Aggie Trends January 2012

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Vol. XXVII No. 1 A monthly publication of the Department of Agriculture January 2012 With an increased budget of P61.4 billion this year, the De- partment of Agriculture will vig- orously pursue initiatives to at- tain sufficiency in major staples by 2013 that include rice, white corn, cassava, and other basic commodities. Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said a big DA to spend P61.4B to attain food staple sufficiency, build more infra (Pls turn to p11) Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala (right) issues his initial marching orders and instructions to top DA officials during their 1 st quarter national management committee meeting, January 11, 2012, in Quezon City. He urged them to vigorously implement major commodity programs, particularly the Food Staples Sufficiency Program (FSSP), and remain on track to attain rice and food staple sufficiency by 2013. He said much is expected from the DA as the Aquino administration has substantially increased the agency’s budget to P61.73 billion this year, 60 percent more than last year. Secretary Proceso J. Alcala issued his initial marching orders and instructions to top Depart- ment of Agricul- ture officials to implement ma- jor commodity programs and remain on track to attain rice and food staple sufficiency tar- gets during their 1 st quarter DA national management commit- tee (Man Com) meeting on Janu- ary 11, 2012, at the DA-BSWM convention hall in Quezon City. He said much is expected from the DA as the Aquino ad- ministration has substantially increased the agency’s budget this year, 60 percent more than last year. “Talagang malaki at mabigat ang mga gawaing inaako natin para sa 2012 at sa susunod pang taon, lalu na sa ating flag- ship program na Food Staples Sufficiency Program o FSSP,” Sec. Alcala told some 80 top DA officials, comprising of undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, national commod- ity program coordinators, re- gional and bureau directors, heads of attached agencies and corporations, DA-OSEC direc- tors, and technical advisers. He urged them to focus their energies and efforts to pursue the FSSP, particularly during the four cropping seasons from Fishery program gets P2.4B SPJA issues marching orders to attain FSSP targets The DA through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Re- sources (BFAR) has received an increased budget of P2.4 billion this year to implement fishery initiatives, including a commu- nity-based fisheries and aquac- ulture program. Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said the program aims to pro- duce adequate supply of qual- ity, world-class yet affordable fishery and aquaculture prod- ucts, and at the same time lift small marginal fisherfolk families from abject poverty. The program, led by the DA- BFAR, involves implementation of major initiatives that include: Establishment of community multi-species hatcheries and aqua-silviculture projects; Maintenance of 62 maricul- ture parks and 9 regional and municipal fishports; Expansion and intensifica- tion of the “fishcage-for-liveli- hood” program; Provision of training and technical assistance in aquac- ulture, municipal, commercial, post-harvest, and regulatory ser- vices; Establishment of fish hatch- eries and nurseries; Implementation of Coastal Resource Management pro- jects; Operation of the Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) System; Ensure compliance with glo- bal food safety standards; and DA allots P594-M irrigation, agri projects in Palawan (Pls turn to p11) (Pls turn to p9) (Pls turn to p2) Marking his first provincial field visit this year, Secretary Proceso J. Alcala on January 16 and 17 launched and inaugu- rated irrigation and fishery projects in Palawan, totaling P594 million, aimed at making the province sufficient in rice, major staples, as well as fish- ery and marine products. The projects include the con- struction of the P498-M Ibato- Iraan small reservoir irrigation project that will irrigate 1,600 hectares, benefitting 425 farm- ers in Aborlan town, covering four barangays (Sagpangan, Mali- gaya, Ibato and Iraan). He led the groundbreaking of said project on January 16, as chunk of the DA’s 2012 budget will be used to implement the Food Staples Sufficiency Pro- gram (FSSP), the Aquino administration’s centerpiece pro- gram to food security and suffi- ciency. A major feature of the FSSP is the frontloading of investments to build major infrastructure like irri- gation systems, farm-to-market roads, and postharvest facilities. “We hope to regain momentum in irrigation, with particular focus on cheaper and shorter gestat- ing small-scale irrigation sys- tem,” Secretary Alcala said. The DA through the National Ir- rigation Administration (NIA), with a 2012 approved budget of P24.45B, will construct new ir- rigation systems, and restore and rehabilitate existing ones, servicing a total of 224,850 hect- ares (has). For its part, the DA’s Bureau of Soils and Water Management will spend P500 million to con- struct 4,584 small-scale irriga

description

Vol. XXVII No. 1A monthly publication of the Department of Agriculture

Transcript of Aggie Trends January 2012

Page 1: Aggie Trends January 2012

Vol. XXVII No. 1 A monthly publication of the Department of Agriculture January 2012

With an increased budget ofP61.4 billion this year, the De-partment of Agriculture will vig-orously pursue initiatives to at-tain sufficiency in major staplesby 2013 that include rice, whitecorn, cassava, and other basiccommodities.

Agriculture SecretaryProceso J. Alcala said a big

DA to spend P61.4B to attain food staple sufficiency, build more infra

(Pls turn to p11)

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala (right) issues his initial marching orders and instructions to topDA officials during their 1st quarter national management committee meeting, January 11, 2012, inQuezon City. He urged them to vigorously implement major commodity programs, particularly the FoodStaples Sufficiency Program (FSSP), and remain on track to attain rice and food staple sufficiency by2013. He said much is expected from the DA as the Aquino administration has substantially increasedthe agency’s budget to P61.73 billion this year, 60 percent more than last year.

S e c r e t a r yProceso J.Alcala issuedhis initialmarching ordersand instructionsto top Depart-ment of Agricul-ture officials toimplement ma-jor commodityprograms andremain on trackto attain riceand food staple sufficiency tar-gets during their 1st quarter DAnational management commit-tee (Man Com) meeting on Janu-ary 11, 2012, at the DA-BSWMconvention hall in Quezon City.

He said much is expectedfrom the DA as the Aquino ad-ministration has substantiallyincreased the agency’s budgetthis year, 60 percent more thanlast year.

“Talagang malaki at mabigatang mga gawaing inaako natinpara sa 2012 at sa susunodpang taon, lalu na sa ating flag-ship program na Food StaplesSufficiency Program o FSSP,”Sec. Alcala told some 80 topDA off icials, comprising ofundersecretaries, assistantsecretaries, national commod-ity program coordinators, re-gional and bureau directors,heads of attached agencies andcorporations, DA-OSEC direc-tors, and technical advisers.

He urged them to focus theirenergies and efforts to pursuethe FSSP, particularly during thefour cropping seasons from

Fishery program gets P2.4B

SPJA issues marching orders to attain FSSP targets

The DA through the Bureau ofFisheries and Aquatic Re-sources (BFAR) has received anincreased budget of P2.4 billionthis year to implement fisheryinitiatives, including a commu-nity-based fisheries and aquac-ulture program.

Secretary Proceso J. Alcalasaid the program aims to pro-duce adequate supply of qual-ity, world-class yet affordablefishery and aquaculture prod-ucts, and at the same time liftsmall marginal fisherfolk familiesfrom abject poverty.

The program, led by the DA-BFAR, involves implementationof major initiatives that include:

• Establishment of communitymulti-species hatcheries andaqua-silviculture projects;

• Maintenance of 62 maricul-ture parks and 9 regional andmunicipal fishports;

• Expansion and intensifica-tion of the “fishcage-for-liveli-hood” program;

• Provision of training andtechnical assistance in aquac-ulture, municipal, commercial,post-harvest, and regulatory ser-vices;

• Establishment of fish hatch-eries and nurseries;

• Implementation of CoastalResource Management pro-jects;

• Operation of the Monitoring,Control and Surveillance (MCS)System;

• Ensure compliance with glo-bal food safety standards; and

DA allots P594-M irrigation,agri projects in Palawan

(Pls turn to p11)(Pls turn to p9)

(Pls turn to p2)

Marking his first provincialfield visit this year, SecretaryProceso J. Alcala on January 16and 17 launched and inaugu-rated irrigation and f isheryprojects in Palawan, totalingP594 million, aimed at makingthe province sufficient in rice,major staples, as well as fish-ery and marine products.

The projects include the con-struction of the P498-M Ibato-Iraan small reservoir irrigationproject that will irrigate 1,600hectares, benefitting 425 farm-ers in Aborlan town, covering fourbarangays (Sagpangan, Mali-gaya, Ibato and Iraan).

