Agriculture
Palay production costs expose Visayas, country divide
The cost of producing palay—the unmilled form of rice, the Philippines’ national food staple—exposes deep regional disparities that mirror the effects of geography, infrastructure, and urban sprawl on the country’s agriculture.
Rice prices drop in Baguio, La Union; DA cuts imported rice cap to P43/kg
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has expanded its P20 per kilogram subsidized rice program to La Union and Baguio City, aiming to ease food costs for low-income consumers.
Nearly 30K agrarian beneficiaries to receive loan relief, land titles
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) will condone over P1.135 billion in unpaid loans under foreign-assisted financing programs, benefiting 29,948 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Panay and Guimaras.
DA halts mackerel, scad imports over permit misuse
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has temporarily suspended the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPSIC ) for the importation of mackerel and torpedo scad species following reports of import permit misuse that could destabilize the market.
Thousands of hectares hit by sugar pest as crisis deepens
The red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation in the Visayas has sharply worsened, now affecting 2,923.13 hectares and impacting 1,574 farmers as of 9 July, according to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).
