MANILA, Feb. 10 — Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala has remained optimistic that the Department of Agriculture under President Benigno S. Aquino III's administration would attain its target of rice self-sufficiency in 2013 despite the occurrence of calamities.

”In spite of the calamities brought about by typhoons, 'Pedring' and 'Quiel' in September last year (2011) we still attained 98 percent rice production, although we lost 1 million metric tons of rice. We only imported 600,000 MT of rice. Had it not been for the typhoons, we could have met our rice sufficiency,” Alcala said as he discussed DA’s 2011 achievements during the Communication and News Exchange Forum on Friday at the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Conference Room in Quezon City.

He explained that DA will tap hundreds of irrigation associations (IAs) in Luzon, particularly those served by the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System (UPRIIS) and the Magat River Integrated Irrigation System (MARIIS), to advance farmers’ cropping calendar from October to August to avoid strong typhoons that usually occur in the months of October to November.

"We are usually hit by strong typhoons in October, so we have to set the cropping season earlier,” the DA secretary said.

Based on DA’s record, about 190,000 hectares will be covered under the early planting scheme — 110,000 hectares at UPRIIS and the rest at MARIIS.

Traditionally, Alcala said, the country gets 60 percent of annual palay harvest from the wet season, and 40 percent from the dry season.

”If we have more irrigation systems, we can shift the trend, where we would harvest 60 percent of our total production during the dry season,“ he stressed.

With this scheme, the agriculture chief said "we could attain the no-importation policy or rice self-sufficiency target" by 2013.

”This year, we are importing 500,000 metric tons of rice, gradually decreasing from the volume of rice importation in the previous years,“ he added.

His optimism generates from the department’s most significant achievement, that is, the restoration of the trust of the farmers and other agriculture stakeholders in government.

”I took over a department that was scandal-ridden and listed among the most corrupt agencies of government. The DA is no longer in that list,” he said.

He likewise believes that the target would be achieved due to the growth in agriculture the DA has obtained. The agriculture and fisheries sector has proven its resilience in the face of severe natural disasters. Recovering from the long dry spell in 2010, both palay and corn recorded 15.9 percent growth in volume at production levels of 10.75 million MT of rice and 5.49 million MT of corn.

Agricultural production volume grew by 4.28 percent in the first nine months of 2011, a marked improvement over the 2.81 percent decline during the same period in 2010.

It is worth noting, the DA chief said, that the growth achieved in rice production is the highest in the last 10 years.

“Our capacity to quickly respond after a calamity was shown in the aftermath of typhoons Pedring and Quiel in 2011. Our seed buffer stocks were ready to allow farmers to replant and replace the crops they lost,” he told the forum in support of his optimism.

Considering the huge damage caused by the typhoons, "we identified 50,000 hectares for immediate rationing to allow us to cut our losses,” he said. (PNA)

scs/magi

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Penned by Fifth District Board Member Jett Rojas, the newly enacted ordinance will take effect 15 days following its publication in a newspaper of general circulation here.

The ordinance aims to address the alarming decline in the population of blue crabs in the province.

Citing the findings of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Region 6, Rojas revealed that blue crab’s harvest has declined by half.

Blue crab’s harvest reached 10,000 metric tons in 2010 but it fell down to only 5,000 metric tons in 2011.

Rojas stressed that a ban is a must in order to preserve the species' population and sustain the blue crab industry in the province.

Under the ordinance, any person or corporation is prohibited from catching/gathering, possessing, selling or transporting berried and undersized blue crabs with a carapace less than 11 centimeters or 4.6 inches.

It also prohibits the fishermen from using gill net below 0.3 milimeter twine size, four knots, with 50 mess depth and below.

The ordinance, however, provides exception to research institutions that will use the specie for scientific or research purposes.

The ordinance states that the governor has the power to issue special permits to research institutions in catching blue crabs.

Offenders of this ordinance will be held in prison from six months to one year. A fine amounting to P5,000 will also be imposed. Offenders may be sanctioned by both fine and imprisonment depending on the discretion of the court.

If authorities confiscated gravid and undersized blue crabs from violators, these species shall be returned to the sea if alive or donated to any charitable institution.

The confiscated stocks can also be disposed through other means that are most favorable to the provincial government.

