-UPSE forum on Friday. “Agrarian land reform should not continue being regarded as a panacea for rural development.”

Balisacan said compared with the government’s Conditional Cash Transfer program, the government seems to have spent twice as much for the Carp based on 2007 prices.

The former DA official said the government spent P235.74 billion for 2.259 million beneficiaries since the CARP started in 1988. This translated to a cost of P144,377 per beneficiary.

In terms of the CCT, the government spent P20.025 billion for 321,000 beneficiaries since 2008, which amounted to P63,382 per beneficiary.

Balisacan added that based on his independent assessment of the benefits of Carp, the increase in the average capita consumption in agrarian-reform communities due to the CARP is only 1.1 percent.

This is infinitely lower compared with the survey of the Institute of Agrarian Rurban Studies (IARDS) which showed that the average capita consumption increase was 42 percent. Balisacan noted that the data used by the IARDS may not be comparable, that is why they arrived at a 42-percent increase.

“This is very disappointing and not encouraging. This means the Carp is costing us P1.1 to transfer (a) P1 [benefit] to agrarian-reform beneficiaries,” he said.

Balisacan also said there are inherent problems with the Carp. He said the government, under the Carp, has distributed only collective certificate of land ownership award which cannot be used as collateral to access credit facilities.

He explained that apart from that, being a recipient of the Carp, even acts as a disadvantage for farmers looking to tap credit facilities, since banks immediately consider them “risky” borrowers simply because they are poor and may not have enough means to repay loans.

The Carp was one of the legacies of the Aquino administration. Lawmakers have yet to formally extend the Carp, but sources said the extension may be announced when Congress opens for the Sona.

Written by Cai U. Ordinario

Source: Business Mirror

S. Cotabato lawmakers want MAV extended

KORONADAL CITY — In a bid to protect the local poultry industry, the Provincial Government of South Cotabato asked Congress and the Department of Agriculture to extend the minimum access volume (MAV) for imported chicken.

In a resolution, the South Cotabato Provincial Board cited that the implementation of the MAV scheme, which expired last June 30, will ensure the survival of the critical poultry industry in the province and the entire country.

The Provincial Board’s move was in support of a similar call earlier made by the Provincial Government of Bukidnon.

“The MAV scheme will protect our local poultry products from undue competition with the imported products,” said board member Antonio Damandaman, chair of the provincial board’s committee on agriculture.

MAV refers to the volume of a specific agricultural product that is allowed to be imported with a lower tariff as committed by the Philippines to the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Uruguay Round Final Act.

The country began implementing MAV with the passage of Republic Act No. 8178 or the Agricultural Tariffication Act on March 28, 1996.

In the last three years, MAV utilization for poultry averaged 80 percent with practically all of the country’s poultry meat imports falling under MAV.

Last year, the MAV for imported chickens was kept at 1.83 million kilos a month.

Damandaman said that if the MAV scheme will not be extended, the local markets would be flooded by imported chicken, which are way cheaper than poultry products sourced or raised locally.

He explained that locally-produced chickens are priced higher due to the high cost of production in the country as brought about by the skyrocketing prices of feeds and other vital inputs.

“On the other hand, the imported chickens, especially those coming from our neighboring countries, are cheaper because their governments subsidize their production,” Damandaman said.

Damandaman urged the government, through the House of Representatives and the Senate, to work for the immediate extension of the MAV scheme for imported chicken.

“Without the MAV scheme, our poultry industry will eventually die,” Damandaman added. (Allen V. Estabillo)

Source: Sun Star, Monday, August 22, 2005

Organic farming rises to fever pitch as bills take shape

DAVAO CITY—The potential of organic farming to reduce carbon footprint and give Filipino consumers a healthy alternative to conventionally-grown rice—the Filipino’s staple food—cropped up in the final leg of the national consultations on enacting a national policy on organic agriculture.

Agriculture and advocacy groups supported the issue on carbon credits—a global fund that awards human activity that helps reduce emissions of ozone-depleting carbon—to magnify the advantages of legislating organic agriculture as a State policy.

“Organic agriculture has a huge potential in [reducing carbon footprints] that we can possibly seek for carbon credits,” a participant who formerly worked for a bio-fuel company said in the consultations at the Marco Polo Hotel here. “We can all help reduce retard climate-change.”

Rich nations have put up a global fund to compensate for activities anywhere that promote carbon sink activities and help reduce emissions of carbon dioxide that tears up the protective ozone layer in the atmosphere.

