PH bans poultry from China amid bird flu scare
By Riza T. OlchondraSkip the Peking Duck for now. The Department of Agriculture (DA) has imposed a temporary ban on poultry and related products from China because of bird flu concerns.
Skip the Peking Duck for now. The Department of Agriculture (DA) has imposed a temporary ban on poultry and related products from China because of bird flu concerns.
The Department of Agriculture is crafting a disaster preparedness, response and rehabilitation program to cushion the destructive impacts of natural disasters, particularly typhoons and floods, on the country’s agriculture and fishery sector.
A research group based in India is urging the Department of Agriculture to embark on a massive soil rejuvenation program, which promises to bring back soil health and increase crop yield by at least 20 percent.
SMUGGLING is still rampant in the country and one estimate says that the government loses as much as P320 billion a year in foregone revenue due to smuggling. One reason why smuggling continues to flourish is the piecemeal approach to fighting smugglers.
In line with the government’s goal of achieving zero rice importation after 2013, the Department of Agriculture plans to expand the coverage of its third cropping program for rice next year to 300,000 hectares of land from only about 91,495 hectares at present.
The 71-percent increase in the Department of Agriculture’s budget in 2009 to P48 billion, from P28 billion in 2008, did not result in any growth in the agriculture sector.
As the Senate deliberates this month on the budget of the Department of Agriculture, we should look at the DA’s budget impact on agricultural performance. The chart below shows this over a nine-year period.
The Department of Agriculture said the outlook for Philippine bananas remains rosy despite the current row with China over its more stringent standards and the ban on exports to Iran, primarily because of the expansion of the markets in at least five countries, including two in Europe.
Agriculture products and technology distribution firm Calata Corp. said it was supporting the Department of Agriculture’s bid to raise the country’s food production target by 3.5 percent to 5 percent next year.
Yesterday [October 11], we talked to a Department of Agriculture (DA) official who said there would be a draft to be circulated this month proposing that mayors lead agricultural extension work.
Rhetoric will not become reality unless there is accountability. This is particularly true in the fight against the smuggling of agricultural products.
After growing by 2.6 percent last year, the agriculture sector grew by 1 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively, in the first and second quarters of this year.