The governor and municipal mayors of coastal towns in the province are set to formulate the implementing rules and regulations of the ordinance.(PNA) LAP/AJP/JANepomoceno/vlo

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Rene Dalayon, FEDCO president and chief executive officer said banana farmers hedging against the growing risks facing the banana industry, are now set to develop a 5,000-hectare palm oil plantation in Sto. Tomas, this province.

“We were given the go-signal by Land Bank to start the ball rolling for this palm oil project immediately,” said Dalayon who gathered FEDCO board officers and top coop officials for a meeting the other day with Land Bank officials in Asuncion, Sto. Tomas.

The P1.2-billion Land Bank loan for the Davao farmers participating in the palm oil project is broken down into P630 million for land development and seedlings and P580 million for a processing plant, he said.

“We’re now ready to do this project. We’ll start initially by producing crude palm oil to supply oil refinery plants in Manila. Later, when we have more areas and processing plants, we’ll put up our own refinery,” Dalayon said.

Meanwhile, Governor Rodolfo del Rosario has mobilized various government agencies and banks in the province to set into motion the development plans for a huge palm oil industry in the region to protect Davao banana farmers from continuing threats and dangers facing the banana industry.

Spearheading the development of a huge palm oil industry in Davao del Norte that will benefit farmers who are agrarian reform beneficiaries, del Rosario agreed with Dalayon that the entire province can develop 60,000 to 80,000 hectares for palm oil plantations generating annual revenues of P26 billion for the farmers.

It takes at least 26 months from planting to harvesting oil palms before a farmer can start harvesting the nuts every two weeks for processing the crude oil for shipments, according to Dalayon.

He said this big palm oil project is the second hedging move FEDCO is taking, after they set up a successful cacao nursery for farmers’ cooperatives in the province.

“We’re not replacing our main venture of producing high quality bananas for the export market. We’re diversifying to these two high value crops to protect our fellow banana farmers from the growing threats facing this industry,” Dalayon said. (PNA) LAP/Aurelio A. Pena/ldp

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William Castillo of the agriculture office said that the province is committed to the expansion of hybrid corn from 1,600 to 2,500 hectares this year.

"We use hybrid corn as food for our swine and poultry industry. If we have more available hybrid corn, then we could raise more swine and poultry to augment the supply of our food," Castillo said.

The agriculture office reported that there is a shortage of both swine and poultry in the province during the previous years because of the growing tourism industry.

Aside from the hybridization of corn, the agriculture office also wants to continue its hybridization of rice program, expansion of vegetable farming, mango plantation of 500 hectares, expansion of abaca program, expansion of research facilities of trichoderma.

"In fisheries, we are also bent to expand our program for the pangasius culture, additional lambaklad projects and artificial reefs," Castillo said. (PNA) LAP/AJP/JNAguirre/vlo

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Municipal Agriculturist Relly Cruz said officials of the local government unit (LGU) of Cordon led by Mayor Laurencio Zuniega are thankful to the DA for choosing the town as beneficiary of a greenhouse which is an important facility for vegetable farmers.

The greenhouse establishment is a joint project of the LGU of Cordon and DA to boost vegetable production in the town and in the region as a whole.

Cruz said the facility will help vegetable farmers in the town and will encourage them to plant more vegetables.

The locality will be using the greenhouse to propagate vegetable seedlings that will be distributed to the farmers and other interested residents who will be interested to plant vegetables.

Cruz said that the locality wanted that e each resident in the locality will have at least backyard garden as their source of income and use for their own consumption.

Among the vegetable seeds that will be propagated inside the greenhouse are pepper, tomato, eggplant, okra, squash and other. (PNA) LAP/SCD/MEdale/mba

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Regional Director Danilo Pastrana said that in order to make it easier for the farmers to deliver their palay to NFA warehouses, the authority to deliver (ATD), which is usually issued at respective NFA Provincial Offices, will be issued by Warehouse Supervisors who will receive palay deliveries from farmers.

Pastrana said that such process will cut on time and expenses on the part of farmers.

“Our procurement program is geared towards giving our farmers a ready market for their palay and at the same time offering them a better return of investment,” Pastrana said.

“We should therefore see to it that the program would rightfully benefit them, make it less taxing on their part and would not incur additional expenses for the farmers in bringing their palay to our warehouses,” he added.

At present, a farmer seeking to sell his palay to the food agency has to secure first an ATD from the provincial office where the buying station is located.

The ATD will determine the volume of palay that a farmer/farmers cooperative could deliver to the buying station. Pastrana hoped that with the dispensation of the ATD, more farmers will be encouraged to sell their palay to the NFA.

