...Asian Nation Integration 2015 will take place in a matter of days...and the Philippines is among those ASEAN countries that will be included in the ASEAN Economic Community. AEC 2015 is fundamentally about open trade within ASEAN, meaning there will be one big market for goods and services or a free flow of goods, services, capital and labor among the participating countries. This will be beneficial for the people since products and services will become competitive and a lot of cheap goods will be available in the market. But, what does it really mean for the Philippine Agriculture? In the seminar conducted by Dr. Tolentino, the Deputy Director General of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, Laguna entitled “Rice, Nutrition and Food Security, and AEC 2015; Some Relevant Factors” it came to my realization that the Philippine government along with the different government offices associated with the country’s agricultural sector especially the Department of Agriculture should take the necessary immediate action in improving the current situation of the Philippine Agriculture, especially now that ASEAN 2015 is soon at hand. There are lots of programs implemented in the different parts of the country that give assistance to farmers like mechanization programs and input subsidies but, they are still not enough for our agricultural commodities to be competitive. The Philippines is an agricultural country known for producing rice, corn and coconut among...
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...Why Philippine agriculture fails Despite accounting for more than a third of the country’s workforce the sector contributes less than 15 percent of the total economic output. Poverty incidence among agricultural families is, as a result, much higher than the national average; not only does this impose significant social costs, it reduces productivity. This, in turn, makes agriculture an unattractive sector to invest in for both agribusiness investors and individuals; because of the rather poor existence farming offers, many potential second- or third-generation farmers instead look for income in urban areas or overseas. An example of why the Philippines fails in agriculture is the most recent installment of the long-running feud between the government and coconut farmers over the handling of the bloated, Marcos-era Coconut Levy Fund, now worth some P71 billion. In the latest drama, the Confederation of Coconut Farmers Organizations of the Philippines (CCFOP) last week filed a petition at the Supreme Court to block implementation of two executive orders issued by President B.S. Aquino 3rd. One (EO 179) orders an inventory of the coco levy deposits and assets as preparation for privatizing them, while the second (EO 180) authorizes the use of the funds for the benefit of coconut farmers. The CCFOP would certainly disagree, but the details of their complaint with this pair of directives are not really important; not when wrangling over the coco levy funds has been going on...
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...HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Eleven days after the proclamation of the Philippine Independence on June 12, 1898, President Emilio Aguinaldo formed his government with the Department of Agriculture and Manufacturing as one of the first agencies. The Department was headed by three directors, Jose Alejandrino (1898-1899), Graciano Gonzaga and Leon Ma. Guerrero, both during the latter part of 1899. In 1901 during the American regime, the Department was renamed Insular Bureau of Agriculture under the Department of Interior and was headed by Americans, Frank Lamson-Scribner (1902), WC Welborn (1904), and Dr. George Nesom (1907). In 1910, the Bureau, under the supervision of the Department of Public Instruction, was headed by Frederick Taylor(1911-1914) and Harry Edwards (1914-1916). After Edwards, the helm of the bureau was again given to a Filipino, Adriano Hernandez who himself was a practicing farmer. In 1917, the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) took over the functions of the bureau and was led by Secretaries Galicano Apacible (1917-1921), Rafael Corpuz (1921-1923), and Silvestre Apostol (1923-1928). During the administration of Secretary Rafael Alunan, Sr. (1928-1932), the DANR became the Department of Agriculture and Commerce. The Bureau of Agriculture was split into two bureaus, the Plant Industry and the Animal Industry. The following year, the Fish and Game Administration and...
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...Choose either the Philippines or California and explain why it is considered a disaster hotspot. (15 marks) A disaster hotspot is a place where they not only have a high vulnerability, but also a number of different hazards: hydro-meteorological and geophysical. The Philippines is vulnerable to disasters because they’re a lower middle income country, with majority of the people living in poor conditions/poverty and near the coast. This implies that they lack sufficient infrastructure to protect them against hazards and that many of these people are involved in agriculture like subsistence farmers in order to generate some income. In addition, the Philippines is a densely populated area as the country average is 240 people per km squared, and the megacities (Manila) population can go up to 2000 people per km squared. The Philippines is located in South East Asia and is North of Indonesia. It lies on a destructive plate boundary (Eurasian and Philippine plates) so as a result, there is regular volcanic eruptions which cause pyroclastic flows and lahars. As they’re vulnerable due to their lack of advanced infrastructure, this causes a disaster for them. An example of a volcanic eruption that had large impacts was the Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991 where it was the biggest eruption seen in 50 years. Volcanic activity causes a secondary disaster which is earthquakes, causes $850,000 worth of damage, mainly agriculture and property, and affecting roughly 2.25 million people. Steep...