He led the groundbreaking ofsaid project on January 16, as

chunk of the DA’s 2012 budgetwill be used to implement theFood Staples Sufficiency Pro-gram (FSSP), the Aquinoadministration’s centerpiece pro-gram to food security and suffi-ciency.

A major feature of the FSSP isthe frontloading of investments tobuild major infrastructure like irri-

gation systems, farm-to-marketroads, and postharvest facilities. “We hope to regain momentumin irrigation, with particular focuson cheaper and shorter gestat-ing small-scale irrigation sys-tem,” Secretary Alcala said.

The DA through the National Ir-rigation Administration (NIA), witha 2012 approved budget of

P24.45B, will construct new ir-rigation systems, and restoreand rehabilitate existing ones,servicing a total of 224,850 hect-ares (has).

For its part, the DA’s Bureauof Soils and Water Managementwill spend P500 million to con-struct 4,584 small-scale irriga

Page 2: Aggie Trends January 2012

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Writers: Adora D. Rodriguez, Jo Anne Grace B. Pera, Arlhene S. Carro, Bethzaida Bustamante, Mc. Bien Saint Garcia, Jay Ilagan, Catherine NantaContributors: DA-RFU Info Officers, Public Info Officers and Staff of DA Bureaus, Attached Agencies & Corporations, Foreign- Assisted ProjectsPhotographers: Jose Lucas, Alan Jay Jacalan & Kathrino ResurreccionLay-out Artists: Bethzaida BustamantePrinting & Circulation: Teresita Abejar & PCES Staff

is published monthlyby the Department of AgricultureInformation Service, Elliptical Road,Diliman, Quezon City. Tel. nos.9288762 loc 2148, 2150, 2155, 2156or 2184; 9204080 or tel/fax 9280588.This issue is available in PDF file.For copies, please send requests viaemail: [email protected].

Editor-In-Chief : Noel O. ReyesAssociate Editors: Karenina Salazar, Cheryl C. Suarez

DA allots P594M ... (from p1)

part of his two-day visit inPalawan.

He was joined by Palawan Gov-ernor Abraham Kahlil Mitra, DAass’t. sec. and national rice pro-gram coordinator Dante de Lima,National Irrigation Administrator(NIA) Antonio Nangel, DA region4B director Cipriano Santiago,NIA-4B acting regional managerConrado Cardenas, Jr., andAborlan Mayor Jaime Ortega.

Adm. Nangel said the projectinvolves the construction of a dam(30 meters high and 68.9 meterslong) that can store about 2.4million cubic meters of water.

“We will finish the project in twoto three years. Then, we will alsodevelop the reservoir into a fishpond and park for eco-tourism.We may also look for partners todevelop it into a source of hydro-electric power,” Nangel said.

The following day (January 17),Sec. Alcala led the inaugurationof the P40-M Iwahig Penal Farmirrigation project in PuertoPrincesa, which can irrigate 414hectares.

The project, started in July2011, was completed six monthsahead of schedule. Unlike otherNIA projects, it was constructedby the inmates themselves. Sec-retary Alcala commended themfor their efficient and speedy work.

Editorial Tara na, Sulong na!Pasasalamat ang unang

mensahe ni Kalihim ProcyAlcala sa idinaos na kauna-unahang management com-mittee meeting ng taon.

Pasasalamat sakooperasyon at pagsisikap ngbuong pamilya ng Kagawaranna nakatulong ng malaki sapagkamit ng mga target noongnakaraang taon.

Ilang magagandang balitaang ibinahagi ni Sec. Procy.

Una na dito ang mabilis napagbangon ng agrikulturamula sa hagupit ng mganagdaang bagyo.

Aniya, bagamat dagok samga magsasaka atmangingisda ang mga bagyoat baha noong 2011, madalingnakabangon ang lahat.

Ito’y sa pamamagitan ngseed distribution sa mganasalantang lugar, ratooning,pagbabayad ng crop insur-ance, dagliang pagkukumpuning mga irigasyon, pamimili ngmga storm-damaged palay, at

pamamahagi ng mga buto naclimate-resilient.

Ngunit sa kabila ng goodnews, serious business pa rinang paalala ni Sec Procy parasa pagpapatupad ng mganasimulan nang proyekto nakailangang maisakatuparanupang higit pang mapabuti angserbisyo para sa mgatagapakinabang ngpambansang sektor ngpagsasaka at pangingisda.

Binigyang diin niya ng pag-papaunlad at pagpapaganda ngmga pasilidad ng DA, kabilangna dito ang mga researchstation, stock farm at experi-mental station.

Dagdag pa nya, nararapatlamang na pagbutihin din angsoil and water management, atpalakasin ang suporta para sapagsugpo ng sakit at peste.

Sa huli, ang lahat aymakikinabang sa mgaprogramang nakatuon sapagpapaunlad ng lupa atpagpapataas ng pambansang

produksyon. Bukod sa mga nabanggit,

mas mahigpit ang bilin ni SecProcy sa mga sumusunodniyang lambing.

Kabilang na dito angpagbubuhos ng sipag at galingsa padating na apat na croppingseason. Layunin nito na maspaigtingin pa ang Food StaplesSufficiency Program o FSSP.

Maglulunsad din ng regenera-tion, production and protectionprogram ang BFAR upang higitpang pagyamanin ang mgapangisdaan ng bansa.

Kasabay nito ang paglalatagng mga programa upangpaunlarin ang livestock atpoultry sectors na pananatilihingFMD-free at bird flu-free.

Para naman sa mga cham-pion commodities ng bansa,pagbubutihin ang pamamahalang value chain para gawing maskompetitibo sa mga merkado,lokal man o international.

Sa kabuuan, layunin ni Secna itaas pa ang kagalingan ng

buong Kagawaran.Magkakaroon ng upgrad-

ing, ika nga.Kasama na dito ang

pagpapaunlad ng agri andfisheries products standardsat climate change adaptationmeasures.

Magbubukas din ng sari-saring oportunidad sa para samga bagong magsasaka,kabataan at returning OFWs.

Aayusin din ang supportmechanisms ng Kagawaranupang mapadaloy angkinakailangang resources sapagpapatupad ng mgamakabuluhang programa.

Higit sa lahat,papagtibayin pa angpagtutulungan ng DA sa mgalokal na pamahalaan,samahan ng mgamagsasaka at mangingisdaat investors tungo sapangmatagalang partnership.

Walang oras na dapatmasayang. Kaya, tara na!Sulong na!

The Iwahig irrigation system,which draws water f rom thenearby Balsahan River, will en-able inmate-farmers to increasetheir previous average yield of4.5 tons per hectare of palay.Aside from commercial rice,they also produce certified palayseeds for their use in succeed-ing seasons and the excess is

sold to farmers in PuertoPrincesa. The DA will provide reg-istered seeds which will serve astheir source of certified seeds.

Sec. Alcala said the DA willcontinue to partner with the Bu-reau of Corrections of the Depart-ment of Justice to transform idlelands at other penal colonies intoproductive rice farms.

The DA chief also providedP42-M worth of various agricul-tural projects, machinery, equip-ment and inputs to hundreds ofPalawan farmers and their re-spective local government unitsduring farmers’ forum at Aborlan

(Pls turn to p3)

P498-M irrigation system in Palawan. Sec. Alcala ( 3rd fromright) and Palawan Gov. Abraham Kahlil Mitra ( 2nd from right)lead the ceremonial groundbreaking of the P498-M Ibato-Iraansmall reservoir irrigation project, at Barangay Sagpangan, Aborlan,Palawan, which will irrigate 1,600 hectares, benefiting 425 farmhouseholds. Joining them (from left) are Aborlan Mayor JaimeOrtega, NIA Palawan officer Mario Hebreo, NIA-4B acting regionalmanager Conrado Cardenas, Jr, NIA administrator Antonio Nangeland DA-4B regional director Cipriano Santiago.

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January 2012 3

The DA through the NationalTobacco Administration (NTA)has to date given a total ofP5.4 million in loans to to-bacco farmers in Abra thiscropping season, under theDA-NTA’s tobacco contractgrowing system.

NTA Administrator EdgardoD. Zaragoza commends Abraoff icials led by GovernorEustaquio P. Bersamin forusing their share from the to-bacco excise tax under Re-public Act 7171 for the ben-ef it of tobacco farmersthrough fertilizer subsidiesand counterparting for the loanprogram.