The NFA this month hoped to buy around 65,000 bags of palay from the main cropping season. Its buying price is still at P17 per kilogram for clean and dry palay with an additional P0.70 incentive for farmers cooperatives and P0.40 incentive for individual farmers.

In 2011, the agency has procured around 320,000 bags of palay from farmers/farmers cooperatives in the region.

Pastrana said this will form part of the region’s buffer stock to ensure food security and help in stabilizing the price of the food commodity in the region.

“With such procured palay and our existing inventory from the previous year, we will be assured that the region will have sufficient rice supply,” said Pastrana, adding that farmers could go directly to NFA buying stations nearest them in delivering their palay or if they have questions about the procurement activity of the agency. (PNA) LAP/lvm/lvmicua/rma

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MANILA, Feb. 9 — The Department of Agriculture (DA) foresees rice production of at least one million tons from the proposed early cropping method that would address the perennial problem of destruction of crops during the typhoon season.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, in a press conference on Thursday, said rice yield would increase once the proposal is implemented, noting that there would be five harvest seasons under the new scheme.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary and National Rice Program Coordinator Dante Delima said they target to cover a maximum of 250,000 hectares nationwide for the early cropping method.

"The possible rice production under the early cropping is four tons per hectare," he said.

Under the proposed early cropping scheme, farmers would plant one or two months earlier than the usual practice of planting rice every September and October — the height of the typhoon season.

"Kung ang objective ay iwasan ang September-October damage, dapat April pa lang ay mag-umpisa na ang early planting para July to August ay mag-harvest na sila," Delima said.

He said majority of the farmers favor the new planting scheme but with proper support from the government.

Delima admitted that the method had been tried by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) but the initiative did not prosper due to lack of coordination with the department.

"Hindi madali i-move ang planting season without the support system. Ang hinihingi ng farmers, dapat available ang binhi at kung kaya ng irrigation system na mag-supply ng tubig," he said.

Delima said they are now conducting consultations with with NIA’s Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System (NIA-UPRIIS) and the Magat River Integrated Irrigation System (NIA-MARIIS) on the proposal.

UPRIIS has a total of 386 irrigators associations (IAs) with some 82,000 farmer-members, while MARIIS has 363 IAs with some 65,000 farmer-members.

The NIA plays a big role in convincing the farmers to accept the proposed early cropping scheme.

Alcala said if the plan pushes through, hopefully the Philippines would be self-sufficient in rice after 2013. (PNA)

lgi/JMC/utb

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Iloilo Provincial Administrator Raul Banias said that the governor is in Manila today to receive the prestigious award, ”Gawad Saka Agri-Pinoy, Agri-Achievers”.

But aside from Iloilo province, the component city of Passi and the town of Dingle are also recipients of the award in their own categories.

Iloilo Provincial Agriculture Officer Dr. Ildefonso Toledo said that the award is given in recognition of the innovations, major programs and activities pursued in agriculture.

Dr. Toledo said that Iloilo province last year registered high production in terms of its rice harvest with 959,240 metric tons that nearly hit the one million target set.

Gov. Arthur Defensor, Sr. also gave a big funding support to the agriculture sector that made Iloilo as one of the top 10 provinces in the country to best implement programs on rice farming.

Dr. Toledo said that it was last year that the provincial agriculture office started to distribute fully subsidized hybrid seeds to Ilonggo farmers. There were then 900 bags of palay seeds distributed last November.

The province of Iloilo being a Gawad Saka awardee will also receive P4 million for its identified agriculture projects while Passi City and Dingle will each receive a P1-million prize. (PNA)

LAP/AJPetinglay/vlo

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Rodolfo P. Estigoy, chief of the Applied Communication Division of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (DA-PhilMec), said the post-harvest facility aims to introduce modern facilities in the area for palay processing.

Estigoy said the rice complex in Davao del Sur is included in Phase II of the Korea-Philippines Modern Integrated Rice Milling and Complex project.

The project includes one in Santa Barbara, Pangasinan which is already operational; another one in Pototan, Iloilo which has started; and in Pilar, Bohol which is awaiting completion as of presstime.

Phase 1 of the project involved the construction of a rice processing complex in Aurora province in 2006.

The rice processing complex, which broke ground last year, is a joint project of the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) which gave a grant of P120 million for the project, DA regional office and the local government of Matanao.

