Vol. XXVII No. 9 A monthly publication of the Department of Agriculture September 2012

The Department of Agriculturewill construct four Agri-PinoyTrading Centers (APTCs), total-

The Department of Agricultureis pursuing a P6-billion farmmechanization program (FMP) tofurther increase the productivityand incomes of rice farmers.

Agriculture Secretary ProcesoJ. Alcala said the DA through thenational rice program has allot-ted P1 billion (B) last year, P2.6B this year, and proposes an-other P2.4 B in 2013 — for a to-tal of P6 B, mid-way through theimplementation of FMP, from2011 to 2016.

The amount is used to purcha-se various production andpostharvest machinery andequipment, which the DA pro-vides to qualified farmers groupsand cooperatives, irrigators’ as-sociations (IAs), and local gov-ernment units (LGUs) under acounterparting agreement.

He said the DA aims to in-crease the present farm mecha-nization level of the Philippines,from 0.57 horsepower per hect-are (hp/ha) to 0.80 hp/ha, mak-ing the country a par with Thai-land and Vietnam.

The DA chief said the farmmechanization program, which isa major component of the Aquinogovernment’s Food Staples Suf-

The House of Representativesin a plenary session, September13, 2012, approved the pro-posed 2013 P74.1-billion budgetof the Department of Agriculture.

The DA’s 2013 budget, whichis 21 percent more than thisyear’s P64.1-B allocation, s 2013budget, was sponsored by Tawi-Tawi Representative Nur G.

Congress okays 2013 DA budgetJaafar as part of the 2013 Gen-eral Appropriations Bill.

The DA will next defend theproposed 2013 budget at theSenate of the Philippines in mid-October.

Agriculture Secretary ProcesoJ. Alcala thanked the membersof the House of Representativesfor supporting and approving the

DA’s proposed 2013 expendi-ture.

He said the P74 billion willmostly go to irrigation, other ma-jor agri-fishery infrastructure, andsupport services to attain suffi-ciency in rice and other majorstaples by the end of 2013, andbankroll the Aquino

DA allots P914M for 4 agri centers

Farm mechanizationgets P6-B funding

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala (5th from left) poses with the project partners and beneficiariesof the four Agri-Pinoy Trading Centers (APTCs), totaling P914 million, that the DA will put up inBenguet, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, and North Cotabato, benefiting at least 12,000 farmers and live-stock raisers. They include (from left) Benguet Representative Ronald Cosalan, Benguet Governor NestorFongwan, Benguet Farmers’ Marketing Cooperative President Aurelio Lapniten, Urdaneta City MayorAmadeo Perez IV, University of Southern Mindanao President Jesus Antonio Derije, and Benguet StateUniversity President Ben Ladilad.

(Pls turn to p11)

Secretary Alcala and Bukidnon tribesmen Martin Ilaga and MentilioBajao proudly show their harvest of coffee berries, during a farm-ers’ field day and technology forum, at the DA-Northern MindanaoIntegrated Agricultural Research Center (NOMIARC), inDalwangan, Malaybalay City. (Pls see related story on page 2.) (Pls turn to p2)

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ing P914 million, that will benefitat least 12,000 farmers and live-stock raisers in Benguet,Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, andNorth Cotabato.

Agriculture Secretary ProcesoJ. Alcala said the establishmentof the APTCs is part of theAquino government’s continuingefforts to enable small farmersearn more profit as they will havea venue to sell their products di-rectly to institutional buyers.

The DA will put up 10 moreAPTCs in the next two years,said Secretary Alcala, whosigned the respective memoran-dum of agreement with theAPTC beneficiaries, September14, 2012, at the DA-BSWM con-vention hall in Quezon City.

The four APTCs will rise up inLa Trinidad, Benguet; UrdanetaCity, Pangasinan; CabanatuanCity, Nueva Ecija; and atKabacan, North Cotabato.

The Department of Agriculturelaunched a third rice croppingprogram, in partnership with thePhilippine Crop Insurance Cor-poration (PCIC) and National Ir-rigation Administration (NIA),September 11, 2012, in Bagroy,Bago City, Negros Occidental,

Secretary Proceso J. Alcalasaid the program will provide freecrop insurance and seed subsidyto farmers nationwide who arescheduled to plant from Augustto September, and harvest by theend of the year.

“This program seeks to assistfarmers who will be affected bysevere crop damages caused byflooding, typhoon and pests at-tack,” Secretary Alcala said.

“It will cover a total area of91,495 hectares, benef iting91,000 farmers, with insurancecoverage amounting toP914,950,000.

DA, NIA, PCIClaunch 3rd cropping

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Writers: Adora D. Rodriguez, Jo Ann Grace B. Pera, Arlhene S. Carro,Catherine N. Nanta, Bethzaida N. Bustamante, Marshall Louie Asis

Contributors: DA-RFU Info Officers, Public Info Officers of DA Bureaus, Attached Agencies & Corporations, MRDP & other Foreign- Assisted Projects

Photographers: Jose Lucas, Alan Jay Jacalan & Kathrino ResurreccionLay-out Artist: Bethzaida Bustamante & Almi Adeli Q. ErlanoPrinting & Circulation: Teresita Abejar & PCES Staff

Editor-In-Chief : Noel O. ReyesAssociate Editors: Cheryl C. Suarez & Adora D. Rodriguez

is published monthly by the Department of AgricultureInformation Service, Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City. Tel. nos. 9288762loc 2148, 2150, 2155, 2156 or 2184; 9204080 or tel/fax 9280588. Thisissue is available in PDF file. For copies, please send requests via email:da_afis @yahoo.com.

Editorial2013 DA Budget = Sapat na Pagkain

2

DA allots P914M...(fromp1)

Nakatakdang busisiin sa Senado ang panukalang 2013budget ng Department of Agriculture, matapos makapasa saKongreso nitong Setyembre.

Kung tutuusin, malaking tagumpay na para sa sektor ngagrikultura ang approval na iginawad ng Kongreso sapanukalang P74.1 bilyong (B) pondo para sa susunod nataon. Ito’s mataas ng mahigit 20 porsyento sa P64.1-Bbudget para sa taong kasalukuyan, na pinakamataas saating kasaysayan.

Kung aaprubahan ng Senado, ang P74-bilyong budget aygugugulin sa pagtatayo ng makabago at rehabilitasyon ngmga sistema ng patubig sa buong bansa, at iba pangimprastraktura at ayuda upang masugid na ipatupad angpambansang Food Staples Sufficiency Program (FSSP).

Pangako ni Sec. Procy, ang bawat piso ay itatakda samga pangmatagalang programa at proyekto ng DA. Kayanaman panatag siyang makakamit natin ang kasapatan sabigas at iba pang pangunahing pagkain sa katapusang ng2013.

Sa ilalim ng FSSP, target ng DA na makaani ng 20 milyonmetriko toneladang (MMT) ng palay at 8.75 MMT ng mais.

Maliban sa irigasyon, malaking bahagi rin ng P74.1B angilalaan sa pagtatatag at modernisasyon ng mga pasilidad atimprastrakturang agrikultural. Bibigyang suporta din angmga serbisyong pang-produksyon at ektensyon, gayundinang pagpapabuti ng merkado, pananaliksik at pagpapatupadng mga polisya at reglamento tungo sa mas maunlad atkompetitibong sakahan at pangisdaan.

Maliban sa sa bigas at mais, maglalaan din ng kaukulangpondo para sa ibang kasing-halagang sektor ng pangisdaan,paghahayupan at ‘high-value commercial crops.’

Muling maglalambing si Sec. Procy sa ating mgakagalang-galang na Senador na ipasa ang panukalang 2013DA budget upang maisakatuparan ang ating minimithingkasapatan sa bigas — na marami ang nagdududa na hindimangyayari. Ang ilan nga ay tahasang nagsabi na ‘not in ourlifetime.’

Pangalawa, pinipilit ng DA sa pamamagitan ng matuwidna pamamahala ng mga lider nito na ibalik ang tiwala ngtaumbayan sa ahensya — dahil ito’y nasangkot sa sari-saring ‘scam’ at kontrobersya noong nakaraangadministrasyon.

Kaya naman, umaasa ang karamihan na ‘di magtatagal—dahil sa matapat na pangunguna ni Sec Procy at mgapinuno at kawani ng DA — ay abot-kamay na ang pangarapng bawat pamilyang Pinoy na sapat na pagkain sa atinghapag.

administration’s Food Staplessufficiency Program (FSSP).

He assured the members ofthe House of Representativesthat every peso will be well spenton projects and interventions toincrease the productivity and in-comes of small farmers andfisherfolk, and make availableaffordable, sufficient and nutri-tious staples and other basicfood commodities on the table ofevery Filipino family.

Under FSSP, the governmentplans to produce at least 20 mil-lion metric tons (MMT) of palayand 8.75 MMT of corn in 2013.

The bulk of the 2013 DA bud-get will be spent on irrigation(P28.75B), postharvest andother infrastructure (P12.38B),production support (P6.87B),and extension support (P3.04B).

