Agriculture
NFA cuts palay handling time, costs with one-ton bags
The National Food Authority (NFA) has substantially reduced palay handling time and costs in a pilot test of one-ton bags, replacing conventional 50-kilogram sacks in a system that could speed up grain procurement, maximize warehouse capacity, and free up funds for buying more palay.
Nearly 1M ‘vulnerable’ Filipinos buy P20 rice in September
Nearly 1 million Filipinos benefited from the Marcos administration’s Benteng Bigas, Meron Na! program in September, the highest monthly turnout since the affordable rice initiative was launched in May last year, as the government seeks to ease food costs for households struggling to make ends meet.
Idle bamboo land offers opening for Philippine firms in $73B global market
The Philippines has plenty of bamboo-growing land. What it lacks is enough businesses turning the fast-growing grass into products worth considerably more than garden stakes and handicrafts.
British chamber warns pork import curbs could fuel food inflation
The British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (BCCP) has opposed a proposed pork import holiday and higher tariffs, warning that restricting supplies ahead of Christmas could intensify food inflation while African swine fever (ASF) continues to constrain domestic production.
Ombudsman suspends 3 DPWH officials over alleged ghost farm‑to‑market road projects
The Department of Agriculture has welcomed the Ombudsman’s order putting three DPWH officials under preventive suspension amid a graft probe into farm‑to‑market road projects in Davao Occidental.