The Korean government, through KOICA, provided funding for the rice processing complex project after it was inspired by the success of its Agricultural Machinery Rental System (AMRS).

Korean farmers were able to cut their post-harvest losses from six to one percent after the construction of 328 rice processing complexes and up to 568 drying and storage complexes.

The project aims to increase the value of milled rice by up to P24 million per year, increase the rice farmers’ income and achieve the country’s rice self-sufficiency by 2013.

Estigoy said the rice processing complex in Matanao, which is being built on a 1,700-square-meter lot, will help the farmers raise the quality of their palay harvests and improve their income through the use of a kerosene-powered furnace.

The mechanical dryers are expected to shorten the drying time of the palay and are expected to improve the quality of the grains.

The rice processing complex will include post-harvest facilities like modern rice mills, mechanical dyers and warehouses, he added. (PNA)

LDV/ASA/ldp

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Dr. Ildefonso Toledo said that the certified seeds have been acquired by the provincial government through the order of Governor Arthur Defensor, Sr. to provide fully subsidized palay seeds to farmers who are still able to cultivate palay.

He said that the palay seeds are being given for free to farmers who have already harvested December or January and whose rice lands are still being supplied by sufficient water from the irrigation.

“This is also in anticipation of the forecast wet summer,” Dr. Toledo contended. He said that they are encouraging farmers to plant since there is a forecast that there will still be rain even during summertime.

He said that farmers who have been included in the masterlist by the Municipal Agriculture Officers (MAOs) to be recipient of the fully subsidized certified seeds are also being urged to practice “ratooning” which entails them lesser land preparation and is time saving.

The seeds being distributed are given in full subsidy whereby farmers are no longer required to shell out money to pay for the seedlings unlike the program of the Department of Agriculture where they have to pay half of the P1,200 price of a bag of seeds.

The Iloilo provincial government has already paid in full the P1,200 per bag cost of seedlings from certified seed growers and is giving it for free to support the farmers. (PNA) LAP/AJPetinglay/vlo

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MANILA, Feb. 8 — The cultivation of genetically-modified (GM) crops expanded with more farmers in many countries adopting new varieties of disease-resistant crops.

Dr. Clive James, chairman of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agribiotech Applications (ISAAA), at the launching of a report on the Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops in 2011 held at the Hyatt Hotel in Manila on Wednesday, said the rapid expansion of hectarage devoted to GM crops confirms the acceptance of such crops in many regions of the world.

James said there is a growth of GM adoption worldwide and revealed the advances made by biotech crops in Asia, Latin America, Africa, North America and even in Europe and Australia.

He said strong growth continued with a double-digit increase of 12 million hectares, at an annual growth rate of 8 percent, reaching 160 million hectares, up from 148 million hectares in 2010.

A 94-fold increase from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 to 160 million hectares in 2011 makes biotech crops the fastest adopted crop technology in recent history.

The most compelling testimony to biotech crops is that, from 1996 to 2011, millions of farmers in 29 countries worldwide made more than 100 million independent decisions to plant and replant an accumulated 1.25 billion hectares.

This means risk-averse farmers have trust and confidence that biotech crops would deliver sustainable and substantial, socio-economic and environmental benefits.

Of the 29 countries planting biotech crops in 2011, 19 were developing and 10 were industrial countries.

James said the top 10 countries each grew more than one million hectares and they provide a broad-based, worldwide foundation for diversified growth in the future.

In 2011, a record 16.7 million farmers, up 1.3 million or 8 percent from 2010, grew biotech crops—notably over 90 percent, or 15 million, were small resource poor farmers in developing countries.

James noted that biotech crops are now planted in more than 148 million hectares of farms, many of which are maintained by smallholder farmers and subsistence food producers.

Since biotech crops like Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn can increase output per unit area, the cultivation of GM crops actually reduces the pressure on transforming more areas into agricultural zones. (PNA)

DCT/lgi/jmc/utb

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The city government is set to receive the award today, Wednesday, at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). Receiving the award is Mayor Benjamin G. Dy and city agriculture officials of the city.

City agriculturist Rufino Arcega said the city government is set to receive a certificate of recognition and a cash award of P1 million from the DA.

Arcega plans to propose to Mayor Dy that the cash award be used for the purchase of rice and corn lands to be used as research center.

He said once a research center is established, the best farming technology will be shared to the farmers in the city to further improve their yields. (PNA) LAP/LAM/SCD/MEdale/mba

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MANILA, Feb. 8 — A master plan aiming to develop coconut sap sugar will be set up in March to seize more opportunities in a $ 1.1 billion alternative sweetener global market.

The Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) see great prospects for Filipino farmers to capture an international market for coconut sap as a healthful sugar.

“With the increasing demand, the coconut sap sugar industry presents a promising business opportunity for the farmers and small to medium enterprises,” said Erlene Manohar, PCA project development officer.

“The increase in demand could be related to the high prevalence of diabetics and the growing interest of health enthusiasts locally and worldwide," she added.

The two agencies will hold the First National Coconut Sap Sugar Industry Congress (NCSSIC) in March.

The NCSSIC will push for the establishment of a system to safeguard the coconut sap sugar industry through a product quality certification. The congress will be held on March 5 to 6, 2012 at the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City.

The BAR has been funding product development with PCA for coconut under a P2-million project.

Part of the fund aided the development of coconut sap as an excellent alternative to sugar.

“We believe our farmers and entrepreneurs can create a niche in natural products whose primary value is their health quality. Coconut sap sugar is one of those products that has already taken off in the market and which still offers so much valuable growth potential,” said Dr. Nicomedes Eleazar, BAR director.

PCA Administrator Euclides Forbes said they are gathering stakeholders through the NCSSIC since coconut sap sugar is now in a brisk growth path.

“There are only three countries competing in the coconut sugar sap supply in the world market today. But we have competitive advantage against Thailand in volume and against Indonesia in terms of quality. We are pioneer in this product,” he said.

The Philippines broke into the coconut sap sugar market in the United States in March 2007 after proving that coconut sap sugar has a low glycemic index (GI) at 35.

Any sugar-based product is considered low when its GI is 54 and below. This is comparably lower than the 65 to 100 GI range for sugarcane-based sugars.

This is based on a scientific study by the Philippines’ Food and Research Nutrition Institute-Department of Science and Technology and as affirmed by studies in the US and Australia.

This makes coconut sap ideal as a sweetener for diabetics and health buffs in general.

Since 2009, the local industry has been exporting coconut sap sugar to Japan which took up 53.6 percent of the country’s export market and the United States, 44.4 percent.

The country also penetrated other export markets in 2010 including the Middle East, Korea, Hongkong, Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand.

The coconut sap sugar industry will generate more livelihood for rural farmers as the product has become an important job-generating enterprise for poverty-stricken provinces particularly in Mindanao. (PNA)

LDV/jmc

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Organizing themselves into the Aglalana Green Farmers Association (AGFA), the 100 strong members bid out to access organic-based projects of the Department of Agriculture (DA) regional office and avail of farm technologies and updates on organic farming.

AGFA president Armando Parcon said they have learned a lot by listening to the DA 6 regular Agri-Pinoy radio farm program and participating in various School-on-the-Air aired over DYRI radio farm programs.

Aglalana is a mountain boundary barangay in upper Passi City contiguous to Aglalana, Cuartero, province of Capiz. Farmers planted trees, bananas, rootcrops and high value vegetables for the climate is cool and suitable for crops other than rice.

The upland farmers are also into livestock, goats and swine raising and poultry.

Perlita G. Mecha, chief of DA Regional Operations Group, said active participation of farmers and other agricultural stakeholders coupled with adoption of proper technology will surely redound to increase productivity, increase income and achieve food sufficiency.

The DA is working hand in hand with the private sector through the public-private partnership (PPP) in implementing programs and projects on farm mechanization, irrigation, farm to market roads, marketing and technology transfer, Mecha said.

The DA-RAFID 6 also turned-over agricultural reading materials and posters to the AGFA officers in line with the establishment of barangay agricultural information center in their area.

Juvy Silario Gaton, chief of RAFID 6, said the IEC materials are a good source of information, updates and technologies which can be used by farmers, livestock raisers and other agricultural stakeholders in the barangay.

IEC materials consist of technologies and updates on rice, corn, livestock, and high value commercial crops. (PNA)

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The commitment called 'the Agribusiness Market and Support Activity (AMARTA II)' by the U.S. Agency for International development (USAID) was announced by the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Scot Marciel on Wednesday on the side line of the Jakarta Food Security Summit here.

He said that that the program will focus on increasing production of targeted high-value commodities like cocoa, coffee and horticulture, expanding rural access to credit and advocating for pro-farmer regulatory reform.

