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Philippine tuna company acquires US salmon company

Roy — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:51:25 +0000

Philippine company Alliance Select Food International Inc. sealed a deal to acquire 100 percent of US company Spence & Co. Ltd., a Massachusetts-based salmon smoking and curing company who specializes in the production of smoked salmon and seafood, prepared in the Scottish tradition of its founder Alan Spence. The company caters to the high-end market in the USA and Europe.

The Alliance, in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), said it had signed an agreement to acquired the US fish company lock, stock and barrel through subsidiary ASFI Choice Foods Inc. for $8.5 million.

Alliance spokesperson Rajat Balain said, “An investment in Spence is another step towards Alliance’s goal of diversifying its product line to enhance shareholder value and ensure future profitability. This will be Alliance’s third smoked salmon venture, making it the largest salmon processor in the region, and will help it establish a beachhead in the lucrative seafood market in the US.”

To partly finance the acquisition of Spence, Alliance will be conducting a stock rights offering. The company already gave the approval for the said offering. The PSE suspended trading of Alliance starting 9 a.m. Tuesday pending the submission of additional disclosure pertinent details on the transaction.

Alliance started commercial operations in General Santos City in Mindanao in 2004, it was formerly known as Alliance Tuna International and engages in tuna processing, canning and export of canned tuna products. It exports to Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and South America as a “private label manufacture,” which means it processes and cans tuna using its customer’s brands.

Part of its overseas expansion in recent years is the company’s aspirations to become a regional food company with a “decidedly Filipino DNA.” Alliance is always on the lookout for opportunities in regional seafood companies with high margins and high-value products.

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Philippines bans chocolate milk from Japan

Roy — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 02:22:58 +0000

The country temporarily bans chocolate milk products from Japan after the March 11 earthquake, although it was just a verbal order issued by Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Director Efren Nuestro. Philippines joins other countries like Russia, Canada, Australia and Singapore, among the list of countries which banned Japanese food imports as radioactive steam wafted anew from the Fukushima Dai-chi Nuclear Power Station.

Nuestro said that a formal order is already being drafted canceling a previous clearance for the import of Japanese chocolate milk products. “We will recall the veterinary quarantine clearance for chocolate milk products that were shipped into the Philippines after March 11.”

Together with the BAI, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), would screen animal-based products from Japan for abnormal radiation levels and recommend the suspension of the importation of suspect items. The two agencies are both under the Department of Agriculture.

A random sampling of mackerel from Japan would be conducted to determine if they have a high radioactivity level, said BFAR Director Malcom Sarmiento. According to him, the country imported 4,000 tons of mackerel from Japan last year for food processing.

Quarantine officer Rico Capulong said that the Philippine custom authorities are also keeping a close watch on any imports from areas of Japan that were close to the stricken nuclear plants. “Not all parts of Japan were affected. There are certain areas that we are concentrating on,” he said.

Meanwhile, three United Nations agencies issued a joint statement in Geneva, pledging their commitment to “mobilizing their and expertise” to help Japan, noting that “food safety issues are an additional dimension of the emergency.”

The three agencies, International Atomic Energy Agency, World Health Organization, and the Food and Agriculture Organization, said Japan was taking the right action. “Food monitoring is being implemented, measurements of radioactivity in food are taking place and the results are being communicated publicly,” the three agencies added.

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Coffee Fund to finance coffee production to be set-up

Roy — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 16:36:46 +0000

To meet the local coffee demand of 64,000 metric tons (MT), a Coffee Fund to finance production is being set up by the Land Bank of the Philippines and (LBP) and coffee grower Corporate Holdings Management Inc. (CHMI).

President Noel S. Gonzales of CHMI said, “Any business will not survive without funding from banks. We can’t finance 100 percent of the equity for our production which is why we’re setting up a Coffee Fund with Land Bank for the Industry.” CHMI is now the largest coffee grower in the Philippines with 200 hectares of coffee plantation.

The template for financing coffee production being set up by CHMI with LBP will standardize financing for the coffee industry, according to Gonzales. He said this will attract commercial banks and other financiers to accommodate coffee growers. Usually, they veer away from this because of the industry’s many inherent risks, like calamity threats, production inefficiencies, and lack of markets.

