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Now farmers can fight back by pitting the bug against bug, a technique known in the scientific circle as biological control using Trichograma evanescens, a parasitic wasp.

Releasing ‘Rocky’ Trichograma in the cornfield does the trick of fighting the corn borer.

The Department of Agriculture in Central Luzon has a special laboratory for making hundreds of ‘Rockies’ contained in a small tag or card which corn farmers can avail themselves of and free at that.

Then all the farmers have just to do is to hang those cards on the stalks of corn plants. After a time, from these cards, hundreds of tiny wasps will emerge as flying insects seeking a place to lay their eggs.

As a poetic justice, the wasp lays eggs on the egg mass of the corn borer from which the larvae of the wasp will feed on the borer’s eggs. This is called parasitism, a pejorative term then, but now an ally in the emerging integrated pest management (IPM) being introduced by DA.

Pepito U. de Dote, DA regional executive director for Central Luzon, said the department maintains a laboratory raising Trichograma wasps at the Regional Crop Protection Center (RCPC) situated at PhilRice, Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.

“We have a pool of crop protection specialists capable of producing thousands of wasp-bearing cards known as trichocards ready for farmers use,” De Dote said.

Last year, RCPC, under Rosario Lizarondo,chief of the center, distributed 2,800 cards to corn farmers of Pampanga and Tarlac—the priority corn producing provinces in the region.

Edwin Paningbatan, DA project leader of Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) corn program said Central Luzon last year planted 8,058 hectares of yellow corn producing an average of 4.7 metric tons per hectare.

“There’s a bright prospect for corn farmers in Central Luzon where we have a dozen feed mills requiring a steady supply of yellow corn,” Paningbatan said, “corn has a ready market.”

DA has established ‘corn belts’ in Tarlac and Pampanga by organizing a production group of farmers into cluster. A cluster area consists of hectares.

The year just passed, DA established a total of 11 clusters in Tarlac, Pampanga, and Nueva Ecija. Once established, a cluster could avail of loans from private banks, seed suppliers and cooperatives.

A cluster in Capas, Tarlac composed of 150 farmers got a P2.7-million loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines, Concepcion branch for production purposes.

With the advent of integrated pest management (IPM) back up by DA’s ally in fighting insect pests with “Rocky Trichograma,” the corn farmers have won a unanimous decision. ***

Montemayor chalks aggie path

Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor chalked out the path the country should take for modernization to take place.

“We should make agriculture as a base for modernization, for this is the raw material, the source which can sustain the economic growth of the country,” Montemayor said in a meeting with farmers and agriculture department employees in Central Luzon over the weekend.

He said the economy grew by 3.5% last year propped up by the good performance of the agriculture, livestock, and fisheries sectors.

“Although the manufacturing sectors have contributed a sizeable share in the economy, manufactured goods such as electronics are dependent on imported materials,” Montemayor said. “But as to agriculture we have the raw materials right in our yard.”

The agriculture department must see to it that there should be a ready market for farmer’s produce, he said. “Let’s begin with marketing and finding out the buyers first, so farmers won’t be searching for buyers later,” Montemayor said.

He suggested strong linkages with farmers’ associations in the barangays, municipalities and provinces so DA could be appraised of their concerns and for the agency to respond with the “safety nets” needed.

While DA was hamstrung financially to pursue multi-million peso irrigation projects, the agency found out that small irrigation projects like small water impounding projects (SWIPs) and shallow tube wells (STWs) had their impact in the farming community.

It was pointed out that even congressional representatives had taken interest in allocating their countryside development funds for the purchase of small irrigation pumps needed by their constituents.

Montemayor said he was confident that small agri-business ventures can penetrate the world market, provided they were given support by the government.

He cited the case of Bunuan fishermen in Pangasinan who sought DA assistance for a fish processing project to turn out boneless bangus and smoked fish for export.

“And then there’s a group of farmers who pulverized corn cobs and found them a good medium for mushroom production which in turn interested some Japanese investors,” Montemayor said.

He also mentioned about the prospect of making hollow blocks from the ash of rice hulls which are claimed to be better than ordinary hollow blocks.

In the case of Central Luzon, Montemayor was informed of farmers initiative and agribusiness entrepreneurs in coming up with projects in line with DA’s objectives.

Abong Tayag, an enterprising agribusiness entrepreneur from Angeles City and chairman of Pagkain ng Bayan Foundation informed Montemayor that his group had set up a demonstration farm on mechanized farming in Lubao, Pampanga where yellow corn was planted.

“We took up the initiative of going into yellow corn production because of feed millers’ demand,” Tayag said. “We hope to expand throughout Central Luzon.”

There is a bright future for yellow corn production in the region according to DA regional executive Pepito U. de Dote.

“Our annual yellow corn production is good only for one week supply demanded by feed millers.,” De Dote said.

Central Luzon has a bright prospect in corn production as livestock and poultry industries are on the up trend in the region with corn grains as the number one feed ingredient.

De Dote in a powerpoint presentation presented the status of the agricultural program in the region and the thrust of DA for the current year.

He highlighted the gains made in rice production with the use of certified and hybrid seeds. “We are still the Number One rice producer in the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ernesto Ordoñez, DA undersecretary for operation, said year 2002 will be a “Bagong Buwan,” for DA, relating to a current Filipino blockbuster.