The AMARTA II program will further expand the range of activities and cooperation between the U.S. and Indonesia in agriculture and food security.

Marciel told reporters that his country is working on the initiative which is expected to be launched by the end of February or early March this year.

Marciel added that as Indonesia has many qualified scientists, the country is expected to contribute with their findings that could be shared.

Dr. Roger N. Beachy, vice chairman and president of Emeritus Donald Danforth Plant Science Center at the United States, said that he hoped Indonesia could play a more significant role in G8 and G20 in terms of food security. "In the next G8 meeting in Chicago, we hope that Indonesia could create a new policy towards food production," said Beachy.

In addition to the AMARTA II program, the U.S. government has increased support for sustainable production in both agricultural and fisheries sectors, encouraging private sector investment while preserving the natural resource base, enhancing agricultural and university linkage and increasing bilateral trade in agricultural products.

These efforts are the key component of the U.S.-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership. (PNA/Xinhua) DCT/utb

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Bird flu has been reported in four communes in the provinces of Quang Tri, Thanh Hoa and Soc Trang over the past month, affecting nearly 1,700 poultry and forcing the killing of more than 4,000 domestic fowls, said the department's deputy head Pham Van Dong at a meeting of the Steering Committee for Bird Flu Prevention and Control on Tuesday.

A number of poultry suspected of catching the disease have started to appear in other localities such as Nghe An, Bac Lieu, Kien Giang, Ha Noi and Thai Nguyen.

Bird flu has so far killed two people this year in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta's Soc Trang and Kien Giang Provinces.

The Health Ministry warned of a possible large-scale outbreak of bird flu if the three affected provinces could not keep the disease under control while unfavorable weather conditions, transport and slaughtering of poultry posed a high risk.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development urged localities to immediately vaccinate poultry, increase supervision and tighten management of farms, businesses, markets and slaughtering houses.

Minister Cao Duc Phat on Monday ordered cities and provinces across the country to take urgent measures to prevent a resurgence of bird flu.

A mutation of the H5N1 virus has been discovered in the northern region and existing vaccines do not offer protection against the mutant strain, Hoang Van Nam, head of the Animal Health Department, warned.

The ministry has called on related agencies to quickly find a new vaccine to replace the existing one.

Soc Trang Province's Health Department has reported that the new-born baby of the woman who died of bird flu last month tested negative for the Avian Influenza Virus H5N1.

Meanwhile, Director of central Thanh Hoa Province's Department of Animal Health has decided to suspend work of Head of Trieu Son District's Animal Health Station Le Van Thu because the station was inattentive to bird flu prevention and control. (PNA/VNS)

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DA-PhilMech Executive Director Ricardo L. Cachuela said the facilities will enable farmers to mill and store their palay (unhusked grains) on time, and reduce post harvest losses.

The agency has proposed a budget of P189 million for the establishment of the 63 VTGPCs in 2012.

“These village-type rice processing centers will definitely help reduce post harvest losses in palay since farmers can immediately have their harvests milled and stored. Each facility can also have driers so farmers can immediately dry their harvests that were doused by rains or have a high moisture content,” Cachuela said.

According to agency statistics, post harvest losses in rice could reach as much as 15 percent but this can be reduced to as low as 5 to 10 percent with proper interventions like drying and storage facilities.

Each VTGPC will have a rice mill to process palay (unhusked rice) and grain driers, preferably those using rice hull as fuel to generate heat.

Storage facilities will also be built so rice farmers can store their newly-milled rice, which will enable them to sell their rice at a higher price in the future.

Qualified farmer organizations (FAs) like irrigators association (IAs) are being eyed in the operation and maintenance of the VTGPCs, which are envisioned to become business entities that are self-sustaining.

Over the years, a big number of qualified FAs and IAs have proven their worth in managing and maintaining post harvest facilities like flatbed driers.

While the DA-PhilMech can allocate funds for the construction of each VGTPC, the agency welcomes the support of local government units (LGUs) in building the facilities in their jurisdiction. (PNA)

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The Vien Phu Organic and Healthy Foods Joint-Stock Corporation last Friday received two organic production certificates issued by the international Control Union Certifications for its Hoa Sua organic fragrant rice and other products.

Nguyen Dang Nghia, director of the Southern Region's Environment–Fertiliser–Land Research Center, said Vien Phu was the only farm in Viet Nam that had received organic production certificates granted by both the US and the EU.

