The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), under the Department of Agriculture, is pushing to expand the culture of samaral or siganids, more commonly known as rabbitfish, as a key part of plans to diversify the country’s aquaculture sector and generate more stable livelihoods for fisherfolk and fish farmers. In a statement released Tuesday, the agency noted that samaral is a highly promising species supported by proven farming methods, rising output, and a ready existing market of consumers.
The Department of Agriculture and the Sugar Regulatory Administration are ramping up efforts to contain an outbreak of the red-striped soft scale insect that endangers sugarcane crops, especially across Negros Island and Western Visayas.
Nearly one out of every three hectares of Philippine farmland converted into buildings and other developments over the past two decades was supposed to be protected, raising fresh concerns that the country is losing valuable food-producing land faster than it can safeguard it, according to a new study led by University of the Philippines researchers.
The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has identified four structural weaknesses in the highland vegetable industry that continue to squeeze farmers' incomes and prevent lower production costs from translating into cheaper prices for consumers.
The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) has stepped up the government’s farm modernization efforts, delivering over 1,700 farm machines across the country in the first half of 2026 to boost the productivity, resilience and profitability of local rice farming.