The DA will spend an initialP10 million to start commercialproduction of corn flour.

Assistant Secretary EdilbertoM. de Luna, national corn pro-gram coordinator, said the cornflour will be sold to bakeries, asan ingredient of pandesal.

He said the DA will initiallypartner with Julie’s bakeshopchain, which conducted suc-cessful trials making use of cornflour for pandesal.

He said the DA through theUP Los Baños Institute of PlantBreeding (IPB) has partneredwith Julie’s last August 2011and successfully producedpandesal using a mixture of25% corn flour and 75% wheatflour.

“It will be produced by IPB,but later on we would expandproduction in other areas,” deLuna said.

“We are pushing for the useof corn flour not only becauseof its nutritional value, but alsobecause it is cheaper comparedto wheat flour,” he added.

He said corn flour retails foran average of P31 per kilogram,P5 cheaper than wheat flour.

He said white corn, f romwhich the flour is derived, haslow glycemic index, hence, ben-eficial especially for diabetics.

Making use of corn flour inproducing pandesal is anotherinitiative to expand the demandfor white corn, which will even-tually benefit the country’s cornfarmers. (Business World)

DA allots initial P10Mto produce corn flour

Abra tobacco farmers get P5.4-M loan

DA allots P594M ... (from p2)and Iwahig. These included flat

bed dryers, greenhouses, a pro-cessing center, barangay foodterminals, several sets of hermeticcocoon storage, draft animals,and thousands of various plant-ing materials.

He also launched three aquac-ulture projects, and provided fish-ing gears and equipment toPalawan fisherfolk, amounting toP13.8 M, at the DA-Bureau ofFisheries and Aquatic Resources(BFAR) Inland Sea Ranching Sta-tion (ISRS) in Puerto Princesa.

DA Chief opens P40-M Iwahig irrigation proj. Sec. Procy Alcala (inset, 2nd from left) leads theceremonial opening of the P40-million Iwahig Balsahan irrigation project that will irrigate 414 hect-ares at Iwahig Penal farm, in Puerto Princesa. The project will enable Iwahig inmate-farmers increasetheir previous average yield of 4.5 tons per hectare. Also shown (from left) are DA assistant secretary andnational rice program coordinator Dante Delima, DA-National Irrigation Administrator Antonio Nangel,NIA 4-B acting regional manager Conrado Cardenas, Jr., Bureau of Corrections director-generalGaudencio Pangilinan, and NIA Palawan officer Mario Hebreo.

The projects include increasedproduction of fry and fingerlingsfor distribution to fisherfolk, ex-pansion of a multi-species ma-rine fish hatchery, and upgradingof the seaweed tissue culturelaboratory, all at BFAR-ISRS.

He said the initiatives aim toproduce commercial quantities offry and fingerlings of high valuespecies like grouper, snapper,milkfish, and sea bass for distri-bution to small fisherfolk and in-terested fishfarmers.

The multi-species hatchery isa joint project of the DA-BFAR,Puerto Princesa City, (which pro-

NTA-Abra chief Esmeralda G.Valera said 261 tobacco farm-ers have so far availed of theloan.

She said 160 hectares in 19municipalities in Abra areplanted to tobacco this croppingseason.

Aside from the loan assis-tance, the DA-NTA and the pro-vincial gov’t. have installed fluecuring barns to produce betterquality leaves.

Zaragoza advised Abra farm-ers to wait for the leaves tomature before harvesting themto get better quality leaves,which would fetch higher price.(DA-NTA)

DBM releases P450M for Iloilo irrigation project

vided the land), and the aquac-ulture department of the South-east Asian Fisheries Develop-ment Center (SEAFDEC-AQD),which provided technical assis-tance and design of the hatch-ery complex.

Top officials present during theproject launch at BFAR-ISRSincluded Puerto Princesa MayorEdward Hagedorn, DA-BFARnational director Asis Perez, DA4B regional director CiprianoSantiago, BFAR 4B Dir.Emmanuel Asis, andSEAFDEC-AQD chief Dr.Joebert Toledo. (DA-AFIS)

The Department of Budget andManagement has released aninitial P450 million for the con-struction of the DA-NIA’s JalaurRiver Multipurpose IrrigationProject phase 2 (JRMP 2).

DBM Secretary Florencio B.Abad said the amount will bespent for the preparatory activi-ties that include survey,geotechnical, exploratory andenvironmental works, road settle-ment negotiations and other pre-engineering activities.

“The DA’s National Rice Pro-gram highlights the AquinoAdministration’s commitment toattain rice sufficiency by 2013.We are investing this much in

Iloilo to bolster its productioncapacity as one of the major ricebasins of the country,” Abadsaid.

“The project was pushed bySenate Finance CommitteeChairman Senator FranklinDrilon, who wanted to convertthe perennial flooding and dislo-cation problem in WesternVisayas into an opportunity forrural growth and development,”he added.

The JRMP 2 is designed withprovisions for a hydro-electricpower and bulk water supply.

It is supported by an P8.95-billion official development assis

(Pls turn to p4)

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Sec. Procy Alcala enjoins DA-OSEC staff to continue exert-ing efforts and contributingtheir respective share in the suc-cessful implementatiuon of ma-jor initiatives, particularly theFood Staples Sufficiency Pro-gram, during the agency’s Janu-ary 9 flag ceremony . Urgingthem to help improve the livesof small farmers, fisherfolk andtheir families, he said:‘Pagtulung-tulungan po natingpasayahin ang mga magsasakaat mangingisda sa kanayunan.’

The DA-Philippine Rice Re-search Institute (PhilRice) re-cently released eight new early-maturing rice varieties, providingfarmers more options to increasetheir productivity and incomes.

The varieties include sixinbreds, a hybrid, and an inbredglutinous rice.

They were approved for releaseby the National Seed IndustryCouncil (NSIC), said Thelma F.Padolina, PhilRice chief of thePlant Breeding and Biotechnol-ogy Division. The NSIC is headedby Sec. Proceso Alcala.

She said the varieties per-formed well during field trials.

The varieties were developed forirrigated and rainfed lowland andsaline-prone areas. They maturefrom 108 to 118 days.

Three varieties are suitable forirrigated lowland, namely:Tubigan 22 (NSIC Rc240), an in-bred; Malagkit 5 (NSIC Rc21 SR),an inbred glutinous variety; andMestiso 29 (NSIC Rc244H), ahybrid.

For rainfed lowland, the inbredsare: Sahod Ulan 2 (NSIC 2011Rc272) and Sahod Ulan 10 (NSICRc288).

For saline-prone or near coastalareas, three varieties that couldbe planted are Salinas 6 (NSICRc290), Salinas 7(NSIC Rc292),and Salinas 8 (NSIC Rc294), allinbreds.

PhilRice releases 8 new rice varietiesThe qualities of each variety

are:• Tubigan 22 matures in 108

days when direct-seeded, and115 days when transplanted;could yield up to 11 tons (MT)per hectare (ha) when trans-planted, and 8 MT/ha when di-rect-seeded. It is resistant toblast, sheath blight, bacterialleaf blight, and white stem borer.

• Malagkit 5 matures in 122days, and could yield up to 7MT/ha. It is moderately resistantto white heads, brownplanthopper, green leaf hopper,and yellow stem borer. It isslightly aromatic when cooked.

• Mestiso 29, a hybrid, has anaverage yield of 7 MT/ha, andup to 11 MT/ha. It matures in 113days. It is resistant to white andyellow stem borers, brownplanthopper, and green leafhop-per.

• Sahod Ulan 2 has an aver-age yield of 3 MT/ha. It maturesin 110 days. It is resistant toblast, bacterial leaf and sheathblights, white and yellow stemborers, and green leafhopper.

• Sahod Ulan 10 has an aver-age yield of 3 MT/ha. It is resis-tant to blast, bacterial leaf blight,and stem borer. It matures in 118days.

• Salinas 6 has an averageyield of 4 MT/ha, and could yieldup to 6.5 MT/ha. It matures in 113days, and resistant to blast, bac-terial leaf blight, stem borer,brown planthopper, and greenleafhopper.

• Salinas 7 has an averageyield of 3 MT/ha, and matures in111 days. It is resistant to blastand the only new variety that isresistant to tungro.

• Salinas 8 has an averageyield of 3 MT/ha. It matures in117 days, and is resistant to bac-terial leaf blight and stem borer.