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...the Department of Agriculture (DA) which was established to lead and coordinate the national agriculture and fisheries research and development (R&D) in the country. BAR is committed to consolidate, strengthen, and develop the agriculture and fisheries R&D system for the purpose of improving its effectiveness and efficiency by ensuring customer satisfaction and continuous improvement through work excellence, teamwork and networking, accountability and innovation. Mission To attain food security and reduce poverty through technology-based agriculture and fisheries sector Vision "A better life for Filipinos through excellence in agriculture and fisheries research and development" Mandate Executive Order 116, under the 1986 Freedom Constitution, created the Bureau of Agricultural Research with the mandate: "…to ensure that all agricultural research is coordinated and undertaken for maximum utility to agriculture. It shall tap farmers, farmer organizations, and research institutions, especially the State Colleges and Universities, in the conduct of research for the use of the Ministry and its clientele, particularly the farmers/fishermen and other rural workers." Further expanded and strengthened the mandate of BAR by providing leadership in enhancing, consolidating and unifying the national and regional agriculture and fisheries research and development programs of the National Research and Development System in Agriculture and Fisheries (NaRDSAF)...
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...Margarita Carla Ramos TEOCAR Position Paper 1 Specialization Vs. Diversification of a City’s Industry: A Case Study on Davao City’s Agriculture and Business Process Outsourcing economy Introduction With a thrust to enhance its position as an economic magnate in the Southern Philippines, there has been debate on the issue wether Davao City government and private sector broaden its economy and identify itself towards a different sector or maintain being an agricultural-based economy alone. Initiatives were taken for Davao City to take advantage of the business process outsourcing (BPO) or call center business opportunities as these give the city an edge in a global scale . This paper will argue that a diverse industry for a city’s economy is more stable than a specialized one. In this case, Davao City should be open to new industries that are brought about by technology and global modernization and this is on the contemporary industry of BPOs and technology service. It may seem that investing on this may be a volatile risk for an agriculture-known city, but keeping the City’s diverse industry strong and open to new development in its own respective ways will make the economy more progressing and increase potential for growth (Jacobs, 1969). The proponent shall base its position that a diverse industry is favorable than specializing, by looking at cases with similar economic stance on the two different industry scenario and on theories of related studies on such cases. ...
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...public domain; but timber and mineral lands shall be governed by special laws and nothing in this Act provided shall be understood or construed to change or modify the administration and disposition of the lands commonly called "friar lands'' and those which, being privately owned, have reverted to or become the property of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, which administration and disposition shall be governed by the laws at present in force or which may hereafter be enacted. SECTION 3. The Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce shall be the executive officer charged with carrying out the provisions of this Act through the Director of Lands, who shall act under his immediate control. SECTION 4. Subject to said control, the Director of Lands shall have direct executive control of the survey, classification, lease, sale or any other form of concession or disposition and management of the lands of the public domain, and his decisions as to questions of fact shall be conclusive when approved by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce. SECTION 5. The Director of Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce shall prepare and issue such forms, instructions, rules, and regulations consistent with this Act, as may be necessary and proper to carry into effect the provisions thereof and for the conduct of proceedings arising under such...
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...Outside China, there is increasing hybrid rice cultivation in Vietnam, India, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Philippines during recent years (SEARICE, 2007) In the current status quo of the Philippines, rice hybridization is already introduced to farmers since 1998 by Chinese Professor Li Zhengyou of Yunnan Agricultural University in China. Indeed, rice hybridization has boosted the rice production in the country and the income of farm in terms of net-profit cost ratio has increased about 50%. Hence, the concept is not new. However, as years gone by, the advancement of technology has reached the field of agriculture and the practices as well as techniques are being innovated or existing concepts are being revised and new strategies are being formulated....
