ROSALES, Pangasinan – Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap has tagged Pangasinan as one big sleeping giant in agriculture.

Yap, speaking during the opening of an eighth day Agricultural Exposition 2008 in barangay Carmen East, Rosales, said although Pangasinan is the biggest province in Region I, it lags far behind in the production of rice, corn and vegetables over the years.

Pangasinan is not only the biggest province in the Ilocos region but is also the biggest in the entire country and yet it is not producing much in rice, corn and vegetables unlike other provinces, Yap noted.

Yap said in the drive for food security, the province of Pangasinan must help produce the rice, corn and vegetables needed by the whole country in view of the looming food crisis all over the world spurred by high cost of oil, fertilizer and transportation and climate change.

At the outset, Yap clarified that agriculture is the responsibility of the local government with the national government merely providing the support and direction. Read more

by D. Alibutud

THE Philippines is on the road paved with brown gold: cocoa

Although a minor player at the moment, the potential for the Philippines is attractive: as much as $150 million a year from cocoa exports.

Because local production is a meager 6,000 metric tons, foreign-sourced cocoa fill confectionary vats to produce local chocolates and other products about 30,000 MT of coca beans imported yearly.

But with the support of the United States Department of Agriculture (usda), 10,000 hectares of cocoa farms are about to be planted in Apayao and Kalinga, Cagayan, Quirino and Isabela. Read more

DAGUPAN CITY - The city of Dagupan will soon be the center of aqua culture technology in the country with the opening sometime in early next year of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ JdV Asian Aquaculture Academy.

JDV, the initials of the name of Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr., was attached because it was he who provided the P30 million spent for the construction of the academy’s initial two-storey building inside the 24-hectare National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center. Read more

URDANETA CITY, Pangasinan - At least 34 families affected by the construction of a giant re-regulating pond to be built by the government for the foreign-funded Agno River Integrated Irrigation Project (ARIIP) are set to be relocated shortly.

NIA Regional Director John Celeste said at least P120 million from the Philippine government’s coffer is now being used for the relocation of the 34 families from the site to be submerged in order to make way for the re-reuglating pond.

The P120 million formed part of the 10 per cent counterpart of the Philippine government for the project that was estimated to cost P7.8 billion pesos, the amount of which is a loan now being negotiated by the country with the Japanese government. Read more

DAGUPAN CITY - Accredited farm owners in Luzon have asked for the lifting of a fishery administrative order issued by the government in year 2001 banning the importation of live shrimps from abroad.

The ban was sought by 33 accredited growers of Penues vannamei, a kind of white shrimp, using fry that were produced by 1,000 breeders imported by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources from Hawaii last year.

Only the accredited growers are allowed so far to culture p. vannamei because of the existing ban on the importation of live shrimp. Read more

VIGAN CITY, Ilocos Sur - Three big tobacco firms sought the early planting of tobacco crop by farmers not later than November 30 this year, according to the National Tobacco Administration (NTA).

NTA Administrator Carlitos Encarnacion said the request was made by the Anglo-American Tobacco Corp. (AATC), Universal Leaf Philippines, Inc., (ULPI) and Trans Manila Inc. (TMI).

Representatives of the three firms aired their request in a forum sponsored by the NTA held last Tuesday at the NTA central office in Quezon City.

They particularly asked that in the planting of tobaccos, a common farming technology would be adopted to ensure quality tobacco production, Encarnacion said. Read more

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan - The Regional Development Council headed by Dr. Salvador T. Duque has commended the efforts of Gov. Victor E. Agbayani to spur agricultural production in the province.

Duque noted a dramatic increase in the harvest and income of Pangasinan farmers which, he said, augurs well with the overall growth of the local economy.

The latest initiative of the provincial government is the rehabilitation of dilapidated irrigation facilities under the management of the National Irrigation Administration. Read more

DAGUPAN CITY - The 37 pilot beneficiaries of the newly-organized Fisherfolk Enterpreneur Program of the city government are now ready to become independent producers of high value fishes after they have completed their pre-membership education seminar and organizational training.

During the seminars, Alan Zarate, who served as the resource person and facilitator of the said training, discussed about the organizational aspects of the cooperative, mechanics of the program implementation as well as “managing the fund” cooperative concept. Read more

DAGUPAN CITY - The South Korean government is willing to give a grant of U.S. $2 million or more than P100 million to finance the establishment of a fish processing plant in Dagupan City.

Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. said he arranged for the financial grant with the South Korean prime minister and foreign minister when he went to that country two months ago.

De Venecia said he relayed the matter to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as soon as he came back from South Korea.

The fish processing plant, planned earlier by the Dagupan City government headed by Mayor Benjamin Lim, was intended to process locally-produced bangus to add more value to it for export to other countries where there are many Filipinos. Read more

DAGUPAN CITY - A 17-man delegation from Shandong, province in China were in Dagupan recently as part of their tour of the country to explore areas where they can pour their investments, such as in fisheries, industries and mass housing.

They were in Dagupan City upon the invitation of House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. who visited Shandong province as well as Cuandong, Beijing and nine other cities  in China last month, along with National Fisheries Director Malcolm Sarmiento.

Shandong is the largest province of China in terms of Gross Domestic Product, three times richer than the Philippines, and is larger than the Philippines in terms of population.

Speaker de Venecia said the Chinese delegation will see the possibility of investing in feed mills, inland and sea farming with the use of fish cages, as well as the manufacturing of boats, espeically those for deep sea operations in eastern Luzon and the Pacific, as well as in building mass houses. Read more