Scientists believe that some plants and trees, including the soil, have the natural capability to soak up carbon than they can emit and temporarily store them for an indefinite period of time, according to an Internet posting.

Rep. Proceso Alcala of Quezon Province, who is one of the sponsors of the still unnumbered House bill on organic agriculture, said his farming practice in rice production could be a major activity to seek carbon credits and help finance the needs of the industry.

Production of organically-grown rice remains below market demand owing to dependence on conventionally-grown rice that rely on inorganic—thus chemical-based—farm inputs, said Restie  Male, project manager of the Philippine Development Assistance Programme, Inc. (PDAP), in a another interview with the
BusinessMirror.

Also, the price of organically grown rice remains high at P60 per kilo when conventional, well-milled rice is selling at P35 to P38 a kilo, he said. Production cost though is lower at P20,000 per hectare compared with P30,000 per hectare of conventional rice.

Production, or the supply side, remains low. Mindanao produces the bulk for a market that encompasses Metro Manila. “We can not supply the needs of clients in [both] Metro Manila [and)] the local markets in Mindanao [where organic rice] is grown,” Male said.

Despite the low production, Male said the market for high-priced organic rice has widened to encompass even the consumer who is poor in economic terms. “That means more Filipinos are becoming more conscious of their health.”

“A legislation on organic agriculture would not necessarily mean cutting off all imports in inorganic farm inputs and stopping the production of conventionally-grown rice,” Alcala said.

“We want to give Filipinos more choices.”

A House and Senate proposal, entitled the “Organic Agriculture Act of 2009,” would declare as national policy of the State “to promote, propagate and support organic agriculture in the Philippines that will cumulatively condition and enrich the fertility of the soil, increase farm yields, reduce pollution and destruction of the environment.”

Aside from Alcala, 15 other representatives are sponsoring the House bill.

The committees on agriculture and food and on finance helped prepare the Senate counterpart bill, entitled “Providing for the development and promotion of organic agriculture in the Philippines and for other purposes.”

North Cotabato Vice Governor Emmanuel Piñol also suggested to Alcala’s panel that the government “compel shopping malls and supermarkets to display organic rice and other organically-grown agriculture products.”

Although PDAP’s Jerry Pacturan, moderator of the Davao City consultation, said Piñol’s proposal had been raised in previous consultations and had been “shot down,” another participant reminded the panel “that the BioFuels Act could be a classic example of how government has intruded into the realm of the private sector”.

“And it’s not just the BioFuels Act alone. There are other government policies where government has compelled the private sector to follow,” Piñol added.

Piñol suggested to also include in the proposed bill “aspects of marketing.” “Remember that organic rice is expensive, and it takes a lot of persuasion for the public to patronize our products,” he said.

Other participants said the proposed bill “should devote an entire article or provision to the marketing aspect of organic rice and other agricultural products.”

Alcala told the BusinessMirror that results of the consultation would be consolidated in a final proposal to be presented shortly after President Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address in July. “We don’t have the time to do it before the session ends next week.”

He said the House proposal would then be consolidated with the Senate version after July.

Written by Manuel T. Cayon

Source: Business Mirror

A government move to repossess parcels of land encroached by the Zobel-Ayala family in Calatagan, Batangas, is now in progress, according to Environment Secretary Lito Atienza.

In a statement, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) also assured that farmers and fishermen affected by the situation would continue to receive assistance from the government with the creation of a desk to attend to their needs.

“We have already completed the survey of the areas as required of us by the Supreme Court [SC] and submitted the survey results to the Court. It is now up to the Court to nullify the land titles that were found to have covered portions of the public land,” Atienza said.

The areas up for repossession by the government total 1,769 hectares, he added.  Atienza said President  Arroyo has directed him to provide all the necessary support to speed up the repossession process.

“President Arroyo’s directive is to implement the Supreme Court decision, provide all support to the court to hasten the repossession process, and protect the interest of the poor families of Calatagan,” Atienza said in the statement.

Meanwhile, the DENR chief urged the farmers and fishermen who attended the recent dialogue at the DENR office in Quezon City to refrain from making any move yet.

Atienza said the survey conducted by the DENR was affirmed by the SC in a 12-page decision on October 6, 2008, citing its finality and that “it should not be regarded as an opening for another round of litigation on the issues definitively settled a long time ago.” The DENR submitted its survey report to the Regional Trial Court-Branch XI of Balayan, Batangas, on September 30, 2008.

“This should end our 40-year legal battle on this issue,” Atienza said.