Gonzales also said that there must be a guarantee loan fund to be set up by the government for agricultural production. “We will also need a guarantee from the government so that banks will lend without collateral. The government can guarantee 85 percent of the loan. The rest is still taken as a risk,” he said.

For its part, LBP, through its vice-president Liduvino S. Geron, said they have a mandate to prioritize agricultural production, especially coffee. “Among the crops, coffee is the nearest to Land Bank. It’s one of the high value crops. We have launched the Food Supply Chain program to promote value chain financing. We’re trying to link producers with millers, processors, and markets, and we’ll provide loans for these. We are prepared to finance post harvest, irrigation, transport, and warehousing facilities to ensure the produce and commodities reach markets.”

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Figaro to open 18 more outlets in 2010

Roy — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 05:47:12 +0000

Figaro Coffee Co., a 100-percent Filipino-owned company established in 1993 whose product lines include specialty roasted local coffee varieties and various coffee-related paraphernalia. Currently, the largest Filipino-owned coffee company, with 65 coffee shop outlets nationwide, 35 of which are franchise-owned, and 30 are company-owned.

For 2010, the company plans to increase its 65 outlets by 18 more stores by opening up one or two outlets each month. For this, Figaro has set aside P78 million to accelerate its expansion for the year. “Figaro Coffee Company is now keeping a critical eye on expanding in our home-market, which will focus mostly on business districts around the country as we want more and more people experience our local barako coffee,” said Ace L. Azarraga, marketing manager of Figaro Coffee Systems Inc.

According to Azarraga, each store is estimated to cost approximately P6.5 million. Recently, the company opened up two stores, one in DBP Makati and another one in Dasmariñas, Cavite.

The DBP Makati branch, which is located at the ground floor of DBP building, Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., cor., Makati Ave., Makati City, is a full store which carries the complete line-up of coffee drinks, breakfast, pasta, pizza, all day breakfast, ala carte, sandwhiches and pastries.

The Dasmariñas, Cavite branch, on the other hand, is located at the No. 29 Abad Santos Ave., Salawag, Dasmariñas City, Cavite. It aims to serve residents of nearby posh villages and golf enthusiasts, and offers signature Figaro coffee and pastries.

The company’s expansion program is in line with its tradition to continue serving the finest native barako coffee in the country. Figaro is set to open 1 to 2 stores each month nationwide, promising more exciting coffee blends, updated menu and more promotional programs to satisfy its growing number of customers. “As we continue to expand, more and more Filipino coffee farmers are benefited. Figaro Coffee Company only buys local coffee beans,” Azarraga said.

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Seaweed-durian cupcake, a healthy ‘baon’ for school

Roy — Sat, 29 May 2010 16:40:22 +0000

A healthier cupcake makes for a great alternative ‘baon’ is the product of the research project by a group of people from the Southern Philippines Agribusiness and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology (SPAMAST) in Digos City, Davao del Norte.

The cupcake made from seaweed and durian, which is just in time for the school opening, was made through the collaborative efforts of Arlyn Omboy, Graciela Caballero, Milagros Subaldo, Dr. Nila Nanette Revilla and Dr. Delia Grace Bacaltos, all from the SPAMAST. The seaweed-durian cupcake was their entry to the 2010 Aquatic Technology Competition and Marketplace (ATCOM), wherein there were one of the finalists.

The contest (ATCOM) was sponsored by the Los Baños-based Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (DOST-PCAMRD).

The researchers said that the making of seaweed-durian cupcake follows the usual baking process for bread and pastries. The cupcake, which has a shelf life of five days, is a bakery product made from seaweed powder with processed durian jam, uses as raw material locally available Eucheuma spinosum and durian, an exotic fruit which is described as “smells like hell but tastes like heaven.”

During the research process, the team of researchers conducted a consumers’ feedback evaluation to get the reaction of the market on the seaweed-durian cupcake. Most of the respondents which were from Digos City and neighboring towns rated the cupcake as “most acceptable.”

