Agriculture

Officials from the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Customs on Thursday inspected smuggled sugar from Thailand, brought in by a multi-purpose cooperative, following the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to intensify the crackdown on agricultural smuggling to protect farmers and consumers, and ensure a fair market for business. 

The Department of Agriculture (DA) announced Wednesday that 120,000 minimum wage earners nationwide will be the first to benefit from the subsidized rice program offering P20 per kilo, starting June. This initiative is in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which identified the initial pool of eligible workers, mostly employed in private factories and companies.

SAN ILDEFONSO — Rice farmers from Central Luzon on Wednesday hailed the reopening of National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses in Bulacan and the aggressive palay procurement drive ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., more popularly known as PBBM, calling the intervention a lifeline that has boosted their confidence to keep planting.

Seasonal patterns boosted chicken and tilapia production in the first quarter but weighed on output of hogs, bangus, and galunggong, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). 

The Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Tuesday agreed in principle to include minimum wage earners in the ongoing pilot run of the P20 rice program—an expansion that follows President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to sustain and scale the program through 2028.