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...put into power, along with a list of demands and requests by citizens, ultimately seeking a new direction leading to a better life. One of the issues needed to be tackled was the longstanding problems in the agriculture sector. Considered an integral part in the country’s economy, the agriculture sector accounts a significant portion of the total employment, which ranged from 45-50% during the 1980s. On the other hand, this sector also attributed significant portions of the total poor in the country for decades. Thus, in June 1988, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) was signed into law, paving the way for extensive land distribution and reforms which communist insurgencies urged during the Marcos regime. Consequently, the initial stages of the implementation process of CARP was met with apparent complications, expectedly so given that such a policy entailed a wide scope, whilst rural landlords provided staunch opposition in seizing their ownership to government. However, as the years passed and administrations would change, the promises of sweeping agrarian reform have remained unfinished, otherwise, significantly watered down. Such arbitration would be considered a detrimental factor to the current pitfalls that have hindered the development of Philippine political economy. In that, this paper questions what led to this failure of comprehensive agrarian reform and in pronouncing these mistakes, did other countries experience who also employed land reforms if they...
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...ON THE GROWTH PERFORMANCE Of Brassica rapa UNDER LA UNION, PHILIPPINES ANGELITA J. PRADO Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University La Union, Philippines ABSTRACT Growth performance of Pechay, Brassica rapa,was tested using two organically produced composts and an inorganic fertilizer serving as control. Addition of BioN during the basal application was part of the organic inputs. Treatments were distributed in 4 replicates following the Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). Each treatment was composed of 16 plants at a distance planting of 20cmx40cm between hills and rows respectively. Application of basal fertilizer was done and harvesting was conducted twice starting from 30 days and 34 days. The effect of fertilizer was measured in terms of plant height, leaf area, weight of marketable leaves, weight of marketable plant, number of leaves per plant and the leaf area infestation. Except for leaf area pest infestation, result showed that those plants applied with vermicompost manifested the highest mean, though insignificant differences existed (P>.05) Hence, use of organic fertilizer is comparable with the use of urea in pechay production. It is recommended to organic farmers and gardening enthusiasts that use of organic inputs is preferred due to its econoic and environment friendly attributes. INTRODUCTION Pechay, Brassica rapa is a popular table vegetable in the Philippines. Also known as snow cabbage, Chinese chard or Chinese white...
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...Jasmin Kate Vallez History of the Department of Agriculture: 'DA Then and Now' Eleven days after the proclamation of the Philippine Independence on June 12, 1898, President Emilio Aguinaldo formed his government with the Department of Agriculture and Manufacturing as one of the first agencies. The Department was headed by three directors, Jose Alejandrino (1898-1899), Graciano Gonzaga and Leon Ma. Guerrero, both during the latter part of 1899. In 1901 during the American regime, the Department was renamed Insular Bureau of Agriculture under the Department of Interior and was headed by Americans, Frank Lamson-Scribner (1902), WC Welborn (1904), and Dr. George Nesom (1907). In 1910, the Bureau, under the supervision of the Department of Public Instruction, was headed by Frederick Taylor (1911-1914) and Harry Edwards (1914-1916). After Edwards, the helm of the bureau was again given to a Filipino, Adriano Hernandez who himself was a practicing farmer. In 1917, the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) took over the functions of the bureau and was led by Secretaries Galicano Apacible (1917-1921), Rafael Corpuz (1921-1923), and Silvestre Apostol (1923-1928). During the administration of Secretary Rafael Alunan, Sr. (1928-1932), the DANR became the Department of Agriculture and Commerce. The Bureau of Agriculture was split into two bureaus, the Plant Industry and the Animal Industry. The following year, the Fish...