The seaweed-durian cupcake technology was further improved, and was even extended to various seaweed-growing communities in the Island Garden City of Samal and Puntao Biao, Cogon, Digos City. Thanks to the support of the Davao Industry Cluster Capacity Enhancement Project (DICCEP) sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Region 11. Arrangements with the DTI and Department of Education (DepEd) are now being made to make the healthy cupcake available in the different ‘Pasalubong’ centers and school canteens.

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Private firms offered to import sugar

Roy — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 22:16:45 +0000

The Philippine government received offers from five companies to import sugar at a state auction held recently to complete the below 45,100 tons volume it required. The offers submitted totaled to about 33,400 tons, however the government may only award up to 22,400 tons for sugar imports from the auction due to the restrictions related to the end-users of the imports. They may hold another tender at a later date to fill up the remaining volume.

The companies who offered to import sugar were Ginebra San Miguel, Asian Refreshments Corp., Cosmos Bottling Corp., Harman Food and Gokongwei-owned Universal Robina Corp (URV). whose total bids submitted reached 21,000 MT against an available allocation of 10,000 metric tons for industrial users. A second bidding for the importation of 45,100 MT attracted more participants where the submitted bids reached 33,400 MT.

Head of the planning department at the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) and vice-chairperson of the joint SFA-NFA (National Food Authority) bidding and allocation committee Rosemarie S. Gumera said that they may hold a third auction on the importation of sugar, depending on a joint decision of the SRA-NFA BAC. She noted that there were more interest to import sugar from the industrial sugar users than the retailers.

However, Gumera explained that because of the restrictions, such as the specific allocations of the SRA-NFA BAC, they cannot just reallocated the unfilled amounts to the industrial users, in spite of the fact the bids submitted were within the acceptable range of P150 to P160 per 50 kilogram bags.

She added that the SRA-NFA BAC will issue the notification for payment on Friday, April 23, while the notification of award would be on April 29.

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Effects of El Niño reaching almost P10 billion in losses

Roy — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 22:51:31 +0000

The losses in the agricultural sector brought about by the El Niño have already reached P9.58 billion as of the end of March. Report shows 12 regions are experiencing dry spell conditions which affect production of rice, corn, fruits, flowers, high-value commercial crops and livestock.

But in spite of this, the government continues to downplay the effects of El Niño on the Philippine economic growth this year. It said it could shave 0.57 percent point off this year’s gross domestic product growth target of 2.6-3.6 percent. Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary August B. Santos said during a recent Cabinet meeting, “Agriculture makes up only 18 percent of the gross domestic product.”

He added that economic outputs in Mindanao only account to 18 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, referring to the effect of the power shortage in Mindanao on the country’s economic growth.

He noted a report from the National Disaster Coordinating Council which said that about 753,606 hectares of land had been affected with an equivalent total production loss of 685,485 metric tons.

National Economic and Development Authority director for national policy and planning Dennis M. Arroyo, said growth this year could dip to 3 percent from the high end of the target. He added that government was confident of hitting the upper end of the goal unless Greece’s debt crisis explodes and causes another global crisis.

Meanwhile, the NEDA director also reported that the construction industry is also threatened by rising iron ore prices after the 40-year old pricing arrangement of annual negotiations was replaced by quarterly pricing. “A 100-percent increase in iron ore prices will lead to a 30-percent increase in steel prices. That will affect both public and private construction and therefore, the real estate industry,” he pointed out.

Santos said that this change was led by giant iron ore producers Vale of Brazil and Anglo-Australian BHP-Billion. He noted that the shorter the pricing period, the more leeway for market speculation and volatility. Eurofer, which represents European steelmakers, has warned of illicit price manipulation by the biggest iron ore producers.

Santos added that it might turn out that the US steel might be the cheapest alternative since US steel inputs are largely isolated from the global market. America is a net exporter of the chief ingredients of steel: iron ore, coking coal and scrap.

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Nestle, DA join hands to support coffee farmers

Roy — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 01:16:46 +0000

The plight of the coffee growers in the Philippines is the main focus of the continuing project of Nestle Philippines, Inc. in support of the coffee industry in the country. The company is extending its assistance to coffee farmers, particularly in the provinces of Aurora, Bohol and Mindoro, with the cooperation of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The joint project of Nestle and DA involves conducting training programs for farmers, farm planting modes and expansion plans for the subsector. The plan also includes the establishment of a coffee mother plant garden and nursery. It is one the DA’s main project in order to heighten the competitiveness of the coffee industry.