The eight new varieties havepremium to excellent milling andhead rice recovery and good eat-ing quality.

Their seeds are available atPhilRice branch stations and fromselected national rice seed pro-duction network partners for theproduction of registered and cer-tified seeds. (DA-PhilRice)

Secretary Alcala swears into office new DA assistant secretaries:Dante Delima (left), concurrent national rice program coordinator;and Ophelia Agawin, for finance.

DA-PCA to plant 13.8Mcoco seedlings in 2012

The DA through the Philip-pine Coconut Authority (PCA)targets to plant additional 13.8million coconut seedlings thisyear to take advantage of thegrowing demand for coco-biodiesel and other coconutproducts worldwide.

Said volume is four timesmore than the total coconutseedlings planted last year, at3.11 million, said PCA deputyadministrator for researchCarlos B. Carpio during the 1stPhilippine International Bio-Energy Conference (PIBEC),Jan. 12-13, 2012, at ManilaHotel.

He said a fraction of theplanted trees will be useed forthe production of coconut me-thyl ester (CME) or coco-biodiesel.

In all, Carpio said the in-crease in coconut productionwill help augment the incomeof 25 million Filipinos who aredirectly dependent on the co-conut industry.

He said 65 out of thecountry’s 79 provinces, andabout one-third or 3.4 millionhectares of the country’s totalagricultural land are planted tococonut. (PIA)

tance (ODA) extended by theKorean government through itsExport-Import Bank’s EconomicCooperation Fund.

The Philippine government iscounterparting P2.2 billion,which includes the initial P450-million fund release.

Abad said the project will in-crease the irrigated lands inWestern Visayas by 10 percent,and will contribute five percentto annual regional rice produc-tion.

It will likewise expand the pro-duction areas of sugarcane andother crops. (DBM)

DBM releases ... (from p3)

The Department of Agricultureis keen on expanding areasplanted to sugarcane to supportthe government’s initative of uti-

DA to expand sugarcane areas for bioethanollizing fuel ethanol as an alterna-tive source of energy which cancomplement or even substitute forthe traditional gasoline fuel.

In the first-ever Philippine Inter-national BioEnergy Conference,held January 11, 2012 at the Ma-nila Hotel, Secretary Alcala saidthat in the long run, bioethanolalong with other renewable energysources could reduce thecountry’s dependence on im-ported oil, and at the same timeprovide cleaner, more stable-priced fuel versus fossil fuels.

He noted that sugarcane forbioethanol will not compete withlocal food sugar, and existing ar-eas will continue to be dedicatedto food sugar. Excess area along

(Pls turn to p10)

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5January 2012

The DA-Bureau of Fisheriesand Aquatic Resources and theCommission on Higher Educa-tion (CHED), representing 61state universities and colleges(SUCs), forged an agreementlast December 2011 to jointlyimplement the Aquino

government’s P238-million‘aquasilviculture’ program.

BFAR director Asis Perez saidaquasilviculture involves thegrowing of fish and other aquaticorganisms in mangrove areas,without cutting down a singletree. It is an environment-friendlyapproach to enhance fisheriesproduction in the wild, while atthe same rehabilitate thecountry’s mangrove habitat,which currently represents lessthan a quarter of what used tobe a 550,000-hectare mangrovecover in the 1950s.

The agreement’s signatoriesincluded BFAR Dir. Perez,CHED chairperson Dr. PatriciaLicuanan, BFAR Regional Direc-tors, respective SUC president.The SUCs are either a univer-sity or college for fisheries, orprovincial institute for fisheriesunder the DA-CHED NationalAgriculture and Fisheries Edu-cation System (NAFES) pro-gram.

Dr. Licuanan said the partner-ship will have a significant im-pact in improving the delivery ofservices of SUCs by providing

DA-BFAR, CHED, SUCs partner to promote aquasilviculture

The DA through the Bureau ofAnimal Industry (BAI) is allottingP20 million to put up liquid nitro-gen facilities in four pilot prov-inces, as a component of thegovernment’s Unified NationalArtificial Insemination Program(UNAIP).

BAI Dir. Efren Nuestro said liq-uid nitrogen is used to freeze andpreserve the semen of livestockanimals. The frozen semen issubsequently used to artificiallyinseminate ‘in heat’ dairy andbeef cattle, caracows, swine,goats and sheep.

Sec. Proceso Alcala has in-structed the DA-BAI and other DAlivestock agencies (PhilippineCarabao Center and NationalDairy Authority) to massively con-duct AI services in partnershipwith provincial and municipal gov-ernments to increase the

DA-BAI allots P20M for AI facilitiescountry’s livestock and ruminantpopulation.

As the lead coordinatingagency of the UNAIP, the DA-BAI will oversee the establish-ment of liquid nitrogen facilitiesin Tuguegarao, Cagayan;Masbate City, Masbate;Tacloban City, Leyte; and Gen.Santos City, South Cotabato.

Dir. Nuestro said these gov-ernment investments will pavethe way to increasing and im-proving the genetic quality of thelivestock population in said prov-inces and their respective re-gions.

As AI service is a function de-volved to Local GovernmentUnits (LGUs), Dir. Nuestro en-joins the vigorous support andcooperation of provincial veteri-narians and AI technicians to themake the UNAIP a success.

The DA-BFAR has forged an agreement with 61 state universitiesand colleges (SUCs) to provide technical assistance and serve asco-project managers in implementing a national mangrove andaquasilviculture. BFAR Dir. Asis Perez (2nd from left) and Dr. PatriciaB. Licuanan (middle), chairperson of the Commission on HigherEducation, lead the signing og the MOA among DA-BFAR, SUCsand CHED, at UP Diliman, Quezon City. Also shown (from left) are:BFAR ass’t. director Gil Adora, CHED commissioners WilliamMedrano and Dr. Jean Tayag.

DA-Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) officials led by director EfrenNuestro (middle), Dr. Rubina Cresencio (left) and Dr. Paul Limsoninspect liquid nitrogen gas tanks at the BAI facility in Quezon City.

opportunities for capability-build-ing for both its faculty and staff.She fully supports the advocacyof the DA-BFAR to protect and re-store the country’s fisheries andaquatic resources and the habi-tats associated with them.

She said the SUCs will help

BFAR attain sustainability andresource conservation through thecontinued development and pro-motion of innovative interventionssuch as aquasilviculture.

For his part, Dir. Perez said theprogram’s two-pronged objectiveswould also generate job opportu-nities and livelihood for the mar-ginal fisherfolk, and the SUC fish-eries graduates as well.

He said the DA-BFAR is ini-tially investing P237. 5 million toimplement the program that in-volves the following:

• Planting of 11 million man-grove trees

• Establishment of 62 multi-species community hatcheries

• Development of 100 techno-demo aquasilvi-farms in selectedcoastal areas nationwide.

“For mangrove habitat rehabili-tation alone, a fishermen couldplant 2,000 mangrove trees andearn as much as P12,000 a year,”Perez said.

The multi-species hatchery, onthe other hand, will be establishedby the SUCs in suitable areas. Itwill serve like a “lying-in” centerfor gravid high-value species, saidDir. Perez.

The resulting fish fry, fingerlingsand/or crablets will be distributedto interested fishfarmers for com-mercial production, and the ex-cess will be stocked in munici-pal waters for the benefit of allfishermen.

“The community-based hatch-eries will differ much from the ex-pensive and sophisticated hatch-eries we are accustomed of be-cause our purpose really is forthe fisherfolk to realize the im-portance of stock enhancement.

A gravid crab, for instance car-ries with it millions of eggs whichif allowed to hatch in the saidhatchery will benefit the fishermenand the consumers as well,”Perez added.

Under the agreement, the DA-BFAR will transfer funds to part-

ner SUCs to implement theproject.

Among those who witnessedthe MOA signing were CHEDcommissioner William Medranoand BFAR ass’t. directors GilAdora and Benjamin Tabios, Jr.,and BFAR regional directors:Nestor Domenden (R1), JovitaAyson (R2); RemediosOngtangco (R3); EsmeraldaManalang (R4A); EmmanuelAsis (R4B); Dennis del Socorro(R5); Drucila Bayate-Ong (R6);Andres Bojos (R7); JuanAlbaladejo (R8); Ahadula Sajili(R9); Visa Dimerin (R10); FatmaEdris (R11); Sani Macabalang(R12); Nerio Casil (CARAGA);and Keise Usman (ARMM). (DA-BFAR)

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DA celebrates, fun-filled 2011 Christmas partyThe Department of Agriculture family officials and staff celebrated their 2011

Christmas Party with fun-filled activities, highlighted by song-and-dance pre-sentations of seven OSEC Services and Divisions, December 15, at the DA carpark.