The establishment of APTCsis spearheaded by the DAthrough its Agribusiness andMarketing Assistance Service(AMAS) led by Director LeandroH. Gazmin, and APTC ProgramDirector Arnulfo F. Mañalac.

The Benguet APTC, worthP460 million, will be constructedin a four-hectare lot, at the‘Strawberry Fields,’ owned by theBenguet State University (BSU).It will serve as a major tradingcenter for “chopsuey” vegetablesthat include lettuce, broccoli, car-rots, chayote, potatoes, andother temperate crops. It willbenefit at least 5,000 Cordillerafarmers and their families.

The Urdaneta andCabanatuan APTCs will sell low-land and so-called ‘pinakbet’vegetables and other products ofat least 6,000 farmers inPangasinan and Nueva Ecija.

Finally, the APTC at the Uni-versity of Southern Mindanao(USM), in Kabacan, NorthCotabato, will serve as a HalalTraining and Development Cen-ter. It will feature a modern halalslaughterhouse for goat, sheepand beef cattle. It will benefit atleast 1,000 livestock farmers inNorth Cotabato and nearby ar-eas.

The APTCs are patterned af-ter a successful agricultural trad-ing center, called SentrongPamilihan ng ProduktongAgrikultura ng Quezon, inSariaya. The facility was estab-lished in 2006 by SecretaryAlcala when he served as a Rep-resentative of the 2nd District ofQuezon.

Since then the SentrongPamilihan has increased the pro-ductivity and incomes of Quezonvegetable farmers, enablingthem to send their children toschool, put up new houses, and

bought farm equipment and ve-hicles.

During the MOA signing, Sec-retary Alcala said the supportand intervention of the DA doesnot simply begin and end with theestablishment of the APTCs.

He said farmers, traders andinstitutional buyers should forgea mutual and continuing produc-tion and marketing agreement toensure that everybody benefitsthroughout the food supplychain.

Among the APTC proponentswere: Benguet Governor NestorFongwan, Benguet Rep. RonaldCosalan, BSU President BenLadilad, Benguet Farmers’ Mar-keting Cooperative PresidentAurelio Lapniten, Urdaneta CityMayor Amadeo Perez IV, USMPresident Jesus Antonio Derije,and Nueva Ecija VegetablesGrowers’ Association ChairmanJerry Agpalo. (Catherine Nanta)

Congress okays ... (from p 1)

Agriculture Secretary ProcesoJ. Alcala instructed the DA re-gional directors nationwide tomake the Northern Mindanao In-tegrated Agricultural ResearchCenter (NOMIARC), in Bukidnon.NOMIARC as a model in show-casing to farmers, the generalpublic and interested investorsthe best farming and livestockraising technologies, equipment,agricultural practices, includingoutstanding crops and livestockspecies.

He issued the verbal instruc-tion in a speech during a farm-ers’ field day and technology fo-rum at NOMIARC, as he was

(Pls turn to p11)

Make NOMIARC a modelimpressed with its transformationinto a leading and top-notch gov-ernment research center.

The forum was attended bymore than 1,000 farmers and lo-cal officials in Bukidnon and otherNorthern Mindanao provinces.

He handed over to dozens offarmers’ groups and local govern-ment units P23-million worth ofvarious farm equipment, facilitiesand inputs.

He was assisted by BukidnonGovernor Alex Calingasan, DANorthern Mindanao Regional Di-rector Lealyn Ramos andNOMIARC manager JuanitaSalvani.

September 2012 3

DA-BFAR, BOC seize anotherillegal shipment of baby eels

DA assists El Niño affected farmers, provinces

The DA’s Bureau of Fisheriesand Aquatic Resources (BFAR)and the Bureau of Customs re-

cently confiscated a shipment ofyoung eels (or elvers) bound forKaohsiung, Taiwan, at the NinoyAquino International Airport

The shipment, worthP750,000, was found aban-doned at the Paircargo ware-house by BOC examiner EnricoMedina.

For his part, BFAR airportquarantine chief Ben Curativosaid the shipment was com-posed 13 boxes, with a totalweight of 526 kilograms.

BFAR director Asis Perezsaid the eels would be shippedto Tanauan, Batangas, and thendispersed back to their habitat inCagayan River.

Last May 2012, a similar ship-ment of 2 million elvers was alsoseized at the NAIA bound forHong Kong, said BOC Commis-sioner Ruffy Biazon.

Dir. Asis said it takes about sixyears for elvers to grow into com-mercial size. They command apremium price in Japanese res-

taurants, which turn them into apopular dish called unagi, usu-ally served on a bed of white rice.

Locally, a kilo ofelvers cost f romP20,000 toP30,000, BFARsaid.

The size ofyoung eel is abouttwo inches long,and at this stage itis called ‘glass eel,’because of itstransparent body.

In some Euro-pean countries,glass eels are alsofavorite delicacies.

One famousplace for large-scale collection ofglass eels isEpney, at Severn,in England.

Glass eels arealso eaten as foodin Spain, according

to Wikipedia.In 1997, European demand for

eels could not be met, and deal-ers from Asia bought all theycould, Wikipedia said.

“The traditional Europeanstocking programs could notcompete any longer. Each weekthe price for a kilogram of glasseel went up another $30,” ac-cording to Wikipedia.

Even before 1997, when eeldemand is still low in Europe,dealers from China alone placedadvance orders for more than250,000 kg. Some bidding morethan $1,100 per kg,” accordingto Wikipedia.

“In Hong Kong, elvers sell forup to $6,000 per kg,” Wikipediasaid.

The demand for eels continuesto grow.

In Europe, 25 million kg areconsumed each year. In Japanalone, more than 100 million kgwere consumed in 1996. (Busi-ness Mirror)

DA forms El Niñoaction teams

BFAR Director Atty. AsisPerez (right) and CustomsCommissioner RuffyBiazon hold a bagful ofbaby eels.

.

The Department of Agriculturehas started providing assistanceto farmers and farming commu-nities affected by dry spellcaused by the onset of El Niño,particularly in Bohol.

Agriculture Secretary ProcesoJ. Alcala said the DA through theBureau of Soils and Water Man-agement (BSWM) has con-ducted a series of cloud-seedingoperations that successfully in-duced rains over drought-af-fected areas in Bohol.

DA Central Visayas regionaldirector Angel Enriquez said thecloud-seeding operations startedAugust 30 and brought rains overthe towns of Sierra Bulllones,Pilar and Alicia, adjacent townsand watershed areas, based onthe report of Bohol provincialagriculturist Larry Pamugas.

Bohol has experienced an un-usual dry spell last month, as itsaverage rainfall dipped to 6.8millimeters (mm) from an aver-age of 138 mm during the lastthree years, said Pamugas.

Director Enriquez said the DA-BSWM will continue the cloud-seeding sorties that were re-quested by Bohol GovernorEdgar Chatto on behalf offarmer-members of Irrigators’Associations of Malinao,Bayungan, Capayas andTalibon.

Secretary Alcala said the DAwill provide the same cloud-seeding services to farming com-munities and provinces thatwould experience dry spell epi-sodes. The DA through its re-gional field units will also providefarmers’ groups with shallowtube wells and drought-tolerantcrop varieties.

The Philippine Atmospheric,Geophysical and AstronomicalServices Administration(PAGASA) in its August 15, 2012advisory said El Niño episodehas already commenced andwould persist until the first quar-ter of 2013. Initial areas thatwould experience below normalrainfall include portions of Cen-tral and Western Visayas, east-ern portions of Northern andCentral Luzon, includingPalawan, and WesternMindanao.

Secretary Alcala said the DAwill also issue advisories andrecommendations through tri-media outlets on how to mitigatethe adverse effects of El Niñophenomenon..

This early, he said farmersshould be vigilant to save avail-able water supply. In particular,the DA through the National Irri-

gation Administration (NIA) willrequire ‘gatekeepers’ of irrigationsystems to properly schedule thetime and volume of water to bereleased.

The DA will also teach morefarmers to employ controlled ir-rigation (CI) technology or alter-nate wetting and drying of ricefields, as recommended by thePhilippine Rice Research Insti-tute (PhilRice). The CI technique

entails inserting into the soil aperforated plastic pipe (4 inchesin diameter and 8 inches long)to monitor the field’s water level.When water is no longer seeninside the pipe, it is time to irri-gate again.

On the brighter side, the DAchief said the dry episode maybe beneficial to some crops dueto longer sunlight and photosyn-thesis.

The Department of Agricul-ture has created Regional ElNiño Action Teams(RENACTs) to assess and an-ticipate the effects of a pos-sible dry spell, starting Octo-ber through early next year.

Assistant Secretary DanteS. Delima, national rice pro-gram coordinator, issued theorder to the DA regional direc-tors, on September 12, basedon an advisory of the Philip-pine Atmospheric Geophysi-cal and Astronomical ServiceAdministration (PAGASA) ofan impending El Niño phe-nomenon.

”As forecast, El Niño is seento adversely affect large por-tions of Luzon, and other partsof the country with drought-like effects at a time whenheavy rainfall is traditionallyexpected. This phenomenonwill undoubtedly affect riceproduction in our rainfed ar-eas, while critically placingwater supply in our irrigationfacilities at dangerous levels,”Delima said.