For this year, the target of the development program would be the expansion of farms in Bohol in order to become a productive 300-hectare coffee plantation. There were a total of 9,000 coffee seedlings which have been distributed and transplanted to key municipalities in Bohol.

In Mindoro, on the other hand, a total of 41,675 seedlings were planted, which account for 25 percent of the 100 hectares allotted for the coffee production project in the province. While in Aurora, a total of 500 coffee seedlings were already placed in their mother plant gardens. Figures were based on reports from the DA’s High Value Commercial Crops (HVCC) program.

The government agriculture agency expects to establish major coffee plantations by 2011 through its intervention programs. These programs include the Coffee Production Technology Training workshop in Tagum City in the province of Davao Del Norte. This was conducted in two batches – in September 2009 last year, and in January this year.

The said workshop included lectures on economic importance of coffee, maintenance of nursery, plantation care, harvesting and post harvesting, quality control and marketing strategies.

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Micro-agri loans requirements made easier by BSP

Roy — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:18:24 +0000

To allow our farmers more access to bank credit, to further address their financing needs, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has further eased its documentary requirements and its application procedures. This would allow banks to provide micro-agri loans to farmers.

The micro-agri loans which amount to less P150,000 would be exempted from the requirement of traditional collateral, complex documentary requirements and other application procedures. It would have a short term with frequent amortizations, which is based on the borrowers’ capacity to pay. And since they are typically unsecured, they would have non-collateral substitutes like group guarantee or household and personal assets as security.

The facility is available to farmers who have engaged in the trade for at least two years and have no other sources of income outside farming.

Because of the seasonality and cycles of agricultural production, the micro-agri loans provide flexibility in terms of payment. It allows the lump sum payment of micro-loans up to 40% of the total loan amount.

Before the new ruling, even small loans to farmers were treated by BSP are regular agricultural loans which require collaterals, documentary requirements and a complex application procedures. “These conditions have become a major barrier for small farmers to access much needed financial services to grow their production and increase their economic activity,” the BSP said.

BSP however, advised that banks should have the capacity, appropriate risk management mechanism and technical capability in order to ensure that the loans are delivered to clients and in a prudent and sustainable manner.

Banks who would be offering micro-agri loans must have a good track record in microfinance, appropriate micro-agri loan product manual, knowledgeable and trained loan or account officers, and a systematic and adequate loan monitoring, collection, control and provisioning consistent with existing BSP regulations for microfinance.

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Nestle conducted coffee farming seminar

Roy — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:59:45 +0000

Last September 28 and 29, Nestlé Philippines conducted a seminar at the Nestlé Experimental and Demonstration Farm (NEDF) in Tagum, Davao del Sur. Nestlé, who is the manufacturer of the coffee branch Nescafé, held the seminar as a part of the ongoing memorandum of agreement between the company and the Department of Agriculture (DA) which stipulates that there would be an exchange of expertise between the two parties. The two-day seminar was participated by officials of the DA from Bicol, Iloilo, Bohol, Mindoro and Cavite.

The DA regional officials are excited that the once they bring the new learnings they receive from the NEDF to their respective areas, it would arouse interest among coffee farmers. The training provided for a venue for educating farmers on the sustainable coffee growing and production and for distribution of good coffee planting materials sold at cost.

Ailyn Rafer, project proponent of Community-Based Participatory Action Research on Coffee and Cacao of Region 5, Camarines Norte, said “The coffee farmers back at our home are looking forward to learn about the new coffee methods that we learned here in the NEDF.” She said they would being training 40 coffee farmers using the new knowledge they gained from the seminar, with the aim of training more farmers in the future.

Eda Dimapilis, Agricultural Program Coordinating Officer of Cavite, believes that the NEDF’s training will help rejuvenate the coffee farms in her area. “One of our goals in Cavite is to establish a demo coffee farm similar to the one in Davao. That way, our coffee farmers can have a clear picture of what they can accomplish in their farms using the new planting methods we learned here in the NEDF,” she said.