With the theme, ‘Paskong Handog at Pasasalamat,’ the celebration startedwith a morning thanksgiving mass in gratitude for a productive year, despite ofseveral typhoons that adversely affected major crop producing provinces.

It was followed by a DA employees’ children’s Christmas party, hosted by theDA Employees’ Association (DAEA), and enjoyed by more than 100 kids.

The party was capped by an afternoon program, emceed by Ms. Shirley Fuentesand DA staff (Ms. Jet Arañas and Milo delos Reyes), that featured performancesof two guest bands, Christmas presentations by seven DA-OSEC services,and raffle of hundreds of items and appliances, courtesy of benefactors led bySec. ‘Procy’ Alcala. He also gave “aginaldo” to all children.

In addition to sharing his Christmas message, Sec. ‘Procy’ also belted out aballad (“Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang”) with Ms. Fuentes, and joined a medley withother top DA officials (U/Sec Antonio Fleta, A/Sec Allan Umali, OIC-COS Atty.Emerson Palad, AMAS Dir. Leandro Gazmin, and NABCOR president HonestoBaniqued).

Adjudged as the best Christmas presentations were those of the Administra-tive Service (1st), and the DA-OSEC and AFIS (tied for 2nd place), who receivedcorresponding cash prizes. Other presentors were: FOS, ITCAF, PDS and AMAS.

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8

Rice Processing Facility to Rise in Davao Sur. Sec. ‘Procy’Alcala (2nd from right) inspects the design of a modern P200-mil-lion integrated rice processing complex (inset) that will rise in Bgy.Sinaragan, Matanao, Davao del Sur. The facility is funded by agrant from the Korean government through the Korea InternationalCooperation Agency (KOICA), with counterpart fund from the DA,Davao del Sur and Matanao. KOICA is funding three similar facili-ties in Pangasinan, Bohol and Iloilo. Also shown are DA-Davaoregional director Oscar Parawan (2nd from left) and DA-PhilippineCoconut Authority Davao regional director Lornito Orillaneda(left). (Photo by DA Davao Info Div.)

The DA-National IrrigationAdministration (NIA) hascompleted two Communal Ir-rigation Systems (CIS), worthP5 million, and turned themover to the Irrigators’ Asso-ciations (IAs) of BarangayBuenavista-Curuan andBoalan in Zamboanga City,on December 16 and 20,2011, respectively.

Zamboanga City APCORaul Ramon Bucoy urgedthe officials and members ofthe two IAs irrigators to effi-ciently maintain their respec-tive CIS, and pay their irriga-tion fees and amortizationpromptly.

He commended the IA ofBuenavista for achieving a100% amortization repay-ment rate. Hence, he will rec-ommend to the DA andZamboanga City governmentto continuously support andprovide the IA with moreprojects to further increasethe productivity and incomeof it farmer-members.

He said the DA-NIA in part-nership with ZamboangaCity will repair and constructmore small scale irrigationprojects in the medium-termto contribute to food staplesuff iciency efforts of theAquino government. (DA-RAFID 9)

DA-NIA completes twoP5M CIS in Zambo City

DA-BFAR providesSulu town P4Mfishing equipment

DA-BFAR provides Sulu town P4-M fishing equipment.BFAR dir. Asis G. Perez (middle, in blue shirt) joins Sulu Represen-tative Nur-Ana Sahidulla and husband Mayor AbdulwahidSahidulla (both seated) of Banguingui, Sulu during the turnover ofP4-million worth of fishing equipment (foreground) and patrol boats(below) to local officials and fishermen of the 14 barangays ofBanguingui. (Photo by DA-BFAR)

The DA-Bureau of Fisheries andAquatic Resources (DA-BFAR)provided several fishing equip-ment and patrol boat enginesworth P4 million to fisherfolk andlocal officials in Banguingui, anisland-municipality in Sulu.

BFAR director Atty. Asis G.Perez said the initiative is part ofthe Aquino government’s continu-ing efforts to improve the lives ofSulu ruralfolk, mostly fishermen,by providing them needed logis-tics and technical assistance.

He led a simple turnover cer-emony of the fishing parapherna-lia on December 30, 2011 toBanguingui officials led by MayorAbdulwahid Sahidulla, who ac-cepted the P4-M package com-posed of 28 units of 16-HP motorengines for‘Bantay-Dagat’ patrolboats, 10 units of shallow waterpayao, 200 units of seaweed farmmaterials, and an ice-making ma-chine.

Dir. Perez said the people ofSulu could make the seas moreproductive for their economic ben-efit with proper resource manage-ment and intensified coastal pro-tection,

“Your seas harbor millions andmillions of fry and fingerlings ofcommercially-important fish andcrustaceans that could serve asthe country’s largest natural

hatchery,” he said.“The Sulu Sea could supply the

needs of the growing number offish cage operators, considering

that there are now more than 60mariculture parks establishedby the DA-BFAR, in partnershipwith LGUs, private sector, andfisherfolk organizations nation-wide,” he added.

He said the DA-BFAR contin-ues to teach fisherfolk sustain-able ways of gathering fish fryand fingerlings from the wild.

For his part, Mayor Sahidullasaid the DA-BFAR fishing equip-ment will complement their ef-forts as they currently implementseveral projects that includeshallow water payao, sea ranch-ing, seaweed farming, shallow

water fixed cages, pen cages,floating cages and aqua-tourism,among others.

The municipality Banguingui,formerly called Tongkil, is com-posed of 17 islands and islets. Ithas 14 barangays.

Dir. Perez said the DA-BFARwill continue to provide technicalexperts to assist ARMM LGUs,particularly in developing andimplementing livelihood projectsand sustainable coastal resourceprotection and management ini-tiatives.

He led a five-day patrol of se-lected areas in Sulu and VisayanSeas which currently observes athree-month closed season forsardines which started on De-cember 1, 2011.

He also visited on Dec. 29Sulu mainland and Siasi island,together with Sulu 1st DistrictRep. Tupay Loong, where theylaunched a mariculture parkproject.

While it is basically designedto dry palay, a flatbed drier (FBD)can be used to dry cassava, too!

In fact, farmers in Quirino, be-longing to Abrasa Multi-PurposeCooperative (AMPC) in Diffun,have been using their FBD effi-ciently since July 2010.

With the FBD, they can drycassava even during rainy sea-son, enabling them to harvestregularly, thus giving them sus-tained income.

More importantly, it has en-couraged them to expand thearea planted 10-fold, from merely20 hectares in 2008 to 200 hect-ares. They will plant another 500hectares this year, said DirectorRicardo L. Cachuela of the DA’s

FBD is also good for cassavaPhilippine Center forPostharvest Development andMechanization (PhilMech).

Provision of FBDs to qualifiedfarmers’ groups, cooperativesand Irrigators’ Associations isone of the interventions under-taken by the DA throughPhilMech.

Cachuela said at Diffun, theAMPC sells its dried cassavachips, used as an ingredient toanimal feed, to San MiguelCorp. in Echague, Isabela.

With the FBD, the AMPCfarmers now harvest cassavayear-round. Previously, they onlyharvest after the rainy season,said Jomar Corpuz, AMPC op-

(Pls turn to p10)

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9January 2012

A new insect pest has in-fested rice farms in four regions(5, 7, 8 and 13), according toDirector Clarito M. Barron of theDA-Bureau of Plant Industry.

In an advisory issued Decem-ber 21, 2011, Dir. Barron saidthe pest — initially identified asParomius longulus — was re-ported infesting rice panicles,from flowering stage to milkingstage, resulting to unfilled or dis-colored grains, and eventuallyreducing yield.

The pest was initially identi-fied by the DA Regional CropProtection Center (RCPC) inEastern Visayas (Region 8). Itwill further verified and formallyidentified by entomologists.

However, the pest is calledrice seed bug, dirt-colored seedbug or rice grain bug in otherregions.