He cited the report ofPAGASA Senior WeatherSpecialist Anthony JosephLucero during the 56th Cli-mate Forum on September07, 2012.

The DA RENACTs will beheaded by the respective Re-gional Executive Directors,with the following members:regional rice coordinators andinformation officers, focal per-sons from DA agencies likethe NIA, BSWM, ATI, and BPI,and regional president of Irri-gators’ Associations, andother concerned DA family of-ficials.

The RENACTs are tasked tocoordinate with their respec-tive local government unitsand Regional Disaster RiskReduction and ManagementCouncils.

The teams are tasked to as-sess the regional rice situa-tion, and plan out El Niño miti-gating activities or interven-tions to minimize the projectedimpact and ensure good palayharvest, Delima said.

Action planning workshopsshould be undertaken to as-sess the impact of El Niño onrice production, broken downinto the provincial level, andconsidering various possiblescenarios, along with budget

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4

Another “kababayan” madehistory in the international sceneas Dumingag Mayor NaciancenoPacalioga, Jr., of Dumingag,Zamboanga del Sur, was re-cently chosen as recipient of the‘One World Award’ (OWA), inceremonies held in Bonn, Ger-many, September 14, 2012.

He bested other four finalistsand organic agriculture advocatefrom India, Turkey, Nicaragua,and Cuba.

The OWA is spearheaded byInternational Federation of Or-ganic Agriculture Movements(IFOAM) and RapunzelNaturkost, a manufacturer or or-ganic food products.

For his feat, Pacalioga re-ceived a cash award of 25,000Euros (about P1.34 million).

In his acceptance speech,Pacalioga said the award doesnot only bestow honor to him andthe Philippines, but affirms thathis advocacies towards organicagriculture is on the right direc-tion.

He said Dumingag’s organicagriculture program seeks to freeits people from poverty, sicknessand hunger, and the OWA vali-dates that their efforts are to-wards the attainment of a nobleintent.

Dumingag is the first-ever mu-nicipality or LGU member ofIFOAM.

Pacalioga said the OWAaward will not only inspire andmotivate Dumingagons to ven-ture into chemical-free farming,but will emncourage other townsand cities in the Philippines andother countries to turn into safeand healthy way of planting andgrowing food.

The OWA recognizes and hon-ors people and their projects thatmake the world a better place tolive in. It also celebrates inspira-

tional achievements of individu-als and their communities onsustainable and organic agricul-ture.

Pacalioga was recognized forsuccessfully implementing a‘Genuine People’s Agenda’ orGPA, which serves as an um-brella program for sustainableand rural development projectsof Dumingag and all of its 44barangays or villages.

Under GPA, teachers aretrained on the basic principles oforganic farming, and workshopsare organized in all villages. Va-cant lots of local military stationsare now used as organic farmareas.

Prior to the OWA rites, Agricul-ture Secretary Proceso J. Alcalaforged an agreement with MayorPacalioga which seeks to ca-pacitate farmers in the lowlandand upland communities in diver-sified organic farming system.

The DA will grant DumingagP10 million as counterpart fund-ing for its organic agricultureprojects.

For its part, Dumingag willshare P2M, while about P12Mwill be solicited from othersources.

“The project is a participatoryintervention of the government inagricultural production thatseeks to promoteorganic farmingsystem,” he added.

I am pleased to know thatNOAB, the National Organic Ag-riculture Board, has approved agrant from the Organic Agricul-ture Fund to sustain and expandyour work in Dumingag.

I also thank Mayor Jun for tak-ing the initiative to organize othermayors who share his commit-ment to promoting organic agri-culture in their municipalities. Ilook forward to meeting yourgroup which you have appropri-ately called LOAM- the Leagueof Organic AgricultureMunicpalities.

The fund will cover compo-nents including techno-demofarm, education development,community organizing, in-creased material capacity, andthird party certification.

The town aims to further in-crease its production of organicproducts like rice, corn, veg-etables, and root crops.

It will also raise organic ducksand fish, as well as biofertilizersand earthworms for vermiculture.(Adora Rodriguez/Cath Nanta)

The VIPs with MayorPacalioga (4th from left) are(from left) One World AwardChairman of the JuryBernward Geier, ExecutiveDirector Markuz Arbenz of theInternational Federation ofOrganic Agriculture Move-ments (IFOAM), GirlynPacalioga, OWA Jury VandanShiva, and Rapunzel NaturkostFounder Joseph Wilhelm. TheOWA is spearheaded byIFOAM and RapunzelNaturkost, a manufacturer ororganic food products.

‘Mayor Organic’ receives international award

Sec. Alcala and Mayor Pacalioga proudly show a copy of the Memorandum of Agreement for a P10-million DA counterpart to implement several organic agriculture initiatives in Dumingag, at the DAoffice in Quezon City, September 12, 2012, two days before the mayor went to Germany for the OWArites. Joining them (from left) are: Ed dela Torre, member of the Secretary’s Technical AssistanceGroup (STAG), Undersecretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Asst. Secretary Dante Delima, Mrs. GirlynPacalioga, Julius Breva, chief of staff of Mayor Pacalioga, and Teresa Saniano of DA-STAG.

DA, PLDT partnerto upgrade info,communications

The Department of Agriculture(DA) is partnering with the Phil-ippine Long Distance TelephoneCo. (PLDT) to upgrade its currentcommunications that will serve allDA family agencies and regionaloffices nationwide.

The joint project is called“Multiprotocol Label Switching(MPLS),” which aims to install areliable information dissemina-tion system linking all DA agen-cies

Secretary Alcala said theproject will help in thedepartment’s efforts to spreadinginformation of its various pro-grams to regional offices andagencies, and monitoringprojects and other initiatives onthe ground.

He said the DA is privileged topartner with PLDT, which has al-ways been a reliable partner es-pecially in the communication re-quirements of our operations.

Aside from the MPLS project,PLDT has also provided the DAseveral communication solutionssuch as the ISDN for its internetconnectivity and the ‘load wallet’for its mobile data system, in part-nership with the DA InformationTechnology Center for Agricultureand Fisheries (ITCAF).

“The agricultural sector is an in-formation sensitive sector that’swhy it is important that the DAinvests in communication sys-tems and services to provide re-liable connectivity needed to up-grade and maintain that continu-ous flow of information,” saidITCAF Dir. Gary Fantastico.

September 2012 5

A group of experts and re-searchers from the University ofSouthern Mindanao AgriculturalResearch Center (USMARC), inKabacan, North Cotabato, hasdeveloped a host of productsfrom ‘marang’ (Artocarpusodoratissima).

The group, led by Dr. EmmaK. Sales, was able to develop atleast 11 products (shown atright): nine from the pulp; andtwo from its seeds.

These include vinegar, chips,butter, coffee, and ice cream,among other by-products.

Marang is native to the Philip-pines and thrives well in the mar-ginal and hilly areas, particularlyin Mindanao.

There are two varieties that arelocally available: brown and ev-ergreen.

The brown variety bears big-ger fruits than the evergreen, butthe latter has more edible por-tions and sweeter than thefromer.

Marang fruit has an appetizingtaste, and fragrant sugary smell.

It contains protein, fat, carbo-hydrates, crude fiber, ash, cal-cium, phosphorus, iron, retinol,beta-carotene, vitamin A, thia-mine, ribof lavin, niacin andascorbic acid.

The fruit is available from Mayto September.

A mature fruit is highly perish-able, lasting for only two to threedays only.

Once opened, a ripe marangmust be consumed immediately

A farmers’ group will manageand operate a Rice ProcessingCenter (RPC) in Sta. Barbara,Pangasinan, funded jointly bythe Korea International Coopera-tion Agency (KOICA) and theDepartment of Agriculture.

The Association of Land Bank-Assisted Cooperatives of

DA-BPI okays onion imports

USM experts develop food products from ‘marang’

as it easily loses its flavor.This prompted the USM ex-

perts to develop various prod-ucts, under a project entitled, “Pi-lot testing of post-harvest tech-nologies and product diversifica-tion of marang.”

The research was funded bythe DA’s Bureau of AgriculturalResearch (BAR) and High ValueCommercial Development Pro-gram (HVCDP).

With the successful project,Filipinos can now enjoy marangproducts year-round, said BARDir. Nicomedes Eleazar.

This will also encourage farm-ers and entrepreneurs to andventure into marang processing,he added.

Dr. Sales said to store the

marang fruits longer, they shouldpacked using appropriate mate-rials and frozen immediately.

For ripening techniques, wash-ing and covering the fruit with wetsack or cloth were found to befaster and easier, while ethylenescrubber and packing in a closedpolyethylene bag or keepingthem under modif ied atmo-sphere condition could delay rip-ening. (Rita dela Cruz, DA-BAR)

The Department of Agriculturethrough the Bureau of Plant In-dustry (BPI) has approved im-ports of onions to cushion off spi-raling prices due slack in supplyand increasing demand.

BPI Director Clarito Barronsaid his agency has issued 182import permits, or Sanitary andPhytosanitary (SPS) plant quar-antine clearances, for white andyellow onions. He said importsare allowed only until October31, 2012.