Topics discussed in the seminar included new coffee production technologies, coffee propagation, coffee economics, plantation establishment, harvesting and post-harvesting and quality control, among others.

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Trade fair to feature products from Cordillera Autonomous Region

Roy — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:00:25 +0000

To help entrepreneurs, especially those who were affected by the recent typhoons, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said that they will be staging the trade fair called Impakabsat.

A yearly regional trade fair of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Impakabsat features products from Ifugao, Mountain Province, Abra, Kalinga, Apayao, Benguet and Baguio, where the events name was derived.

This year though, DTI said the event will be executed in a bigger scale. The trade agency said the event will prove that Northern Luzon people can quickly recover even in the face of calamities. Literally motivated by the Ilocano word “kabsat” or “kinnabsatan” which means “brotherly pact,” the SMEs from this region were able to learn what it meant to be competitive while being productive.

The event, spearheaded by the DTI, will be fully supported by the regional and provincial government units in CAR. Participating manufacturers will display their food and beverages in the event, such as fruit wines and veggie-noodles. It will be opened on December 22, 2009 at the Megatrade Hall 1, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City.

From a mere selling of products, Impakabsat has evolved into a celebration and exposition of upland culture that also promote the tourism and investment potential of the upland region.

Aside from the food and wine products, the usual trade displays include furniture and furnishings, woodcrafts, loom woven products, bamboo craft, silver craft, more processed food s and other items.

The Impakabsat 2009 will also feature new designs and creation by Cordillera craftsmen through the RDC Souvenir Products Development Project, and the identified One-Town-One-Product (OTOP) companies and product of CARP beneficiaries of the different municipalities in CAR.

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Opportunities in macapuno production

Roy — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:55:36 +0000

There is a big demand for the macapuno or the “mutant nut” in the Philippines as well as in other countries. This offers a big opportunity for Filipino entrepreneurs as they can venture into the business of producing planting or the nut itself.

The Philippine Coconut Authority Albay Research Center scientists were able to develop the Embryo-Cultured Macapuno in 2008, which made the production of “true-to-type” macapuno easy.

Cristeta Cueto, one of those scientists said that because of the big demand for the product, technology was able to offer big opportunity to prospective investors into tissue culture laboratory and nursery operations. Or, they might also be interested to produce the nut itself for domestic and foreign consumption.

Cueto, during her talk in the recent forum of investors at Nido Fortified Science Discover Center at the SM Mall of Asia last November 25, said that there is a wide gap between the supply and demand for macapuno nuts. The data from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) confirms this.

That is why in 1999, 134,000 Embryo-Cultured macapuno was required to plant 1,160 hectares and serve the eight million macapuno nuts required to serve the market’s demand. “Since then, massive planting of laboratory-raised seedlings had been encouraged to retain the status of being the largest macapuno nut-producing country among the coconut-growing regions,” Cueto added.

She cited the opportunities in nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and industrial macapuno-based products waiting to be explored.

Cueto also mentioned the studies conducted by Dr. Ma. Judith B. Rodriguez of the PCA-ARC in the utilization of the nut’s highly viscous liquid endosperm that has high content of galactomannan, a polysaccharide, which can be used as alternative raw material for the production of hand and body lotion, hand sanitizers, hair cream, facial masks, hair gel, shampoo, conditioner, and even as biodegradable edible film.

This technology of producing embryo-cultured macapuno however is available only for commercial production of true-to-type macapuno planting materials. For investors interested in the mass production of embryo-cultured macapuno, seedling will be provided as well as complete technical training in the developed protocol, Cueto said.

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Hacienda Luisita massacre remembered

Roy — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:50:22 +0000

A protest caravan from Quezon City to Tarlac was held last Monday by militant groups to commemorate the 5th year anniversary of the Hacienda Luisita massacre. Vehicles of the protesters, who number almost a hundred, assembled at the Quezon City Memorial Circle Monday morning and went to the Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT), the site of the bloody massacre.

It was five years ago today when the police and the military violently dispersed he striking workers and farmers of the sugar estate where seven were killed. The protesters demanded that justice be served all the victims of tragic killings, and also the distribution of the 6,000 hectare of sugar plantation, said to be the largest in the country, to tenant farmers.