The pest was also detectedin Bicol region in September2011 in Ragay town (inCamarines Sur) andDimasalang (in Masbate), ac-cording to Dr. Evangeline C. de

New rice bug infests rice crops in 4 regions

7P-Noy, DA Chief honor 2011 Gawad Saka awardees. President Aquino (6th from left) and Sec. Alcala (5th from left) proudly posewith the 2011 Gawad Saka national winners, or outstanding achievers in agriculture and fisheries, December 13, 2011, in Malacañang. Theawardees—composed of 14 individuals and nine groups—received a Presidential citation and trophy, and cash prizes and project grants,totaling P4.25 million. Now on its 41st year, Gawad Saka recognizes the major contributions and breakthroughs of the country’s outstand-ing farmers, fishers, agri-entrepreneurs, scientist, and farmers’ and fishers’ groups. The 2011 Gawad Saka was chaired by DA ass’t. secretaryEdilberto de Luna (3rd from left).

la Trinidad, chief of the DA Re-gion 5 RCPC. She said about 100hectares of rice crops were dam-aged. She collected severalspecimens and submitted theseto the BPI for analysis.

She said they are verifying re-ports that the pest was alsosighted in Libmanan, CamarinesSur.

Meanwhile, the BPI advisesfarmers to undertake the follow-ing measures and strategies tocontrol the spread of the pest:

1) plow ricestraw/stubblesunder the soil,right after har-vest;

2) alwaysclean the farmand irrigationdikes of cropb y- p r o d u c t sand other de-bris;

3) monitorthe field regu-larly to detectearly pest ap-

pearance; and4) if the pest is already present,

apply ‘green label’ contact insec-ticides at early morning or late af-ternoon.

For his part, DA Bicol regionaldirector Jose V. Dayao assuresfarmers that there is nothing tobe alarmed about, as the infesta-tion is not widespread, but lim-ited to a very small area.

He urged farmers and techni-cians to closely monitor their areaand report immediately to theRCPC any pest sighting and inci-dence. (DA 5 RAFID)

• Active participation in theCoral Triangle Initiative (CTI).

Sec. Alcala said the estab-lishment of community hatch-eries and aquasilvi or mangrovefarms is the DA’s flagship pro-gram to provide poor marginalfisherfolk families with incomeand employment opportunities.

Under the aquasilvi program,participating fishermen will plantmangrove trees and will betrained how to raise speciessuch as lapulapu (grouper) intandem with alimango(mudcrabs) and tilapia.

BFAR Director Asis Perezsaid his agency has allottedP280.8 million for the program,and initially identified 31 coastalareas where the program will beimplemented.

Likewise, BFAR has forged anagreement with some 40 stateuniversities and colleges offer-ing fishery and aquaculturecourses that will serve asproject managers of communitymulti-species hatcheries.

He said each site shall beplanted with 3,000 mangrovepropagules.

Participating fisherfolk fami-lies will be paid up to P5.50 permangrove (P1.50 for the plant-ing material, P2 for planting andP2 for every tree that survives).Hence, each family could earnup to P16,500 per hectare.

Further, participating fisher-families will be provided withnets to enclose the mangrovearea, making it a fishpen.

Fishery program gets P2.4B ... (from p1)Canals will be dug as grow-

ing sanctuaries, while excessfish may be set free into thewild to increase the fish popu-lation for other municipal fish-ers.

Perez said aquasilvi fishersmay choose to raise fish fortheir own consumption and sellthe excess.

They may also consolidatetheir catch with other fishersand sell their harvest to insti-tutional buyers and markets.

“What is significant aboutthis program is that govern-ment money will directly ben-efit fishermen and their fami-lies, create more job opportu-nities, and importantly resultto improving and protectingour aquatic resources,” Perezsaid.

Meanwhile, Dir. Perez led afive-day (Dec. 27-31, 2011)patrol of some areas in Suluand Visayan Seas, which cur-rently observe a three-monthclosed season for sardines,which started on Dec. 1, 2011.

The Sulu Sea harbors mil-lions of fry and fingerlings ofcommercially-important fishand crustaceans, making it thecountry’s largest naturalhatchery.

He said the Sulu Sea couldsupply the needs of fish cageoperators in more than 60mariculture parks establishedby the DA-BFAR, in partner-ship with LGUs, private sec-tor, and fisherfolk organizationsnationwide. (BFAR & DA-AFIS)

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A village type ethanol distillery,making use of sweet sorghum asfeedstock, has risen in IlocosNorte. It is expected to pave theway to mass-producing ethanoland create thousands of jobs inthe countryside.

The pilot village ethanol distill-ery was established making useof a P1-million initial fund from theNational Economic DevelopmentAuthority (NEDA) Region I underthe KR2 program.

Currently, it can produce 50 li-ters of hydrous ethanol per day.This type of ethanol could beused as a disinfectant or mois-turizer, said Dr. Heraldo L.Layaoen, team leader of the Na-tional Sweet Sorghum Program(NSSP), funded and implementedby the DA through the Bureau ofAgricultural Research (BAR).

However, the long term goal ofthe NSSP is to produce fuel-gradeanhydrous ethanol, said Layaoen,who is also the concurrent vicepresident for planning and exten-sion of the Mariano Marcos StateUniversity in Batac, Ilocos Norte.

He said the NSSP is findingways to make dehydration, or theprocess of removing water fromthe hydrous ethanol, cheapercompared to the present cost toproduce fuel-grade ethanol.

He said farmers in Batac,Ilocos Norte have been plantingsweet sorghum for the last fiveyears, with assistance from theDA-BAR, led by DirectorNicomedes P. Eleazar.

Layaoen said by February2012, the Bapamin Multi PurposeCooperative (MPC), together withits cooperator Bungon SeedProducers’MPC, will start millingsweet sorghum for processinginto ethanol. The excess juice willbe processed into syrup, whichwill be used for ethanol produc-tion during rainy days when mill-ing of stalks is not convenient.

Bapamin, headed by farmerDoris Bumanglag-Arcangel, hasbeen selling food-grade syrup andvinegar in 66 outlets all over thecountry. They are currently plant-ing sweet sorghum to 65 hect-ares. They aim to increase thearea to 100 hectares.

The DA-BAR has been fundingfield testing of sweet sorghumvarieties in Ilocos and other sitesto make Philippines less depen-dent on expensive, importedethanol oil and generate ruraljobs.

Sweet sorghum is a good al-

Village sweet sorghum ethanoldistillery rises in Ilocos

ternative to other ethanol feed-stocks. It has also many foodproducts like juice and syrup.But we will maximize its eco-nomic value if we are able to suc-cessfully produce ethanol, saidDir. Eleazar.

The DA-BAR has crafted aNSSP master plan, where it en-visions the setting up of a clus-ter of village distilleries thatcould produce a combined vol-ume 5,000 to 10,000 liters of an-hydrous alcohol daily. This vol-ume will be collected and trans-ported to a Central DehydratingPlant (CDP), which should benear a fuel depot.

Dir. Eleazar said investors areneeded to realize such commer-cial operation set up.

The DA-BAR has obtained inprevious years outstanding vari-eties of sweet sorghum from itspartner, the International CropsResearch Institute for the SemiArid Tropics (ICRISAT), based inIndia, which is headed by formerDA secretary William D. Dar.

The village ethanol distillerywas developed with the assis-tance from Department of Sci-ence and Technology through its‘Balik-Scientist’ Dr. SergioCapareda of the Texas Univer-sity. Capareda designed the dis-tilling column and guided its fab-rication, while MMSU materialscience expert Samuel S.Franco designed the furnace.

The NSSP expects a bright fu-ture for the commercial produc-tion of sweet sorghum ethanolas several companies are inter-ested, namely Seaoil Fuel Inc.and PNOC-Alternative FuelsCorp. (PNOC-AFC).

Another company, Green Fu-ture Innovation Inc. (GFII),Layaoen said is completing anethanol plant in San Mariano,Isabela, which has a capacityof 250,000 liters per day. Whileits feedstock will primarily besugarcane, it intends to usesweet sorghum as a comple-mentary crop.

Field trials have shown thatfarmers can produce an averageyield of 55 metric tons (MT) ofsweet sorghum stalk per hect-are and 4,500 kilos of grains perharvest. Sorghum stalks can beharvested thrice a year, that is,one main crop and two ratooncrops.