The importation was recom-mended by the National OnionAction Team (NOAT), composedof the country’s confederation ofonion growers.

Onion imports will come fromChina, Holland, New Zealandand India.

The NOAT said the country’sinventory of yellow and white on-ions based on the Bureau ofPlant Industry’s (BPI) Allium TaskForce report has gone down

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Farmers to manage Pangasinan RPC

since July, causing prices toshoot up to as much as P80 toP100 per kilo.

Director Barron said the importpermits are issued to currentlyaccredited onion importers, whoare required to submit a dupli-cate original copy of a purchaseorder from their institutional buy-ers like manufacturing compa-nies and/or commissary of foodor hotel chains. They should alsosubmit a duplicate copy of asales contract with their foreignsupplier.

For his part, Customs Com-missioner Ruffy Biazon has in-structed BOC officials to facilitatethe release of imported onionsupon verification and validationof importers who complied withrequired government permitsand clearances.

He said the immediate releaseof onion imports will help stabi-lize supply and prices in the mar-ket. (BOC, DA-BPI)

Pangasinan or ALBACOPA, isset to undergo training by theDA’s National Agribusiness Cor-poration (NABCOR) to eventu-ally manage and operate theRPC, said Genaro M. Tolentino,of the DA’s Philippine Center forPostharvest Development andMechanization (PhilMech), whoserves as program leader of theDA-KOICA RPC project.

ALBACOPA is composed ofsix cooperatives, with 600 mem-bers each, mostly rice farmers,Tolentino said.

For his part, PhilMech Direc-tor Rex L. Bingabing said se-lected ALBACOPA officers andmembers will train for at leastone year before actually takingover the operation and manage-ment of the RPC.

“A farmer organization takingover the management and op-eration of a modern RPC couldbe considered a milestone in thisproject. The goal is to have allfour RPCs managed and oper-ated by the qualified and trainedfarmer organizations,” he added.

The DA-PhilMech is tasked toimplement the KOICA-fundedproject, which had four RPCscompleted and under construc-tion.

Two other RPCs were alreadycompleted: in PIlar, Bohol (whichwill be inaugurated this October);and the other in Pototan Iloilo,which was completed March2012.

The fourth one, in Davao delSur, is under construction, andwill be completed in December2012.

The three completed RPCsare initially operated and man-aged by the DA-NABCOR.

A farmers’ organization will belikewise selected and trained tomanage and operate the RPC inIloilo, Dir. Bingabing said.

KOICA has granted a total of

6

During the last two decades,the country's garlic productionhas experienced a roller-coaster ride, plummeting to itslowest level last year, at 9,056metric tons (MT).

But hope floats.With the assistance from the

Department of Agriculture, thegarlic industry looks forward toattain a harvest of about 20,000MT, as proudly predicted byBatanes garlic farmers led byArnold Sagon, President of theItbayat Garlic Producers and

Multi-Purpose Cooperative(IGPMPC).

Sagon said garlic productionis set to post a positive growththis year, ensuring sufficientsupply until the end of the year.

The current situation alsoeases the pressure on thegovernment to import one of thecountries most popular spiceuntil the end of the year.

“We thank DA SecretaryProceso J. Alcala for giving a“new life” to the dying localgarlic industry,” said Sagon.

He adds that his group andfour other associations whichinclude the Aritao Garlic andOnion Growers Association(Nueva Vizcaya), Kooperatibang Bayang Sagana (Sta. Rosa,Nueva Ecija), San Jose Garlicand Onion Growers Association(San Jose, Mindoro) and theMagro-MPC (Magsaysay,Occidental Mindoro), remainoptimistic that DA will continueto extend support and assis-tance to the industry until it can

Garlic industry surges backcompete globally.

The success stories of thefive leading Ilocos garlicgrowers’ associations weredriven by the interventions ofthe DA to assist and aid thelocal industry, which havegrown more and more obscurewith the entry of imported andsmuggled garlic in the pastyears.

The DA’s Bureau of Agricul-tural Statistics (BAS) productionfigures show that the highestgarlic harvests, during the last

20 years, were recorded in1990 (17,849 MT), 1997 (at20,180 MT), and in 2002(16,257 MT). The lowest yieldswere experienced in 1992(11,766 MT) and 1999 (9,335MT), and 9,056 metric tons(MT) last year.

With the influx of cheap garlicimports and entry of illegal orsmuggled ones, farmers werediscouraged to plant.

Some years back, farmerschoose to dump their produceinto the sea to be able to reusethe sacks containing theprevious cropping season’syield, because the bags aremore valuable than the con-tents, garlic bulbs.

In Mindoro and NuevaVizcaya, a number of farmerswere even forced to exchangetheir produce with worn-outclothes.

Emphatic to the plight ofPinoy garlic growers, Sec.Alcala vouched for thegovernment’s full support to the

industry after his June 25, 2011visit in Itbayat, Batanes.

A month later, the DA setaside a total of P25 million infunds for the development ofthe garlic industry in Cagayanand Ilocos regions.

Aside from Ilocandia, the DAalso provided funds to othergarlic-producing provinces inthe country, like in Mindoro.

Other interventions providedby DA were packages ofpostharvest assistance, whichincluded hanging dryers,established in strategic garlicproducing areas.

The DA also gave awayseeds and other plantingmaterials.

According to IGPMPCspokesperson Girlie Ruiz, theDA provided loans to Itbayatgarlic farmers.

“The 20 member-group usedthe money as a revolving fundthat enabled them to buy, selland maintain their products,”Ruiz added.

She narrated that one of thebiggest difficulties faced bygarlic growers such as hightransport costs and unpredict-able weather conditions weresolved when Sec. Alcala sent toBatanes the Vegetable Im-porter, Exporter and VendorsAssociation of the Philippines(VIEVA) in April.

“Through the efforts of thegood Secretary, VIEVA helpedus market our products,” Ruizsaid.

Now, the Itbayat group andsimilar garlic-producing asso-ciations are linked to marketnetworks enabling them totrade their produce at reason-able prices.

“Our farmers are happierthese days,” she added.

Next planting season,Batanes farmers will plant otherappropriate varieties of garlic.

According to Robert Olinares,Region 2-High Value CropsDevelopment Program coordi-nator, aside from the commonIlocos White, garlic producersare now growing Batanes Redvariety which yields 30% moreand produces bigger bulbs.

“Our local garlic is ready tocompete with its importedcounterparts, because it ismore aromatic and spicy,”Olinares said.

Today, garlic producers arefar from dumping their produceand wearing hand-me-downclothes, as the Philippine garlicindustry continues to see brightprospects, thanks to thesupport of the DA, the Bureauof Plant Industry, and otherconcerned agencies.

The Bureau of Customs(BOC) recently seized four40–footer container vanswith illegally imported garlicfrom China worth P9 million.

Customs CommissionerRuffy Biazon said theshipment was ‘discovered’operatives of the BOCOperations and IntelligenceOffice (OIO) EnforcementGroup (EG) under lawyerImelda Cruz.

He said the OIO-EGoperatives acted on anintelligence report of apossible attempt to smugglegarlic from China by usingfake import permits.

They said the four contain-ers of garlic were leftunclaimed at a warehouse atthe Port of Manila (POM).

“The people involved inthis smuggling attempt mayhave ‘chickened-out’ whenthey learned that we werealready waiting for this illegalshipment. and we were justwaiting for its entry to befiled,” Biazon said.

“And we know that it isduring the start of the “ber”months when smugglingattempts of agriculturalproducts normally happen,”he added.

For his part, DeputyCommissioner for Enforce-ment Group Horacio P.Suansing, Jr. said the garlicshipment from China wasfirst opened by the OIO-EGoperatives on September 18,2012, after lying unclaimedby its consignee ( Aque BlueMarine Trading) for almosttwo months at the POM. Thefour vans contained 6,948bags of garlic.

“Upon our confirmationthat the garlic shipment werenot properly documented, weimmediately issued thecorresponding alert order tofacilitate its seizure,“Suansing said.

The four containers wereshipped to the Philippines bya Chinese firm (JiningWanlixing Fruits and Veg-etables Co., Ltd. of Wantang,Jinxiang, Shandong, China).

Suansing said the illegallyimported garlic will bedisposed of in accordancewith law, to avoid its gettinginto the local market, if onlyto protect the local garlicfarmers. (BOC)

By Adora Rodriguez and Catherine NantaBOC seizes P9-Msmuggled garlic

September 2012 7

Brgy. San Jose, Banga,South Cotabato - Fromcassava to cash.

This is the noble goal of agrowing multi-purpose coop-erative here, as it seeks toimprove productivity of itsmembers who are mostlycassava farmers.

Cassava is one of the majorcrops that thrive well in thistown, however farmers do notearn much as it is highlyperishable and postharvestlosses had been very high.

Traders also come into play,which usually buy farmersproduce into cheaper priceleaving farmers short changewith their profit.

“The San Jose Multi-purposeCooperative (SJMPC) wasorganized to address the needfor better pricing and at thesame time works for equalbenefit of cassava farmers,”said SJMPC manager AbrahamOso.