The protesters from Quezon City were joined by more than 100 farm workers from the United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU) and Alyansang Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon (AMGL), at Gate 1 of the Azucarera de Tarlac. They group were led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan). They marched to the hacienda with Anakpawis party-list Rep Rafael Mariano and Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes at the helm.

Hacienda farmers waved sugarcane as a sign of their support for the militant groups. An ecumenical Mass was also held at 3 p.m. followed by a short program in honor of the farmers who died in 2004.

“It has been five years and still no justice for the victims. The human rights case is still pending before the Office of the Ombudsman. There is still no justice for the numerous victims of extrajudicial killings of participants and supporters of the strike,” Reyes said.

The 5,000-hectare Hacienda Luisita is owned by the Cojuangco clan, of which Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is a scion. The Hacienda Luisita massacre is said to be one of the biggest hurdle that Noynoy needs to go through. This is one of the cases being used against him by his opponent, especially now that he is doing well in the survey.

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Thai firm investing $40 M in the Philippines

Roy — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:16:36 +0000

The Philippines is getting more investments from other countries. This time, Thailandâ€™s Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Co. Limited is investing an additional $40 million in the Philippines for the expansion of an integrated feed and prawn hatchery and grow-out farms in Luzon.

Charoen Pokphand is Thailandâ€™s leading agro-industrial and food conglomerate.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap made the announcement on Thursday, during his speech-presentation at the Philippines Economic Briefing at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. He added that Charoen Pokphandâ€™s local subsidiary, CPF Philippines, is already operating in Cebu.

CPF Philippines has a shrimp feed plant in Cebu with a production capacity of 30,000 tons a year, according to the companyâ€™s website. The Thai firm is now interested in putting up a fish feed plant in Luzon which would have a bigger production capacity of 60,000 tons a year, and they are expecting it to be completed by 2010.

The company is also venturing into swine farming with a population of 1,200 sows and 10,400 breeding pigs.

Adirek Sripratak, president and chief executive officer of CPF, said in an earlier interview that CPFâ€™s investment in the Philippines would be a â€œgood opportunityâ€ to efficiently run a business as the Philippines has a more than 92 million populations whose pork consumption is 15 kilogram per person per year. He said, that is higher than the Thaisâ€™ consumption of 13 kg per person per year.

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Increase in dairy production eyed

Roy — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:49:48 +0000

Two dairy organizations have joined forces to consolidate the efforts of their offices towards increasing dairy production nationwide. The Philippine Fruit and Vegetable Industries Inc. (PhilFruits), represented by its president Solomon D. Badoy, and Dairy Confederation of the Philippines (DairyCon), represented by national chairman Danilo V. Fausto, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the said objective.

PhilFruits is the corporate arm of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). It brings to the table the different agrarian reform beneficiaries and cooperatives of the agriculture department. These will serve as the recipients of the different programs and technical support that the Dairy have agreed to provide in order to increase the dairy production.

Included in the MOU is the purchase and dispersal of livestock to individual agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), as well as provisions for training and community programs that will enhance the skills and capabilities of the ARBs in maximizing the utilization of their current livestock.

According to Fausto, the national daily production of milk in the country is roughly only about 15 percent of the total milk requirement of the industry. He says that with the entry of the more than 3,000 agrarian reformÂ cooperatives of the DAR, this scenario will definitely change.

Dairy is a P150-billion industry. Fausto said that the move is in the right direction for the benefit of the farmers.

For his part, Badoy is optimistic that the programs of DairyCon will increase farmerâ€™s farm utilization and provide them with alternative income sources between planting seasons. He said that the two organizations, PhilFruits and DairyCon, will be providing artificial insemination and genetic improvement materials for existing livestock of the ARBs.

Also present during the signing ceremony were Nathaniel A. Campo, manager, operations and planning of PhilFruits, executive director Rowena Bautista of DairyCon and PhilFruits consultant Rodrigo P. Santos.

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Bangus prices dropped because of typhoon Pepeng

Roy — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:13:50 +0000

Prices of milkfish (bangus) dropped to P30 a kilo from a previous P90 per kilo when floods triggered by Pepengâ€™s strong rains washed out Pangasinanâ€™s fishponds and cages.