At a cane price of P700 perMT and at P10 to P12 per kiloof seeds, farmers can earn a net

DA to expand sugarcaneareas ... (from p4)

with newly-developed areas willbe allocated for the production ofsugarcane feedstock for ethanol.

The DA along with the Depart-ments of Agrarian Reform (DAR)and Environment and Natural Re-sources (DENR) through the Na-tional Convergence Initiative willimplement a “block farming sys-tem” among sugarcane farmers,particularly agrarian reform ben-eficiaries, who will venture intobioethanol feedstock production.

He said participating farmerswill be integrated into cooperativesto achieve economies of scale,and government agencies like DAand DAR could provide themneeded interventions.

FBD is also ... (from p8)erations manager.

With the FBD, they can nowharvest anytime. Shrinkage isminimized, and drying cost isminimal as the drier is fed withbiomass (crop by-products) asfuel, said Corpuz.

He said the AMPC buys freshcassava from its members. Thecassava is then cut into smallpieces using a palay thresher.The pieces are then dried via theFBD, up to the desired 14%moisture content.

With more efficient drying op-erations, the cooperative deliv-ers 100 metric tons of dried cas-sava regularly to the San MiguelCorp. plant in Echague, Isabela.

With more area planted tocassava, they can sell moredried cassava to SMC, giving theAMPC members more income.

Cachuela said the DA is pro-moting the increased productionof cassava as a staple and anindustrial crop for feed, flour andfeedstock for alcohol.

He said DA-PhilMech ispartnering with a local farm ma-chinery manufacturer (Agricom-ponent Machinery and Con-struction Corp. in Cauayan City,Isabela) to develop a drying sys-tem for granulated cassava,used as animal feed ingredient.Said company is accredited bythe DA-PhilMech and manufac-tures FBDs and multi-fuel bio-mass furnace. (DA-Philmech)

Sec. Alcala receives a book on ‘Sweet Sorghum in the Philippines:Status and Future’ from former DA secretary Dr. William Dar, andconcurrent director-general of the International Crops ResearchInstitute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, during the recent 1st PhilippineInternational BioEnergy Conference.

income of P83,000 to P95,000per cropping. If cane price goesup to P900 per MT, farmers couldearn a net income of P103,000to P115,000 per cropping.

Along with job-generating ben-efits, sweet sorghum ethanol pro-duction may generate for thecountry carbon emission reduc-tion benefits.

It is estimated that thebioethanol industry could gener-ate potential jobs totaling to about180,000 by 2015 and 290,000 by2020. It may also generate for-eign exchange savings, at over$780 million in 2015 and $1.27billion in 2020, based on anNSSP study. (DA-BAR)

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SPJA issues ... (from p1)

January 2012

2012 to 2013, and implementmajor commodity road maps toachieve desired goals and tar-gets.

He said the success of theFSSP rests on the entireagency, including agriculturalproducers and other partners.

In fishery, he lauded the Bu-reau of Fisheries and AquaticResources (DA-BFAR) for com-ing up with an ‘aquisilviculture’program that entails regenera-tion and protection of man-groves, establishment of munici-pal hatcheries, and provision oflivelihood to marginal fisherfolkand their families.

“Bukod sa food staples, angisda ay malaking parte ngpagkain ng pamilyang Pilipino,”he said.

Further, he said the DA will expand livestock and poultry pro-

DA to spend ... (from p1)

duction and breeding programs tobenefit every farming household.

“Kahit limitado ang lupa ng mgamagsasaka, malaking bagay sakanila ang may alagang baboy atmanok, kambing, kalabaw atbaka. Ang tulong nito sa pagkainat kalusugan gayundin sa kita aymakaka-angat sa mga farmingfamilies,” Sec. Alcala said.

He urged concerned DA live-stock agencies to ensure that thecountry remains free from thedreaded Foot and Mouth Disease(FMD) and avian flu, in partner-ship with livestock farmers andindustry stakeholders, and makeuse of such comparative advan-tage to export pork and chickenproducts to other countries.

For high value crops, he askedconcerned officials to continu-ously improve the value chain —from research, production,postharvest, processing and mar-keting — and broaden the domes-tic and export potentials for co-conut, sugar, abaca, pineapple,banana, mango, vegetables, jack-fruit, cashew, coffee, rubber, ca-cao, and other crops.

He also urged the upgrading ofproduct standards and climateadaptation measures; the open-ing of in-roads to encourage pro-spective farmers like returningOFWs, young farmers, and retir-ees to engage in agriculture, fish-ery and agribusiness enterprises;and improvement of technologiesand expansion of knowledge pool.

In addition, he ordered the en-hancement of DA support mecha-nisms to provide needed re-sources and logistics to‘frontliners’ that include agricul-tural extension workers so theycould in turn serve stakeholdersand clienteles better, particularlysmall farmers and fisherfolk.

He also enjoined DA officials tofurther expand and strengthenpartnerships with farmers’ andfishers’ groups, irrigators’ asso-ciations, LGUs, other governmentagencies, private sector, and in-ternational development agencies.

He also urged concerned DAagencies and regional offices toupgrade plant and animal re-search stations and stock farms.

“Ito ang mukha ng Kagawaransa bawat lugar. Ayusin natin itoat gawing sentro ng teknolohiyana ipamamahagi sa mgamagsasaka,” he said.

For soil and water management,he enjoined DA agencies to con-tinue efforts in improving thecountry’s farmlands and encour-aging farmers to adopt sustain-able practices to improve thesoil’s organic matter such as croprotation, and refrain from practic-

dent and CEO HonestoBaniqued, Jr. Another P13 mil-lion is earmarked for researchand development.

Baniqued said the project hasfive components that include avegetable consolidation centerand postharvest managementassurance system, livestock

DA, EDC ... (from p12)

ing ‘kaingin’ system and burningof rice straw.

He said the DA will also con-struct more ‘water-harvesting’structures and small scale irriga-tion projects to benef it morerainfed and upland farmers.

To ensure higher farm produc-tivity and income, he said the DAwill also strengthen crop and ani-mal pest and disease control pro-grams.

Finally, he urged DA officials to“focus our minds and deliver re-sults.”

“Gamitin natin ng lubos angating angking galing at talino,para maisagawa ang dapat gawin,at para mangyari ang dapatmangyari. Pagkat angpinakabatayang prinsipyo ngAgri-Pinoy ay ito: Na manalig saangking yaman ng Pilipinas – angating natural and human re-sources – at paunlarin ito paratugunan ang ating (mga)pangangailangan,” he added.

Finally, he said: “Patuloy natingipadama sa ating mga partnersang ating katapatan sapaglilingkod, at ipakitang tayo aytalagang bukas sa pagiging part-ner nila.”

DA, EDC to develop ‘salad bowl’ in Leyte, allot initial P92M. The DAthrough its National Agribusiness Corp. (NABCOR) and the PNOC-Energy Dev’t. Corp. (EDC) will partner with 23 upland farmers’associations in Ormoc City and Kananga, and the Visayas StateUniversity (VSU) to develop a 20,000-hectare area at Tongonanmountain range that will produce high value vegetables and fruits.Sec. Alcala (3rd from left) proudly pose with VSU president Dr. JoseBacusmo (right), RAFC nat’l. president Ed Codilla (2nd from right),and officers and staff of the PNOC-EDC. (Photo by DA Regn 8 Info Div)

with feedlot operation, market-ing, environmental management,and manpower development asa sustainability mechanism.

“We at the DA-NABCOR aimto help transform the OK rangeinto a major vegetable area inEastern Visayas, which canlater diversify to produce highvalue crops such as cutflowersand fruits,” Baniqued said.

Similar initiatives are undertaken by the DA to develop ma-jor marketing and processingcenters in La Trinidad, Benguet,and in Dupax del Sur, NuevaVizcaya.

For its part, PNOC-EDC willprovide P50M to finance farm-ing activities, at P10M everyyear, from 2012 to 2016.

“We are committed to sustainthis corporate social responsi-bility initiative. Many people inthe upland range are still poor.Our main concern is help thefarmers on the marketing as-pect,” said Emiliano Argoncillo,head of the EDC communitypartnership department.

The LGPF is the country’slargest producer of geothermalenergy, with a capacity at morethan 700 megawatts (MW). Thearea covers a total of 107,625hectares along the Tongonanmountain range.