“The cooperative offersnumerous benefits to cassavafarmers. Aside from providingthem access to financing, theycan have patronage refund andyearly dividend,” Oso said.

The increasing demand forcassava in feed formulationprovided wider opportunities tofarmers as private processorsoffered joint venture for thecooperative to supply them withproducts for animal feeds.

Cassava had been consid-ered as rich in carbohydratesand protein making a viablesource for animal feeds.Cassava roots are processedinto chips and pellets forms asmain ingredients in formulatinganimal feeds.

“Although the offer would bea big boost to our cooperativeas well as to cassava farmers,lack of adequate post harvestfacility constrained our capacityto keep up with the quality andvolume requirements,” Ososaid.

“Feed processors only buygood quality chips with amoisture content of not morethan 14 percent. Freshcassava roots contain roughly65 percent water and removingthis would require a lot of timeand effort. This makes dryingcrucial in meeting the qualityrequired by the buyers,” hestressed.

“Time is another importantconcern since cassava is aperishable crop and need to beprocessed within 48 hours afterharvest to avoid spoilage.Manual chipping alone wouldtake a lot of time and energy.So aside from drying facility wealso need chipping machineand other equipment toenhance our product but it

Coop turns cassava farminginto lucrative enterprise

By Noel T. Provido

entails huge capital invest-ment,” he said.Into the big-ticket

Their opportunity came whenthe Mindanao Rural Develop-ment Program (MRDP) ex-panded the coverage of itslivelihood portfolio from toP250, 000 to a maximum of P5million. MRDP is a specialproject under the Departmentof Agriculture jointly funded bythe World Bank, the nationaland local government units.

Through MRDP’s CommunityFund for Agricultural Develop-ment (CFAD) big -ticketprojects, the SJMPC was ableto access P3.5 million for theirproposed Upgrading of Cas-sava Postharvest Facilityproject.

The said amount was used tobuy postharvest facilities suchas flatbed dryer, chipper, andgranulator. Solar dryer andprocessing center was alsoestablished including neces-sary logistical support such asmotorcycle cab for hauling ofcassava roots in remote areasand the truck scale, whichfacilitates convenient andfaster scaling of delivery rawmaterials.

“The assistance we haveavailed ourselves of fromMRDP has improved theefficiency of our cooperativeespecially in improving thequality and reliability of ourproducts,” Oso said adding:

“It has boosted our confi-dence to meet the requiredquality and volume of ourcassava chips and pelletsproducts paving the way for ourcooperative to forge a market-ing agreement with San MiguelCorporation (SMC) – one of the

country’s leading animal feedsprocessors.”

The SMC processing plant inGen. Santos City required theSJMPC to supply them at least1,500 tons of cassava chipsand pellets for one year. Whilebefore they could hardly meetthe said volume, thepostharvest facility has enabledtheir cooperative to supplySMC in just within six months.

“SMC has again given usanother purchase order of thesame amount for the secondhalf of this year,” Oso said.

The marketing opportunityoffered by SMC did not onlyboost the cooperative’sfinancial standing it has alsoimproved the income ofcassava farmers as it assuredthem of a ready market for theirproduce.

On a one-hectare cassavaplantation, a farmer canharvest at least 50 tons of rootsand if sold at P2.50 per kilo, hecan have gross earning ofP125, 000. Production cost canusually reach up to P15, 000per hectare giving the farmer ofat least P110,000 net income in11-13 months.

Banga municipal agriculturistJerry Estrella said farmers canearn more than this amount ifthey will intercrop cassava withother crop particularly cornwhich is also a major crop inthe area.

“We are recommending thisfarm practice so that farmerscan maximize their land andinputs and eventually doubletheir income,” he said.

Aside from marketing ofcassava chips, SJMPC is alsoearning from the truck scalebeing the sole large-scale

weighing facility in the area. Itdoes not only cater to thecassava suppliers but alsoother farmers’ products such asrice, corn, and livestock.

“We have included the truck-scale in our upgrading projectas this is essential in facilitatingfaster and honest-to-goodnesstransaction with our farmer-suppliers,” Oso said.

Banga Mayor Henry Ladotwhile expressing his continuedsupport to SJMPC alsothanked DA Region 12 Officeand MRDP for enhancing thecapability of their farmers tomanage a profitable enterprise.

“Cassava is a major cropamong smallholder farmers inour town and only through thisCFAD project that it has givena big boost. The developmentof cassava as an enterprise willsurely make a significantcontribution to our localeconomy,” he said.

MRDP program directorLealyn A. Ramos lauded theSJMPC, the local officials, andthe private sector particularlythe SMC for offering marketingopportunity to cassava farmers.

“Cassava used to be consid-ered a poor man’s crop is nowenjoying a better value chainwhere farmers are assured ofits markets and at same timeprocessors can expect betterquality and reliable supply,”Ramos said.

“We are currently workinginto strengthening commodityvalue chain to develop viablerural enterprise. The cassavaprocessing project in Banga isone concrete example thatfarmers are capable of not onlyin producing but also indeveloping marketable prod-ucts,” she added.

San Jose Multi-Purpose Coopera-tive manager Abraham Oso (2nd

from right) with chairpersonEstella Feliprada (2nd from left) andother officials pose behind a truck-load of cassava for processing attheir cooperative.

8

The Department of Agriculturein Region 12 (SocCKSarGen) isspearheading the institutional-ization of ‘farm service providers’in the country.

DA Region 12 Director AmaliaJ. Datukan said SocCKSarGenis the first to come up with thenovel program in March this year,partnering with Firmus Farm Ser-vice Cooperative (FFSC), basedin Koronadal City.

FFSC chairman Jaime Junsaysaid his group is composed offarm workers, who are hired toperform various operations, fromland preparation up to harvesting.

Farm owners agree on a ‘ser-vice fee’ depending on the workto be done.

Just like other regular employ-ees, farm service providers aregiven benefits like access toPhilHealth and Social SecuritySystem (SSS), said Junsay.

He said the FFSC gives prior-ity to landless farmer-members.

“Bilang member ng Firmus aynagkaroon kami ng PhilHealth atSSS cards. Sa ilang taon nakami’y magsasaka, ngayon langkami nagkaroon ng ganito.Nagpapasalamat kami dahilmayroon ganitong cooperative,”said Rodelia Navales, a farm ser-vice provider.

She fellow farm service work-ers are trained by FFSC so theycould offer efficient and competi-

tive services to clients.“Tinuruan kami ng mga

scientific at mga

tamang pamamaraan sapagtatanim at iba pa, upangmaging maganda ang serbisyona maibibigay namin sa amingmga client,” she added.

Since the cooperative startedits operations, it has alreadyserved and worked on a total of272.56 hectares of farmland, pro-viding services to 126 landown-ers in the provinces of SultanKudarat and South Cotabato.

FFSC is set to operate in NorthCotabato soon.

Currently, FFSC is the only rec-ognized farm service provider inthe region, said Dir. Datukan.

There are other cooperativesin SocCKSarGen that aspire tocarry out the same concept.

However, Junsay said thesecooperatives will be under theumbrella organization of Firmus.

The cooperative utilizes mod-ern farm machinery such as handtractors in land preparation andrice combine harvester, which

can harvest and thresh simul-taneously atleast eighthectares of ricea day with onlythree personsoperating it.

Besides landpre para t ion,FFSC is alsooffering otherservices likesoil fertilization,seed bedpr epar a t io n,planting andharvesting.

The farm ser-vice providersproject of theDA is part of theagency’s FoodStaples Suff i-ciency Programor FSSP .(LMSalvo, DA12)

DA introduces‘farm service

providers’

Secretary Alcala pledges his full support to the dairy industry through a milk toast, during a visit toCebu Federation of Dairy Cooperatives, in Consolacion, Cebu. With him (from left) are: DA-NationalDairy Authority administrator Grace Cenas, Hilario Davide III, and Consolacion Mayor Teresa Alegado.

The business ... (from p 12)

birth while raising their calves.They rest for two months, andthen get them impregnatedagain.

The process goes on and on,she said, until the cows get tooold to bear offsprings.

CEFEDCO was formed whenfour dairy cooperatives mergedas the Liloan-Consolacion Fed-eration of Dairy Cooperativesthru the initiative of the NDA toaddress the growing problem ofmilk deficiency in 1989. Coop-erative members underwenttraining in Bukidnon, and to startwith they were given 281 preg-nant dairy cattle imported fromNew Zealand.

Each cooperative wasawarded P5,000 each, makingup for the P20,000 initial federa-tion investment, in addition to theP250,000 they collectivelyavailed from the government.

In 1991, the P12-million Pitogodairy plant started constructionand was officially turned over tothe federation a year later.

In 1994, more cooperativesjoined, prompting management

to change its name toCEFEDCO.

To this date, the federationgives livelihood to close to 300Cebuano farm-families. Carryingthe name ‘Cebu Dairy Fresh’brand, CEFEDCO’s most popu-lar products include fresh milk,milk bars, pastilles, butter, yo-ghurt, polvoron and whitecheese.

At present, the country’s pro-duction of fresh milk is far fromsufficient.