Fishpond owners, who were trapped on the roofs of their houses because of the 20-foot-high floodwaters, can only watched helplessly while their neighbors swam and scooped up the bangus escaping from overflowing fishponds.Â Some were even bringing woven baskets or nets to catch the fish.

The fishpond operators in Pangasinan, and in nearby towns, Binmaley and Mangaldan, paid no attention to their fish stock and just waited for rescue boats.

Residents who caught the fishes in floodwaters were selling their catch to fellow calamity victims, said Mae Viray, a member of the city information office.

The owner of the biggest fishpond in Binmaley, Jess Aquino said they decided not to harvest their bangus stock early and watched the floodwaters carry away their harvest. â€œEven if we harvest the bangus before the floods, we wonâ€™t make a profit as we could only sell them at P30 a kilogram,â€ he said.

The flood have crippled the city and most of the eastern and central towns, hampering travel to Metro Manila, making the shipment of goods, like bangus, out of the province impossible.

Neighbors feasted on the bangus escaping from the fish ponds. The fishes sought out the rivers in Binmaley, Mangaldan and Dagupan.

A hectare of fishpond contains betweenÂ 5,000 to 10,000 bangus. Fish cages that culture bangus can hold as much as 50,000 fishes. Some operators, said Aquino, tried to save their harvest. They installed nets around fish cages and put as many fishes as possible.

Others, like Aquino, who canâ€™t do that chose to write off their losses. Aquino said they just let their neighbors feast on the fish, their main concern then was to wait for the rescue boat to save them.

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Rural banks to loosen up loan terms for victims of Ondoy and Pepeng

Roy — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:26:41 +0000

As an assistance for our countrymen who were affected by tropical storm Ondoy and typhoon Pepeng, the Rural Bankersâ€™ Association of the Philippines (RBAP) is pushing its member-banks to ease the terms of the agricultural loans extended to farmers in affected areas.

RBAP president Tomas S. Gomez said â€œit is up to each rural bank to determine the appropriate mix depending on the extent of devastation in their areas.â€ He added that the call is addressed to rural banks in all areas affected by Ondoy and Pepeng. The call was made amid fears that the damage arising from the storms could halve the countryâ€™s agricultural growth this year.

RBAP has already coordinated with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for the granting of regulatory relief for rural banks areas affected by Ondoy. â€œWe thank the BSP for its quick response,â€ said Gomez, they are however still seeking for the same regulatory relief for rural banks in areas hit by Pepeng.

Gomez said that the RBAP members in calamity-hit areas are also undertaking their own relief efforts to help the communities they are serving, in addition to the flexible loan terms.

In a report given by the Department of Agriculture (DA), as of Sunday, damage to crops and farm equipments climbed to almost P7 billion due to Ondoy and Pepeng. According to DA, agricultural damage wrought by Ondoy was P6.4 billion. About P5.53 billion was in crop damage and P821.12 million in damage to facilities, infrastructure and equipment.

On the other hand, crop damage due to Pepeng was places at P452.84 million.

Secretary of agriculture Arthur Yap said that the 3 to 4 percent of rice production growth target for 2009 could be halved to 1 to 2 percent because of the damages to agriculture products and infrastructure such as irrigation. He added that farm output growth this year could be less that 3.5 percent.

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Coco sugar, other organic products, tops national trade fair sales

Roy — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:19:01 +0000

The 2009 National Livelihood Trade Fair was recently held at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City under the auspices of the Philippine Chamber of Handicrafts, Inc. and the Congressional Spouses Foundation, Inc.

During the said trade fair, coco sugar and other organic products from Lanao del Norte sold like the proverbial hotcake. The organic products from Lanao del Norte, aside from coco sugar, included honeymansi with pineapple, honeymansi concentrate plain, pineapple marmalade, bangus in corn oil packed in glass container, coco honey and coconut vinegar which are all manufactured without any preservatives.

The coco sugar was a big hit in spite of its high price compared to the regular sugar. Coco sugar is in the form of fructose which is superior healthwise compared to the sucrose in the ordinary sugar from sugarcane.