For its part, the VSU will pro-vide farmers technical assis-tance, and supervise crop pro-duction, postharvest handling,processing and marketing, saidPresident Jose Bacusmo.” (DARegn 8 Info Div. & DA-AFIS)

tion projects that include:1,283 shallow tube wells, 131small water reservoirs and wa-ter impounding projects, and3,130 spring development.

For postharvest facilities, theDA has alloted P11.28B for2,777 drying, storage and pro-cessing facilities, and 4,526 dry-ers, milling equipment, includ-ing dairy equipment.

Four major agri trading cen-ters will be put up in La Trinidad,Benguet; Argao, Cebu;Urdaneta, Pangasinan; and SanJose, Camarines Sur.

For banner or commodity pro-grams, the DA will spend a to-tal of P11.89B, broken down as:P6.18B for rice; P950.7M - corn;P1.336B - high-value crops;P1.027B - livestock; and P2.4B– fisheries.

To hasten the transport of farmand fishery products from pro-duction areas, the DA in part-nership with local governmentunits will construct and rehabili-tate more than P5-B worth offarm-to-market roads (FMRs),totaling 1,284 kilometers.

“We have redesigned FMRsso that at least 50% of the bud-get goes to concreting criticalroad sections. This would en-sure that the roads do not dis-appear after a flood,” said Sec-retary Alcala.

“We want to make sure thatwe do not only build roads anddams. We should build thembetter. Monitor them moreclosely, and ensure that theyserve the purpose for whichthey were built,” said Alcala,who is a civil engineer by pro-fession.

Page 11: Aggie Trends January 2012

DA allots P474M for agri,irrigation projects in N. Samar

The Department of Agriculture— in partnership with the PNOC-Energy Development Corporation(EDC), other institutions andfarmers’ groups — will develop a20,000-hectare area at Tongonanmountain range, straddlingOrmoc City and Kananga townin Leyte, into a ‘salad bowl’ thatwill produce high value semi-tem-perate vegetables.

Secretary Proceso J. Alcalaled the signing of a memorandumof agreement on December 12 toimplement said five-year initiative,called Agri-Pinoy integrated anddiversified program for the devel-opment of the ‘OK’ upland range.OK refers collectively to OrmocCity and Kananga.

The Tongonan mountain rangeis 500 to 800 meters above sealevel. The DA and EDC will jointlyinvest P92 million in the next fiveyears to develop suitable areassurrounding the Leyte Geother-mal Production Field (LGPF) tobenefit 5,600 farmers, who aremembers of 23 farmers’ associa-tions in Ormoc and Kananga.

Sec. Alcala said the DA throughthe DA Region 8 and NationalAgribusiness Corp. (NABCOR)will assist farmers in the landpreparation, cultivation, harvest-ing, processing, and marketingof vegetables and other high valuecommercial crops.

Currently, farmers at LGPF pro-duce vegetables and fruits likecabbage, green onion, tomato,eggplant, raddish, chayote, cu-cumber and pineapple. They har-

1st Phl Intl BioEnergy Conference. President Benigno S.Aquino III and Secretary Procy Alcala unveil the National BiofuelsBoard booth to formally open the 1st Philippine InternationalBioEnergy Conference at Manila Hotel, January 12, 2012, attendedby more than 100 Filipino and foreign bioenergy industry stake-holders. The conference took stock of the country’s initiatives todevelop the biofuel sector and attract investors. President Aquinosaid renewable energy has always been a key consideration to-wards achieving a vision of a greener and more vibrant Philip-pines. He said the contribution of the biomass sector will increasefrom 39 megawatts of energy in 2010 to more than 300 megawattsby 2015, creating an additional 89,000 jobs. For his part, Sec.Alcala said the DA is keen on helping investors and farmers todevelop more areas planted to bioethanol feedstock like sugarcaneand sweet sorghum. Also shown are Energy Secretary Jose ReneAlmendras and Jan Malkus, CEO of Amitelo AG. (see story on p4)

The Department of Agricultureis allotting P474 million (M) tocomplete an irrigation project,construct farm-to-market roads(FMR) and implement other agri-cultural and livelihood projects inNorthern Samar.

Agriculture Secretary ProcesoJ. Alcala made the commitmentduring his December 12, 2011 visitin Samar, where he also forgedan agreement with Social Wel-fare Secretary Corazon Solimanto undertake a joint DA-DSWDinitiative, called “AgrikulturangPantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Pro-gram” or Agri-Pinoy 4Ps.

Of the total amount, SecretaryAlcala said P209M is earmarkedas an additional fund to completethe irrigation component of theHelp for Catubig Agricultural Ad-vancement Project (HCAAP).

The HCAAP is expected to ir-rigate 4,550 hectares, and ben-efit more than 1,600 farm fami-lies in the towns of Catubig andLas Navas, in Northern Samar.

It will double the province’s irri-gated area to more than 9,000hectares, from the current 4,500hectares, and subsequently in-crease its annual palay (paddyrice) production, from 98,300metric tons (MT) in 2010.

The irrigation project could gen-erate an additional harvest ofabout 40,950 MT, at two crops ayear and an average harvest of

DA, EDC to develop Leyte ‘salad bowl’

4.5 MT per hectare per cropping.Secretary Alcala also allotted

P230 million for the rehabilita-tion and construction of other ir-rigation projects, and P35M forfarm-to-market roads in North-ern Samar.

He said the DA will also pro-vide counterpart fund to con-struct a modern rice process-ing complex in Catubig Valley,along with a satellite office ofthe DA’s Philippine Rice Re-search Institute (PhilRice).

In addition, the DA throughthe Bureau of Soils and WaterManagement (BSWM) will con-struct a diversion dam inBarangay Guba, Catarman town,and implement an expandedmodif ied rapid compostingproject in the province, as partof the DA’s organic agricultureprogram.

Secretary Alcala commendedDSWD Secretary Soliman forpartnering with the DA to imple-ment the Agri-Pinoy 4Ps, aimedto uplift Eastern Visayan farm-ers, fishers and ruralfolk frompoverty.

It aims to enhance agriculturalproductivity, and provide sus-tainable livelihood and short-termjobs to marginal families, par-ticularly those engaged in rice,corn, coconut, and sugarcaneproduction, and municipal fish-ing.

vest about five tons weekly andsell them at public markets inOrmoc and Kananga.

Under the five-year project,farmers will be encouraged toplant other fruit crops like durian,rambutan and jackfruit, includ-ing coffee and abaca.

Aside from the DA and EDC,the other project partners are theVisayas State University (VSU)and the Partners Multi-PurposeCooperative (PMPC), represent-ing the 23 farmers’ associations,in 16 barangays at the LGPF.

It will benefit about 3,000 sub-sistence farm-families in sevenvillages in Kananga (Rizal,Hiluctogan, Montebello,Aguiting, Lim-ao, San Ignacio,and Tongonan) and nine villagesin Ormoc City (Milagro, NuevaVista, Cabaon-an, Danao,Gaas, Liberty, Tongonan,Mahayahay, and Dolores).

“Sa pagsasamang ito,mahalaga na maliwanag sabawat isa na hindi lamang tayotutulong sa produksyon.Tutulong rin tayo sa processing,hanggang sa marketing. At samarketing, mahalaga angeconomies of scale. Hindi kayomakakakuha ng magandangpresyo kung walang economiesof scale,” said Sec. Alcala.

Of the P92-M initial funding,the DA-NABCOR will share P29million to establish a consolida-tion center and pilot packing-house, and provide marketingsupport, said NABCOR presi

(Pls turn to p11)

DA, DSWD launch ‘Agrikulturang 4Ps’ in Northern Samar.Sec. ‘Procy’ Alcala (3rd from right) and Social Welfare and Develop-ment Secretary Corazon ‘Dinky’ Soliman (2nd from right) launchedAgrikulturang Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or Agri-Pinoy 4Ps in Las Navas, Northern Samar to provide livelihood andshort-term jobs to marginal families, particularly those engaged inrice, corn, coconut, and sugarcane production, and municipal fish-ing. Joining them (from left) are: DA Reg. 8 Dir. Antonio Gerundio;DSWD Reg.8 Dir. Leticia Diokno; Melanie Villarinto, president ofthe Self-Employment Assistance-Kaunlaran Ass’n., who received aP250,000-livelihood fund for their mudcrab fattening project inCarigara, Leyte; and Aida Paner, Las Navas municipal DSWDofficer.(Photo by DA8 Info Div.)