In 2001, consumption of dairyproducts, fresh and processed,was estimated at 1,805 millionkilograms (kg), with local produc-tion contributing only 16.45 M kgin liquid milk equivalent, or lessthan one per cent of total de-mand.

The balance is covered by im-ports coming from New Zealand,USA, Australia and France.

There is a lot to be done butwith the government’s continuingassistance, organized dairygroups such as the CEFEDCO,the gaps will be filled up soon.(Adora D. Rodriguez)

Far mers in Camarines Norteare now test-planting two newpineapple varieties fromMindanao, adding on to their tra-ditional “Queen” or Formosavariety.

The two varieties are ‘Supersweet snack’ or “Ulam” and MD-2 hybrid. They were sourcedfrom Mindanao.

Agriculture Secretary ProcesoAlcala instructed DA Bicol regionofficals, led by Dir. Jose Dayao,to diversitfy and try out other pro-ductive varieties, as he was in-formed that the yield of Formosapineapple variety--while it is

Camarines Norte farmers testtwo new pineapple varieties

(Pls turn to p11)

known for the fruit’s sweetness--has been decreasing throughthe years.

Dir. Dayao said they procured1,000 pieces of MD-2 hybridpineapple from Bukidnon, whilethe Office of the Provincial Agri-culturist in Camarines Norte pur-chased 1,000 pieces of “Ulam”variety from Davao.

Both varieties are now plantedat the DA Research OutreachStation in Calasgasan, Daet,Camarines Norte.

Researchers are testing theadaptability and yield perfor-

September 2012 9

The Department of Agriculturewill implement a P2.5-million rub-ber and corn production projectin Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur.

The project is funded underthe DA’s Mindanao Rural Devel-opment Program–CommunityFund for Agricultural Develop-ment (MRDP-CFAD).

The municipal government ofBayog will share a counterpartfund of P500,000 for the project.

The project will benefit dozensof farmers in five barangays(Bobuan, Camp Blessing,Conacon, Dagum andDimalinao), Cawanan said.

As a prerequisite for theproject, a pre-implementationorientation was conducted byNestor Cawanan, CFAD Coordi-nator, at the Glupa Gulian Agro-

DA allots P2.5M for rubber-corn project in Zambo Sur

The Department of Agriculture(DA) through the High ValueCrops Development Program(HVCDP) launched a ‘Gulayansa Barangay’ techno-demo farmin Pampanga, September 14,2012.

The initiative, worth P500,000, is aimed at increasing thevegetable production of farmersin Barangay Calulut, SanFernando City, particularly thosebelonging to the Bangon SanMatias Multi-Purpose Coopera-tive (BSMMPC).

To implement the project, theDA has partnered with ButilFarmers Party-list, SanFernando City, and BSMMPC.

The project launch was at-tended by DA Region 3 Dir. An-drew Villacorta, DA-HVCDP Di-rector Jennifer Remoquillo, ButilFarmers Party-list Representa-tive Agapito Guanlao, SanFernando City Mayor OscarRodriguez, and BSMMPCfarmer-leaders.

Dir. Villacorta handed over acultivator and a “Nego Kart, whileDir. Remoquillo distributed farmproduction inputs.

For the project, which featuresa two-hectare techno-demofarm, the DA-HVCDP con-structed a greenhouse produc-

New mango drying systemset for commercial testing

Sec. Alcala (left) hands over to Dir. Minda Brigoli (right) of theDepartment of Social Welfare and Development - Region VI a P2.4-million check as DA‘s support to the Cash-for-work - Pantawid saPamilyang Pilipino (CFP-PPP) program, September 11, 2012, atBago City, Negros Occidental. CFP is a joint initiative of the DA,DSWD, National Irrigation Administration and the local govern-ment units. The amount will benefit 879 farmer-beneficiaries in ex-change for work they rendered, which include restoration and reha-bilitation of irrigation systems and construction of water canals inWestern Visayas. Looking on is Negros Occidental Governor AlfredoG. Maranon.

Tourism Park, Sitio Quibranza,Kahayagan, Bayog.

It was attended by 80 partici-pants, led by Bayog MayorLeonardo Babasa, Jr., barangayofficials, representatives frompeople’s organizations (POs),SB Member Celso Matias, multi-sectoral committee chair AllanGrafil, and a representative froma private corn seed company(Pioneer).

The orientation was facilitatedby Bayog municipal agriculturistNora Paredes.

In his message, Mayor Babasaurged the participants to workhard and support the program toattain its goal.

“You play an important role in

The DA’s Philippine Centerfor Postharvest Developmentand Mechanization (DA-PhilMech) is ready to test arevolutionary mango drying sys-tem that is more energy-effi-cient and cheaper.

PhilMech Director RexBingabing said the technologywith greatly benef it mangofarmers and processors, par-ticularly those producing driedmangoes.

He said of the total $35-mil-lion of mango exports in 2010,processed mango productscomprised 10%.

With the new mango dryingtechnology, the country can ex-port more dried products,Bingabing said.

“Based on research byPhilMech, the local mango in-dustry is constrained by limiteddrying capacity to achieve maxi-mum production. And the indus-try must take advantage of thepeak harvest season fromMarch to April to produce asmuch dried mangoes, whichhas a growing export demand,”he said.

The research entitled “Devel-opment of Pilot-Scale ConveyorDryer for Mango Slices UsingCombined Far-Infrared andConvection Heating (FIRCH),”is undertaken by PhilMech re-searchers Robelyn E. Daquilaand Dr. Romualdo C. Martinez.

At present, the mango indus-try uses convection heating todry mangoes. The process in-volves circulating heated air todry various food products, andlasts for 12 hours, resulting inhigher energy consumption.

DA3, HVCDP, Butil farmers launch‘Gulayan sa Barangay’ in Pampanga

PhilMech researchers under-took studies and tests by com-bining infra red and convectionheating or FIRCH, reducingdrying time by 33% to eighthours, and lesser energy cost.

PhilMech engineers are nowfabricatiing the FIRCH equip-ment.

With the FIRCH method,sliced mangoes could be driedin eight hours in two stages:two hours using infra-red heat-ing; and 6 hours using convec-tion heating.

The FIRCH method also re-sulted to a 17% reduction inenergy consumption and 32%reduction in overall dryingcosts, compared to the convec-tion method.

Further, the beta-carotenecontent of FIRCH-dried man-goes was also higher by 40%compared to the slices dried viaconvection heating.

With the reduction of dryingtime, mango processors couldproduce more dired mangoesusing FIRCH, said Bingabing.

Bingabing said PhilMech willcommercial-test FIRCH earlynextyear.

“Again, PhilMech has dem-onstrated how Filipino know-how and ingenuity could betapped to develop technologiesand machines to improve thefood processing industry in thecountry,” he added.

With this technology, thePhilippines can outsell in theyears to come other mango ex-porting countries like Thailand,Indonesia and China. (DA-PhilMech)

tion facility and a small scale ir-rigation system.

The farm is planted with as-sorted vegetables such as egg-plant, pole sitao, squash, and hotpepper. It showcases the goodagricultural practices in growingquality vegetables.

The farm is maintained by 30farmers from Guagua.

Dir Remoquillo said the projecthas already benefit farmers, asthey earned P250,000 from thefirst batch of harvest recently.

This based on a report by Fi-del David, president of thePampanga Vegetable GrowersAssociation, who sold their pro-duce direct to Divisoria andBalintawak markets.

our economy, since farmers arethe backbone of the country,” hesaid.

“I hope you will do your bestto attain it so that the governmentwill also continue with this pro-gram,” Babasa added. (PNA)

The DA-Philippine Rice Re-search Institute (PhilRice) inMurcia, Negros will expand itshybrid rice seed production areato support the Aquinogovernment’s efforts to achieverice sufficiency by end of 2013.

PhilRice Negros manager LeoJavier said they will allot 1,000hectares for hybrid rice seed pro-duction in Visayas and Mindanao

PhilRice to expandhybrid rice area

(Pls turn to p11)

10

The DA-PCIC will subsidizeP98.9 million in terms of pre-mium payments, said PCICPresident Atty Jovy Bernabe.

Secretary Alcala said that theprogram complements the effortsof the government to achieve itsrice sufficiency target by end of2013.

The DA will also vigorouslypursue a farm mechanizationand postharvest program.

In fact, while in Negros Occi-dental he awarded a total ofP43,191,200 project grants tothe farmers’ groups and irriga-tors’ associations.

The package consists of eightunits of flatbed dryers, a multi-purpose drying pavement or so-lar dryer, 30 units of hand trac-tors, six units of rice transplant-ers, 10 units of rice threshers, acombine rice harvester, dozensof laminated sacks, collapsibledrying cases, steel plows, andcacao and coffee seedlings.

DA, NIA, PCIC... (from p1)

Sec. Alcala (2nd from left) leads the launch of a DA-NIA-PCICthird cropping program--which provides farmers free crop insur-ance and inbred seeds--in Bago City, Negros Occidental, Septem-ber 11, 2012. Also shown (from left) are: NIA administrator Anto-nio Nangel, PCIC President Atty. Jovy C. Bernabe and PCIC Di-rector David M. Villanueva.