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...A Study Comparing the Impacts of Surface Irrigation and Localized Irrigation (Drip Irrigation) Here in the Philippines basing on the studies conducted by adb.org, agriculture has been considered as the primary sector of the economy. It has contributed 19.1 % of the Gross Domestic Product and has provided employment for about 36.7% of the labor force. It is also a factor that primarily affects the economic well-being of the country like in determining the employment rate, total food supply available, economic activity, and the exporting activities. Indeed agriculture takes a major part in the growth of the Philippines, the very reason why the government allots so many budgets when it comes to resolving agricultural matters like for example in putting up irrigation systems or schemes. In general, the government sets aside annual funds for the rehabilitation and improvement of the irrigation for almost 3 percent or 27, 000 hectares. Irrigation development is highest in Luzon containing approximately 51.1 percent of the total irrigated land followed by Mindanao with 38.7 percent and Visayas with 10.2 percent. Development of irrigation systems is very important because through these developments the country could minimize the risk of crop failure by stabilizing the level of water supply and maximize the crop productivity. There are various elements considered in constructing an irrigation system like size of project, budget, type of landscape, availability and source of water...
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...One strategy the Philippines should do prior to AFTA is to promote research, development, and extension services along appropriate sustainable fishing and farming technologies. Here in the Philippine setting, a lot of farmers use traditional way of farming. Sustainable farming can greatly improve profitability, maintain the productive volume of a farm’s natural resource base, and improve a farm’s capacity to cope with adversity all while maintaining or enhancing the natural resource base. There has been a slow progress in developing farming systems here in the Philippines, but more needs to be done to ensure sustainable agriculture in the future. Investing on good farming technologies can secure agriculture here in our country now that AFTA is now in motion. Here are some of the few advantages of Sustainable Farming: • The nutritional value of food is largely a function of its vitamin and mineral content. • Poison- free • Food tastes better • Food keeps longer • Lower Input Costs • Drought Resistance • Disease and Pest Resistance If the Philippine government will invest in this new farming technology, we can reduce cost and at the same time, improve the quality of our agricultural by- products. Through this, local products can now compete with the cheaper products to be imported from other ASEAN countries. Modern farming methods may be much cheaper and create more products, but hurt the environment in the long run. However, the moral advantages of sustainable...
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...WHAT'S WRONG WITH PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURE? Economics Department did a survey of rice farmers around the country, and found that many of them had seen declining yields per hectare over time. The only logical explanation seemed to be that the quality of the land they were planting to rice year after year was deteriorating through time. Many were getting less than 50 cavans of palay per hectare, or less than half of what had been commonly achieved in the 1960s with the Masagana 99 program. Farmers commonly described the situation to us as "napapagod ang lupa" (the soil is tired or exhausted). It's an interesting way of putting it, and I defer to the wisdom of people who have spent the good part of their lives eking out a living from tilling the land. They must know what they are talking about. Magsaysay's DOFS Two weekends ago, I found myself in the town of Magsaysay in Davao del Sur, witnessing a unique project of the municipal government under Mayor Arthur Davin called the Diversified Organic Farming System or DOFS. I say it's unique as I've heard of numerous NGOs pushing and practicing organic farming and sustainable agriculture. But this was the first time I was seeing a local government unit (LGU) actually embracing and propagating the concept. What was particularly heartening here was that the municipal government's NGO partner, the Don Bosco Center, attested that it was the LGU that sought them out, not the other way around, which was the more normal experience. I know...
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...As a newly industrialized country, the Philippines is still an economy with a large agricultural sector; however, services have come to dominate the economy. Much of the industrial sector is based on processing and assembly operations in the manufacturing of electronics and other high-tech components, usually from foreign multinational corporations. Filipinos who go aboard to work–-known as Overseas Filipino Workers or OFWs—are a significant contributor to the economy but are not reflected in the below sectoral discussion of the domestic economy. OFW remittances is also credited for the Philippines' recent economic growth resulting to investment status upgrades from credit ratings agencies such as theFitch Group and Standard & Poor's. Agriculture Agriculture employs 32% of the Filipino workforce as of 2013, according to World Bank statistics. Agriculture accounts for 12% of Philippines GDP as of 2013, according to the World Bank. The type of activity ranges from small subsistence farming and fishing to large commercial ventures with significant export focus. The Philippines is the world's largest producer of coconuts producing 19,500,000 tons in 2009. Coconut production in the Philippines is generally concentrated in medium-sized farms. By 1995, the production of coconut in the Philippines had experienced a 6.5% annual growth and later surpassed Indonesia in total output in the world.[41] The Philippines is also the world's largest producer of pineapples, producing 2,198...
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