The high price of the coco sugar, according to former Gov. Imelda Quibranza Dimaporo of Lanao del Norte, was due to the fact that it requires much more effort and hard work to produce. The sap of the unopened flowers (toddy) is extracted from the coconut tree which is cooked to make coco sugar.

Coco sugar is now also being exported to countries in Europe as well as Korea and Japan, truly this product is not only in demand here but in other countries as well. Aside from Lanao del Norte, coco sugar is also being produced in Misamis Oriental.

Meanwhile, Congressman Abdullah â€œBobbyâ€ Dimaporo of 2nd district, Lanao del Norte, has been supporting the agricultural production, both in the farm crops and in livestock. He has been responsible for putting up the biggest dairy cow operation in the Philippines. Lately, he imported more than 2,000 Savanna goats from Australia for commercial production by farmers in his province.

Lanao del Norte tops the list of growing economies with a gross domestic product growth of 5.3 percent in 2008. Itâ€™s the highest among the regions during the period.

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Mushroom production seminar

Roy — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:58:58 +0000

On Saturday, October 3, 2009, there would be a whole day seminar on mushroom production to be given by Teddy Laurie, an expert in producing spawns as well as growing the crop. He will conduct the seminar right at the AANI Urban Farm at Kingsville Court, Antipolo City where he has put a facility to produce planting materials, particularly fruiting bags of oyster mushroom.

Laurie said that the fruiting bags he produced can remain productive for as long as eight months. He said fruiting bags sourced from others usually remain productive only for a few weeks or months.

The beauty of mushroom growing is that it can be done by urban dwellers as well as those living in the countryside. It can be undertaken as a commercial venture, or even just as a hobby for producing oneâ€™s own home requirements.

Mushroom growing does not require a big space for one to be able to undertake the project, also its gestation period is very short. A mushroom grower who starts with purchased fruiting bags will be able to harvest his first mushroom after only several days. By staggering the schedule of planting, it could result into a daily schedule of harvesting, or some other frequency as desired by the grower or the demand of the market, and the most important thing is that mushroom growing requires only a minimal capital.

To those living in the urban area, growing mushroom is an advantage because there are already where the market for the product is. These markets include institutional buyers like restaurant, subdivision homeowners, weekend markets and the like.

And mushroom is so versatile, so much so that when there is an excess harvest and buyers could not absorb all of them, it can be made into powder or dried mushroom. Laurie will also be teaching this process during the one day seminar. For directions to the seminar site, interested parties can check www.aaniphil.net.

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Figaro pushes for the revival of coffee farming industry

Roy — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:04:35 +0000

Coffee farming industry in the Philippines is getting a big boost as Figaro Coffee Systems Inc., a Filipino-owned coffee chain, is encouraging the revival of coffee farming in the countryâ€™s mountain areas. Figaro Coffee said that more players in the coffee industry are now sourcing their coffee bean supply requirement from local coffee growers, many of which are located in the uplands.

Johanna Clavecilla, Figaroâ€™s Marketing Services Manager, said that all of the products being served in their 70 outlets nationwide, except for the decaffeinated drinks, are using coffee beans bought from local coffee growers.

Figaro Coffee Systems, through its corporate social responsibility arm Figaro Foundation, is also contemplating on the production of organic gourmet coffee in the Philippines. The company said it could only be realized if the countryâ€™ coffee farming business is revitalized.

Clavecilla revealed that their company is set to pioneer the selling of organic coffee products in the country. She said that their company-initiated study indicates that there is growing consumer demand for organic beverage products in the country as well as overseas. It may take a while though to make available the organic coffee products, but Clavecilla said Figaro is working closely on this with a German-based consultancy agency.

She also said that at present, there are only a few coffee farms in the country who are working on organically produced coffee beans, majority of which export their products.Â She added that they have been thinking about the concept of an organic coffee less than five years ago, however, they are still making studies if there is a market for such product.

She also mentioned about the process of getting international accreditation which means preparing for a mountain of documentary work and huge investment. She assured though that when organic coffee is made commercially available in the country, Figaro will the first coffee chain in the Philippines to offer such product.