Farmers to manage ... (from p 5)

The Department of Agriculturerecently created a Cold StorageWarehouse Composite Team(CSWCT) to accredit cold stor-age warehouses (CSWs) for ag-ricultural and fishery products.

The team, chaired by AssistantSecretary Allan Umali, is taskedto centralize and harmonize thecertification system of CSWs,and enforce DA AdministrativeOrder No. 21 or the mandatoryaccreditation of CSWs in thecountry.

The team members are com-posed of representatives fromthe DA agencies like the NationalMeat Inspection Service (NMIS),Bureau of Fisheries and AquaticResources (BFAR), Bureau ofAnimal Industry (BAI), Bureau ofPlant Industry (BPI), and repre-sentatives from the DA Legal Di-vision, and Committee on CSWAccreditation (CCSWA).

The team is also tasked to: in-vestigate and recommend to theDA Secretary appropriate ac-tions and penalties for violatorsof AO 21; provide forum to ad-dress issues arising from theimplementation of AO 21; andmaintain and monitor regularly alist of accredited CSWs and non-compliant and/or non-accreditedCSWs.

Ass’t. Sec. Umali said CSWsthat have not been accredited bythe CSWCT will not be issued animport permit or clearance.

Among the requirements forCSW accreditation and renewalare: duly accomplished and veri-fied application form; evaluationreport; floor plan and layout ofstorage rooms and facilities; re-cent photographs of CSW; and

Standard documentary re

DA accredits cold storage warehousesquirements (business permitfrom LGU; DENR Environmen-tal Compliance Certificate; DTI/SEC business registration: sani-tary permit; letter of approval ofwater source and potability-deepwell: and DOH and NWRB per-mits); reliable recording system;rated capacity; list of clientelesfor the last two years; list of prod-ucts/commodities stored, localand imported. (Bethzaida N.Bustamante, DA Info Service)

P649 million for the establish-ment of the four RPCs, while thePhilippine government allocateda counterpart funding of P136.45million.

Each RPC is equipped withfive mechanical dryers, multi-pass state-of- the-art milling fa-cility equipped with color sorter,length grader and automaticbagger. It is also equipped witha storage facility.

The capacity of the 5 units ofmechanical dryer is 50 tons or1,000 bags per day at a 10-houroperation per day.

The rice milling facility has acapacity of 50 bags of milled riceper hour or 500 bags per day, ata 10-hour milling operation perday. (DA-PhilMech Applied Com-munication Division)

Residents of barangaysLibertad, Inudaran and Pantar inKolambugan, Lanao del Norteare now enjoying the benefitsbrought by the rehabilitation of a800-meter farm-to-market road(FMR), amounting to P1,667,000.

It was made possible througha 90:10 cost sharing scheme be-tween the Department of Agricul-ture-Mindanao North Coast Inte-grated Area DevelopmentProject (DA-MNCIADP) and themunicipal government ofKolambugan.

The FMR is now providingmore opportunities to 670farmer-households, as they caneasily transport their produce tonearby markets, saving ontransportation and labor costs.

It is also expected to boostfarm productivity and income offarmers in Kolambugan, where50 hectares are planted to coco-nut and high value crops.

Induran Barangay ChairmanJulieto Culong said “before, ourfarmers had to manually carrytheir produce downtown with theuse of draft animals. The laborcost is very expensive and farm-ers cannot demand a better pricein the market due to inefficientpost harvest handling thatbrought damage to the prod-ucts.”

He added that their dreamscame true when the FMR wasrehabilitated, as they can nowmove and transport their prod-ucts more easily, faster andcheaper, making their lives bet-ter.

Moreover, it has also attractedtourists to enjoy the waterfalls inBarangay Inudaran, providingadditional income for non-farm-ing households. (Vanessa Mae S.Siano, DA-RAFID 10)

FMR spurs farm,economic activitiesin Lanao Norte town

The Philippines exported $2.1-billion worth of farm and fisheryproducts, from January to July2012, according to the NationalStatistics Office (NSO). This is10% lower than last year’s ex-ports of $2.4 B covering the sameseven-month period.

The country’s top exports arestill dominated by coconut prod-ucts, totalling $842 million (M),bannered by coconut oil ($642M),desiccated coconut ($138M), andcopra meal/cake ($46M).

Fruits and vegetables rankedsecond at $681M, which is 23%

Agri exports top $2.1Bhigher than last year’s $552M.Banana exports totaled $340M,followed by canned pineapplepineapple juice and concen-trates, and mangoes, at $130M.

Sugar came in third at $106M.Exports of other agro-based

products grew by 6% to $493M,from $465M.

These included fish (fresh andpreserved), shrimps and prawns,at $265M; unmanufactured to-bacco ($45M), natural rubber($33M), and dried sea weeds($22M).

The DA chief also committedto establish a rice processingcenter in the province.

During a farmers’ forum, hesaid “the government is with youin all your agri-endeavors. Kaisanyo po kami sa pagtupad nginyong mga pangarap.”

He said he is visiting the prov-ince for the third time to bring thefarmers closer to the Aquino gov-ernment.

While in the province, Alcalaalso awarded a P2.4-millioncheck to the Department of So-cial Work and Development forthe Cash for Work Program –Pantawid sa Pamilyang Pilipino(CFW-PPP).

According to DSWD RegionalDirector Minda Brigoli, theamount will go to 879 families inWestern Visayas, who will workfor the rehabilitation of 667 hect-ares of irrigation areas and con-struction of 33,955 meters of ca-nal. (Adora Rodriguez)

11September 2012

Congress okays ... (from p2)

Farm mechanization...(from p 1)ficiency Program (FSSP), aimsto distribute thousands of unitsof on-farm and postharvest ma-chinery, equipment and facilities,from 2011 to 2016.

Since 2011, the DA has pro-cured and awarded more than3,200 units of on-farm andpostharvest machinery andequipment, including more than510,000 pieces of laminatedsacks.

The on-farm equipment in-cludes rice drum seeders, seedcleaners, rice transplanters,power tillers with trailers, handtractors, and mini four-wheeltractors with accessories, amongothers.

The postharvest machineryand equipment consists of lami-nated sacks, collapsible tents,hermetic cocoons, flatbed andmechanical dryers, solar dryersor multi-purpose drying pave-ments, palay sheds, threshers,shredders, and combine harvest-ers, among others.

”This is one of the strategiesthat we are pursuing to increasefarm productivity and reducepostharvest losses,” said Secre-tary Alcala at a farmers’ forum inBago City, Negros Occidentallast week.

He assured them that theimplementation of a farm mecha-nization program will not dis-place farm workers. In fact, hesaid they will have more time toengage in other livelihood oppor-tunities or additional sources ofincome.

”Huwag po kayong matakot,dahil lahat naman po aymakikinabang dito, (You havenothing to fear, because all willbenefit from the program),” Sec-retary Alcala assured farmers inNegros Occidental, where theDA has allotted about P43 mil-lion for various farm machineryand equipment.

One group of recipients aremembers of the Negros Occiden-tal League of Federation of Irri-gators’ Associations (IAs), led byits lady president RosemaryCaunca.

They received various farmmachinery and equipment con-sisting of rice threshers, handtractors, rice transplanters,flatbed and solar dryers, a com-bine rice harvester, hundreds ofcollapsible dryer cases, andthousands of laminated sacks.

The DA farm mechanizationprogram is implemented throughcounterparting, where the DAshoulders 85%, while the recipi-ents pay the 15%. (AdoraRodriguez, DA Info Service)

The remaining amount willbankroll other major final outputslike regulatory (P2.52B), plansand policies (P2.26B), credit fa-cilitation (P2.01B), research anddevelopment (P1.45B), and mar-ket development (P1.28B).

On a commodity program ba-sis, the DA will spend the follow-ing budget in 2013: rice(P7.45B), fisheries (P3.66B),corn (P1.52B), high value crops(P1.36B), and livestock(P1.03B).

The DA regional offices, in-cluding ARMM, are allotted a to-tal of P43.32B, while its eightbureaus will get P8.19B; nineattached agencies, P3.45B; andsubsidy for seven attached cor-porations, P9.92B.

Secretary Alcala (center) presents to Negros Occidental League ofFederation of IAs President Rosemary Caunca (3rd from left) a sym-bolic certificate for postharvest facilities and equipment, Septem-ber 11, 2012 in Bago City. The package consists of rice threshers,hand tractors, rice transplanters, and a combine rice harvester. Alsoshown (from left) are: DA Asst. Sec. Dante Delima, National Irri-gation Administrator Antonio Nangel, Negros Occidental Gover-nor Alfredo Marañon, and 4th District Congressman Jeffrey Ferrer.

Camarines Norte... (from p 8)

requirements, monitoring and re-porting mechanisms, and infor-mation management strategies,he added.

Earlier this year, the country’sJanuary-June 2012 palay pro-duction was estimated at 7.89million MT, 4.2% higher than lastyear’s level of 7.58 million MT.

Increases in production werereported in Cagayan Valley, Cen-tral Luzon, MIMAROPA, North-ern Mindanao, SOCCSK-SARGEN and Caraga. CagayanValley posted the biggest pro-duction increment of 204.6 thou-sand MT, the BAS data said.