On learning that some of the Calatagan families were already facing eviction cases filed by people who had bought parcels of the contested land, Atienza volunteered the services of DENR lawyers to defend the Calatagan families. “Our lawyers will now intervene in any ejection proceedings in court involving the claimants.”

Lawyer Dominique Misa, the groups’ legal counsel, expressed hope that the DENR would finally be able to award the lands being occupied by her clients while the agency is under Atienza’s watch, whom she described as having shown signs of the needed political will to advance the interest of her clients.

“We have been pursuing this way back in the ’90s and it is only now that we have seen such interest from a DENR secretary to end this injustice done against those who have rightful claims over the land,” Misa said.

The areas covered by the Supreme Court order forms part of a 12,000-hectare estate owned by the Ayalas. It used to be a sugar-cane plantation that had been exempted from the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

Atienza ordered the survey of the area in May 2008 in response to complaints by farmer-groups over the nonexecution of the High Court’s 1965 decision despite a writ of execution issued in June 1988 ordering concerned government agencies, including the DENR, to implement the order. Attempts were made by the Zobel-Ayalas to block the writ in July of the same year, but the Supreme Court denied the petition with finality in July 1999.

Source: Business Mirror

The National Land Use Committee (NLUC), chaired by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), will promote idle land taxation as a long-term measure to address food self-sufficiency in rice.

The imposition of idle land tax is mandated in the Local Government Code (LGC) and Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA), enabling Local Government Units (LGUs) to push landowners to put their agricultural lands to productive use.

The agreement was reached upon clarification that there is no inconsistency between the two laws with regard to idle land taxation. The LGC considers idle land tax as a revenue-raising measure while the AFMA treats it as a form of a penalty for agricultural inactivity.

In both laws, the idle land tax is collected primarily by the municipal treasurer. However, the municipality does not retain the proceeds as these accrue to the general fund of the province, in the case of the LGC-mandated idle land tax, and to the national treasury, in the case of AFMA.

To encourage the municipality to collect the said tax, the NLUC also agreed to push for the amendment of Section 273 of the LGC and Rule 11.3 of the AFMA’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR) to provide for municipal share from the proceeds of idle land tax.

The NLUC will also advise the Leagues of Provinces and Municipalities to bilaterally discuss possible tax sharing schemes as an interim measure.

Since April this year, the NLUC has been discussing long-term policy measures that could increase rice production. Foremost among these is the measure initiated by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to declare all rice lands as protected areas, which has been accomplished with the President¢s issuance of Administrative Orders 226 and 226-A last May and July, respectively.

Another long-term solution identified was monitoring the LGUs¢ reclassification of agricultural lands. Land reclassification is the first step towards land use conversion, which is a deterrent to increased rice production.

An interagency technical working group (TWG) headed by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) will review the current agricultural land reclassification process, determine gaps, and recommend an effective monitoring and evaluation system for land reclassification.

Chaired by Deputy Director-General Augusto B. Santos, the NLUC is an interagency committee composed of NEDA, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), DA, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC). Recognizing the need for local inputs to proposed policy measures, the NLUC has recently been inviting the Leagues of Provinces, Cities and Municipalities in its regular meetings.

Source: www.mb.com.ph

The House Committee on Natural Resources has approved House Bill 3559 that seeks to establish a community orchard in every city or municipality of every province of the Philippines.

Rep. Luis Villafuerte (2nd district, Camarines Sur), author of the bill said the establishment of local community orchards could boost and enhance the fruits industry of the country.

“There is a growing demand for tropical fruits abroad and the Philippines is blessed with a wonderful climate suitable for growing such export-quality fruits,” Villafuerte said.

He said the fruits industry in the country could be transformed into a booming industry that shows great domestic as well as export market potential, thereby creating additional income for the
government.

Under the bill, every city or municipality of every province of the Philippines shall establish a community orchard of not less than five thousand square meters (5,000 sq. m.) preferably one (1)
hectare or more.

“These community orchards shall be located in such appropriate locations with appropriate topsoil conditions and climactic characteristics suitable to growing of fruit-bearing trees and
plants,” Villafuerte explained.

The solon said that aside from the establishment of experimental plantations of different fruit bearing trees and plants, the community orchards shall create information programs and seminars
that will educate the local populace about growing and harvest of fruit-bearing trees and plants for food and profit.

“By providing a much localized access to technology and training, there is an opportunity for the local population to engage in enterprise and contribute to the strategy of the National Government
to create an additional six million jobs in the agricultural sector,” Villafuerte said.

Source: Public Relations and Information Department