In 2009, Ca Mau authorities allocated 320ha of fallow land in U Minh District's Khanh An Commune for Vien Phu to set up a large-scale field with international production standards.

After three years of preparing the land, Vien Phu can now plant rice on 120 of 320ha.

Vo Minh Khai, general director of Vien Phu, said his company had invested more than VND30 billion (1.4 million US dollars) in the land to grow organic rice and vegetables using natural materials. Fish are also raised in the paddies.

The company breeds fish and ducks in rice fields and uses micro-organic fermentation to kill rice pests.

Although the yield of organic rice is still low for first crops, Vien Phu is expected to increase the productivity of organic rice to five tons in 2015 after more money is poured into the project, according to Khai.

The company annually exports 1,000 tons of Hoa Sua fragrant rice at a price of 10 dollars a kilo, mostly to the US and the EU.

This year, Vien Phu expects to produce about 1,000 tons of various kinds of Hoa Sua organic fragrant rice, including white, red, purple and black rice.

The company plans to cooperate with 10,000-20,000 farm households that have a total of 10,000-20,000ha to grow the rice.

If local authorities support construction irrigation systems, Ca Mau Province can expand the area under organic rice cultivation to 100,000ha.

Le Dung, deputy director of the Ca Mau Province People's Committee, said the provincial administration would create conditions for Vien Phu to develop organic rice cultivation in Tran Van Thoi District. (PNA/VNS)

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It can be recalled that Mayor Gordon led divers from the PNP Maritime Command and the Olongapo City Fisheries and Aquatic Management Council (FARMC) in planting the concrete reef.

Built entirely of cement, steel bar, white sand, gravel and tie wire, the man-made reef resembles a five-layer pyramid around 250 centimeters high.

The reef was installed to promote marine protection, fisheries enhancement, and reef rehabilitation.

Supervising Agriculturist Jhobal Sebarrotin said the planned monitoring activities will include recording and documenting the presence or absence of plants, invertebrate and fish and guarding the physical condition of the man-made reef.

“We will again ask for the invaluable help of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), PNP Maritime, Olongapo City Police Office (OCPO), Disaster Management Office (DMO), the barangay and of fishing communities to assist us with the monitoring,” he said.

“Aside from monitoring, the data that will be gathered from this project may be useful for future references regarding marine life and to properly educate the public on marine conservation,” Gordon said.

Meanwhile, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Public Relations Manager Armie Llamas said the artificial reef project “was painstakingly realized through the efforts of the men and women of SBMA, in partnership with the Subic Bay Integrated Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (SBIFARMC)”.

Llamas said it was through the initiative of SBMA that an Environmental Guarantee Fund was established to safeguard the welfare of fishing communities affected by the development in the Freeport.

“From the time the said project was conceptualized and approved by the SBMA Board for funding, until it was built and installed in Subic and San Antonio, Zambales, as well as in areas in Bataan, the SBMA has been in close coordination with the municipal FARMC Chairmen of the aforesaid localities including Mr. Danny Mejia, Chairman of Olongapo City FARMC,” she added.

In his final report on the installation of the artificial reef, Sebarrotin said the project received P125,000 support from the SBIFARMC.

While the Olongapo City government provided funding of P106,980 for logistics and manpower support, including 10 government personnel who worked full-time during the eight-day installation work. (PNA)

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A representative from the park was reported to have promised to advance each household VND10 million (480 dollars) in mid-January as compensation for damaged crops.

However, residents have not received anything, Chairman of Phuoc Minh Commune's People's Committee, Tran Quoc Hoan, told Viet Nam News on Thursday.

Earlier, the People's Committee of central Ninh Thuan Province ordered the park's investor, Ha Long Investment Development Co. Ltd, to compensate the residents.

Since the salt-making park opened in 2009, it has polluted more than 600 wells in the area, making the water salty and unuseable. The saline water has also damaged tens of hectares of crops and trees, causing economic losses for more than 300 local households.

"Total damage is estimated at more than VND20 billion (960,000 US dollars), Hoan said.

"Before a water supply station was built for the residents, they had to buy fresh water from other areas for daily use because their own water was unusable," he said.

"Many people had to leave their homes to work in other areas as the land around the industrial park became non productive."

Random tests on 17 wells by the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment revealed that the level of salt in the water was 16 to 72 times higher than the permitted level.

The 2,500ha Quan The salt-making industrial park has a design capacity of 300,000 tons of industrial salt a year. (PNA/VNS)

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