If the threat of El Niño in thefourth quarter would not materi-alize or effecitvely mitigated, theBAS forecasts bigger productionincrements in Central Luzon byaround 282,000 MT; Ilocos Re-gion, 59,000 MT; WesternVisayas, 91,0000 MT; andMIMAROPA, 72,000 MT. (AdamO. Borja, DA national rice pro-gram)

DA forms ... (from p 3)

mance of the two varieties underdifferent soil and climatic condi-tions, production methods, andas intercrop under coconut trees.

The production methods in-clude medium planting density,and low fertilizer inputs; highplanting density, and medium fer-tilizer inputs; and high plantingdensity, and high fertilizer rate.

The ‘Ulam’ variety was devel-oped and registered by Dr. JuanC. Acosta of Bukidnon. He main-tains a plantation in Toril, Davao.Ulam has spiny leaves similar toQueen pineapple, and producessweet fruits with soft edible core.

Meanwhile, the MD-2 hybridwas reported developed by amultinational corporation, but isnow widely planted in Mindanao.

It has a similar plant stand withthe spineless smooth cayenne orHawaiian variety. It also bearssweet fruit with no aftertastewhen eaten. MD-2 is also widelyin other countries like Hondurasand Mexico.

Both ‘ulam’ and MD-2 varietiesare planted in Mindanao at highelevation areas, ranging from400 to 800 meters above sea.

In Camarines Norte, pineappleproduction areas are at lowerlevel, ranging from 4 to 100meters above sea level only.

Dr. Faustino Obrero, patholo-gist and a veteran pineapple re-searcher in Mindanao, cautionedthat the MD-2 variety may besusceptible to a form diseasewhen planted at lower elevations,and especially when harvest istimed during summer months.

He recommended the con-

struction of drainage canal inwaterlogged areas, planting inbeds or ridges, and the use ofsystemic fungicides to control adestructive pineapple disease,called “heart rot.”

The DA researchers conduct-ing the field tests are InocencioObrero and Roseller Mago.

They are assisted on testing“Ulam” variety by CamarinesNorte Provincial AgriculturistFrancia Pajares and technician,Joseph Ibasco.

Meanwhile, some plant ex-perts believe that the main rea-son why the yield of Queen hasbeen decreasing is inadequatecrop management, and not dueto using a single variety.

Pineapple is unlikely to be af-fected by inbreeding becauseplanting materials used are suck-

ers and not seeds, observerssaid.

The most likely reason forlower yield is low fertilizer rates,use of the same area for thesame crop over and over again,and early flower induction ofpineapple.

Other factors are prevalenceof pests and diseases, aggra-vated by prolonged rainy seasondue to climate change.(Inocencio Q. Obrero, DA5 InfoDiv.)

this year and in 2013.DA-PhilRice will propagate

seeds of two newly-commercial-ized hybrid varieties, Mestiso 19(NSIC Rc202H) and Mestiso 20(NSIC Rc204H).

The DA targets to plant hybridrice in 50,000 hectares in 2013.

Javier said the PhilRiceNegros station’s 61-hectare seedproduction area may be devotedto hybrids, while inbred seed pro-duction may be contracted out.

Under the scheme, landown-ers will produce the requiredseeds and shoulder productionand harvest expenses. PhilRicewill dry, clean, and bag theseeds; and pay the landowner atcommercial palay price, he said.

PhilRice Negros recently con-tracted eight hectares of nearbyfarms to produce high qualityseeds of newly-released and cli-mate-change ready rice variet-ies. (Malaya)

PhilRice ... (from p9)

DA allots P11Mto boost corn prod’n

The Department of Agriculturehas alloted P11 million to in-crease the production of corn inEastern Visayas or Region 8.

The amount will be used toprovide farmers with needed pro-duction and marketing supportservices, improve existingpostharvest facilities, and pro-cure mobile corn mills for distri-bution to farmers’ groups thatplant white corn for food.

DA regional corn program co-ordinator Brenda J. Pepito saidthe DA will strengthen and em-power farmers’ groups by provid-ing them needed assistance thatinclude production inputs andequipment, and postharvest fa-cilities.

She said the DA targets to in-crease production of white cornby 27%, from this year’s outputof 91,267 metric tons (MT).

The DA-8 has established asix-hectare production area forwhite corn seeds, which will bedistributed to interested commu-nities.

”We expect to produce 1,200bags at 20 kilograms per bag ofquality corn seeds. Given theright management, each bag ofcorn seeds has a potential pro-duction of six to seven metrictons, and goive farmers a grossincome ranging from P72,000 toP84,000 per hectare,” Pepitosaid.

The DA will also distribute toupland farmers 10 village-typemobile corn mills powered by afive-horsepower engine.

”This is a strategy adopted bythe program to encourage morefarmers to plant and eat whitecorn grits as alternate staple torice,” Pepito said.

Each mobile mill can process44,000 kilos of corn per eight-hour daily operation. Each millcan benefit a group of 64 farm-ers.

The DA will also conduct corntechno-demo training to teachfarmers modern technologies oncorn production to post harvest.It will also encourage them toexpand their existing productionareas.

“Several interventions such asplanting in coconut areas to in-crease yield are being consid-ered. The plan is to expand9,187 hectares of land,” Ms.Pepito said

“White corn utilization for foodand health is also included in the

DA grants Davao P17.5-M farm tractors; supports corn exports. Agriculture Secre-tary Proceso J. Alcala (center) leads the turnover of farm tractors (background and inset) that form partof a P17.5-million assistance to Davao farmers’ groups and local government units, during the 8th Na-tional Corn Congress, September 28, 2012, in Davao City, where he represented and read the messageof President Benigno S. Aquino III. During the congress—attended by 1,000 farmers, local governmentofficials and industry stakeholders belonging to the National Corn Board and Philippine Maize Federa-tion, Inc. (PhilMaize)—he acted favorably on several PhilMaize resolutions, including export of thecountry’s surplus corn production. He also raffled off P12.8-million worth of farm equipment and cornseeds to lucky participants, mainly regional corn farmers’ groups and cooperatives. Among those shown(from left) are: Davao Oriental provincial agriculturist Raymundo Curameng; Dante Caubang repre-senting Rep. Nelson Dayanghirang; Manay, Davao Oriental municipal agriculturist Belinda Macadagat;PhilMaize chairman emeritus Roderico Bioco; and DA assistant secretary and national corn programcoordinator Edilberto de Luna.

training to create awarenessamong farm families on the ad-vantages of eating white corn asalternate staple to rice,” Pepitosaid.

Two out of ten people in theregion eat white corn as theirmain staple, the DA said.

Last year, Eastern Visayas has60,950 hectares (ha) planted tocorn, with a total production of83,992 metric tons, according tothe DA’s Bureau of AgriculturalStatistics.

Majority or 85 percent of totalproduction is white corn, at71,228 MT from a planted areaof 53,750 ha. Yellow corn isplanted to 7,200 ha, with a totalharvest of 12,764 MT.

The average production isquite low at 1.38 MT per hectare,or 1.77 MT/ha for yellow and1.33MT/ha for white.

With its interventions, the DAexpects to encourage and inspireEastern Visayas farmers to plantquality seeds and adopt modernproduction and postharvest tech-nologies to increase their produc-tivity to about seven to eight MTof white corn per hectare.(BusinessWorld online, DA InfoService)

The Department of Agricultureis urging agencies under it to pa-tronize local milk and other prod-ucts as part of the government’scontinuous support the Philip-pine dairy sector.

Agriculture chief Proceso J.Alcala admits that even if thereis no swift solution to the prob-lems hounding the industry, heis optimistic that the placementof proper technologies and inter-vention will help resolve linger-ing concerns.

The DA through its AgriculturalCompetitiveness EnhancementFund launched a project, called“Acquisition and Upgrading ofMilk Collection and ProcessingFaculties and Market ExpansionProject” in Pitogo, Consolacion,Cebu to enhance the local dairy-ing industry.

The project was unveiled dur-ing the recent visit of SecretaryAlcala at Cebu Federation ofDairy Cooperatives(CEFEDCO), in Consolacion.

During the event, he encour-aged milk stakeholders to part-ner with the DA’s National DairyAuthority (NDA) and the localgovernment to increase milk pro-duction of dairy cows.

The business of milking

(Pls turn to p8)

“We have to work together toincrease production. I will directDA agencies in the province toexclusively use your products,”he announced.

Developing the local dairy in-dustry is one of the government’sstrategies to help reduce povertyin the country.

In line with this, the Dairy Con-federation of the Philippines isencouraging livestock raisersand farmers to engage more indairying for milk production in-stead of fattening for meat pro-duction.

“Dairying augments profit anduplifts the income and lives offarmers in rural areas,” Alcalasaid.

For her part AdminstratorGrace Cenas of the DA’s Na-tional Dairy Industry (NDA) saida dairy cow can produce an av-erage monthly-income ofP7,000, and a well-trained farm-family can raise six dairy animalsat a time, earning a potential in-come of P40,000 to P50,000 percow.

She said dairy cows producemilk for 300 days after they give