Features

Searca, ISAAA renew commitment for agri-biotect advocacy in Southeast Asia

14Apr

By Leander DomingoNo Comments

Searca, ISAAA renew commitment for agri-biotect advocacy in Southeast Asia

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO THE Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) has entered an agreement with the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) to renew its agri-biotech advocacy in Southeast Asia. Under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which was formalized on April 13, Searca and ISAAA have committed to create an enabling environment that will unleash the potential of biotechnology for agricultural development. Searca director Glenn Gregorio said they recognize the important role of working with like-minded institutions like ISAAA in supporting Searca’s mission of elevating the lives of small-scale farmers in developing countries through knowledge sharing on different agricultural innovatio...

10Apr

By Leander DomingoNo Comments

Features, Isabela

Isabela town benefits from mungbean

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO TAGGED as the “Munggo Capital of the Philippines,” San Mateo in Isabela is where farmers plant the mungbean after harvesting rice. San Mateo Mayor Gregorio Pua explained that during summertime many rice farms in Isabela are idle while waiting for the irrigation water to come but, the cultivators in his town are busy harvesting their mungbean from their lands. “Farmers here are practicing the munggo after rice cropping system for years now. They have been doing this primarily to augment their income. It has been proven as one way to attain sustainable agriculture,” he said. Pua said since mungbean is a drought-tolerant and low-input crop, farmers in the town plant the crop either before or just after harvesting their rice crop during the dry season. Mun...

Searca sees better agri prospects for 2021

7Jan

By Leander DomingoNo Comments

Features, Nation

Searca sees better agri prospects for 2021

DR. GLENN B. GREGORIO BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO THE agriculture sector of the Philippines and Southeast Asia is seen having better prospects for 2021 despite the disruption of agricultural production by several catastrophes and the pandemic that slowed down the pace by which the sector plays as an engine for economic development in Southeast Asia. In his 2020 year-end message, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) Director Glenn Gregorio noted that while the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic crippled most of the key economic sectors in the Philippines, the agriculture sector was able to maintain positive growth in 2020. “It must be acknowledged that there were earlier production growth targets that may not have been ach...

NVizcaya govt aids ASF-affected hog raisers

4Jan

By Leander DomingoNo Comments

Features, Nueva Vizcaya

NVizcaya govt aids ASF-affected hog raisers

BY BENJAMIN MOSES M. EBREO BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya (January 4)—The provincial government recently handed financial assistance to hog raisers who were affected by African swine fever (ASF) in the province. Dr. Cristopher Seraspi, provincial veterinary officer, said P951,000-worth of assistance was distributed to hog raisers from the towns of Villaverde, Bagabag, Kayapa, Aritao, Solano, Alfonso Castaneda, Bayombong, Diadi and Quezon. The distribution of assistance was led by Seraspi and Governor Carlos Padilla at the Nueva Vizcaya Pasalubong Center in Barangay Magsaysay this town. "We continuously assist our ASF-affected farmers so that they can cope with their economic losses," Seraspi said. The provincial government also intensified its quarantine measures to contain and p...

BFAR taps solar energy to increase fish yield

2Jan

By Leander DomingoNo Comments

Cagayan, Features

BFAR taps solar energy to increase fish yield

The Solar Venturi System can increase the yield of fishponds by up to three times. PHOTO FROM BFAR REGION 2 BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (January 2)—The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) is pushing the use of a solar-powered device to increase yields in fishponds initially in Cagayan province. The Solar Venturi System Project (SVSP) of BFAR Region 2 demonstrates that a solar-powered aeration device is effective in increasing the dissolved oxygen level in fishponds, making it possible to increase stocking density, according to Jennifer Tattao, BFAR Region 2 Aquaculture Section head. The project is part of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Ahon Lahat, Pagkaing Sapat Kontra Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) in Reg...

Quirino university boosts vermi research, output

31Dec

By Leander DomingoNo Comments

Features, Quirino

Quirino university boosts vermi research, output

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO DIFFUN, Quirino (December 31)—To ensure food security amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) gave more than P2.9 million to Quirino State University (QSU) to boost its vermicast and vermicompost research and production. Elizabeth Carig, QSU vice president for Academic and Research and project leader, said her school’s facilities in its Diffun and Maddela campuses had developed various combinations of materials to produce substrate for vermicast/vermicompost. She added that the vermicast and vermicompost production was in line with DA interventions to continue agricultural production in the safety of people’s homes through the distribution of seeds and seedlings among far...

25Sep

By Leander DomingoNo Comments

Features, Isabela

Isabela rice crops get boost

MORE WATER. Small water impounding project by the Department of Agriculture in Isabela province will help farmers increase their income with higher productivity. DA PHOTO BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO CITY OF ILAGAN, Isabela (September 25)—A P72.6-million small water impounding project (SWIP) will irrigate an additional 256 hectares of farmland, which is expected to boost rice production in Isabela province. Department of Agriculture (DA)-Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) Executive Director Narciso Edillo said the SWIP would also benefit around 177 rice farmers in Mallig town in the province. “The SWIP will irrigate 256 hectares more rice land in the town in addition to already existing irrigated farmlands,” he added. Mallig town Mayor Jonathan Calderon has expressed his thanks to DA-Regio...

24Sep

By Leander DomingoNo Comments

Features, Nueva Vizcaya

Region 2 towns hit hard by ASF

ASF. Isabela province is hardest hit by the African swine fever in Cagayan Valley (Region 2) with 31 towns now affected, according to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in the region. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO BAMBANG, Nueva Vizcaya (September 24)—At least 31 towns in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) are now affected by the African swine fever (ASF), based on the monitoring of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in the region. Dr. Zaldy Olivas, BAI-Region 2 chief, said hardest hit by the ASF virus was the province of Isabela’s 22 towns, including Cauayan City and Santiago City, or 61 percent of the total number of the province’s local government units. According to BAI-Region 2, more than P30 m...

24Sep

By Leander DomingoNo Comments

Features, Nation

Searca to take lead on swine roadmap

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO LOS BAÑOS, Laguna (September 24)—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) will lead the crafting of a roadmap for the pork-based processed products value chain in the Philippines. According to Searca Director Glenn Gregorio, the roadmap would be under the five-year “Agricultural Transformation and Market Integration in the Asean Region: Responding to Food Security and Inclusiveness Concerns” project jointly implemented by the International Food Policy Research Institute and Searca. Asean stands for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It is made up of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Gregorio said Searca would lead th...

NVizcaya fruit, veggie trading goes online

20Sep

By Leander DomingoNo Comments

Features, Nueva Vizcaya

NVizcaya fruit, veggie trading goes online

ONLINE MARKETING. The Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural Terminal, Inc. collaborates with the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) in Cagayan Valley and the Nueva Vizcaya State University to come up with a web-based portal for trading fruits and vegetables and help lessen the movement of residents and avoid transmission of coronavirus disease 2019. NVAT PHOTO BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO BAMBANG, Nueva Vizcaya (September 20)—In the face of pandemic, this province launched a web-based portal for trading fruits and vegetables. The Department of Science and Technology (DoST) in Cagayan Valley, the Nueva Vizcaya State University and the Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural Terminal Inc. (NVAT) collaborated and came up with “KABS 21 Project: A Web-Based Trading System of Fruits and Vegetables,” which w...