A new moon for Filipino folks in the rural areas means a new beginning. “This year we will start implementing the Strategic Agricultural Fisheries Development Zone (SAFDZ) in coordination with the private sectors and the involvement of farmers’ organizations,” Ordoñez said.

Starting February, SAFDZ will be taken up with municipal mayors in all regions as groundwork for the implementation of the Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA).

In the same gathering, Dean Jeremias Montemayor, father of the agriculture secretary, brought out the problems of municipal officials in the town of Minalin, Pampanga.

“Minalin is a virtual desert,” the elder Montemayor said. “It needs government assistance to make the area productive.”

According to the municipal mayor of Minalin, the town needs about P40-million to rehabilitate the lahar covered municipality with the dredging of rivers as a priority.

The Secretary said the problem should be addressed to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) as river dredging falls under their agency. ***

DA finds key to rice sufficiency

Undersecretary Ernesto M. Ordoñez said the key to self-sufficiency has finally been found by DA, but much remains to be done which would involve the participation of all local government units, farmers, and including the private agricultural sector.

“The key to rice self-sufficiency is hybrid rice,” he said. “Our rice scientists are one in saying that the secret is planting hybrid rice as China did where over a billion population are adequately supplied with rice coming from hybrid paddies.”

The problem now facing DA is how to provide farmers with hybrid seeds which are in short supply at this stage of the rice program. Not enough hybrid seeds are around as producing hybrid seeds requires precision and technical expertise.

Thus, DA is still in the process of training technicians and farmers in seed production of hybrid seeds.

The country is new to hybrid rice, planting the variety only in January 1998 while China has long been planting hybrid rice on 22 million hectares out of its 33 million hectares rice areas.

Hybrid rice technology helped China increased its rice production from 140 million tons in 1978 to 188 million tons in 1990.

India has 150,000 ha planted to hybrid, Bangladesh, 30,000 ha., and Vietnam, 400,000 ha. and currently the world’s third top exporter of rice.

Traditional rice can only produce from 40 to 50 cavans a hectare, but hybrid rice can break the yield barrier under favorable environment and proper management.

This is the reason why DA is optimistic that the country can attain self-sufficiency by the year 2004 where hybrid seeds and certified seeds are expected to be planted in all rice growing areas in the country.

Hybrid rice is considered as a key that can propel the country to self-sufficiency.

The current level of rice importation is 600,000 metric tons. Given a minimum increase of one metric ton in yield through hybrid rice cultivation in the 800,000 irrigated rice areas can easily make the country self sufficient in rice, according to the estimate of PhilRice, a government agency under the DA.

So far PhilRice has developed three hybrid varieties—Magat, Panay, and Mestizo. However, Magat and Panay are not commercially available. Only Mestizo is available and this is the variety being promoted by DA.

It has aroma and good eating quality besides its excellent yield of 15% to 30% higher than the best variety available to farmers.

To make hybrid seeds available to farmers, private companies have become active in hybrid seed production among them are Agroseed, Hyrice, Aventis, and SL Agritech.

Already, SL Agritech has readied for release three varieties named tentatively as SLR #1, SLR #2, and SLR #3, according to Henry Lim, chief executive officer of SL Agritech who was among the resource speakers during the meeting held at the Oasis Hotel in Angeles City.

DA assistant secretary Edmund Sana said the production of hybrid seeds should be better left to private companies than to small farmers who are vulnerable to unforseen events, unlike companies which are prepared for any eventualities.

Sana was reacting to the experience of small farmers who tried producing hybrid seeds but failed.

This was also pointed out by Dr. Frisco Malabanan of PhilRice and concurrently national rice hybrid coordinator who said seed production should be handled by trained seed producers and supervised by technicians also trained in hybrid seed production at PhilRice.

But for farmers planting the first generation or F1 seed, farmers can follow their usual farming practices except for a slight modification in seedbed preparation and using 20 kilograms of hybrid seeds for one hectare.

Malabanan said PhilRice is in the thick of varietal improvement and would come up with better varieties in the near future.

“In the meantime we have to start with the hybrid program and with the variety at hand and move along as we did when we first introduced the Miracle Rice or IR-8,” he said . He confirmed the susceptibility of the current hybrid variety to bacterial leaf blight (BLB) disease prevalent during the wet season.

As to BLB precaution, the provincial agriculturists said they would have a bigger target for hybrid planting during the dry season than the wet season.

It takes around seven years to develop a rice variety according to Malabanan and by that time PhilRice expects to solve the BLB problem.

Meanwhile, Henry Lim, chief executive officer of Agrotech, claimed they have already licked the problem of BLB by using what they called as “BLB Stopper,” which arrests the spread of the fungus disease. ***

DA eyes Agri-Tourism for Bulacan

Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor joined hands with municipal mayors of outlying municipalities of Bulacan to promote agri-tourism as the seed for development.

In his recent field visit to Doña Remedios Trinidad (DRT), Montemayor assured local government officials and farmers that the Department of Agriculture (DA) would prop up the agricultural programs of this upland municipality as well as the neighboring towns of San Ildefonso, Angat, Norzagaray, and San Miguel.

With urbanization rolling like a juggernaut and transforming once productive farms to industrial and housing subdivision, Bulacan now turns to the hinterlands municipalities adjoining the Sierra Mountain Ranges.

“Doña Remedios town has a big potential for becoming a food basket and a tourists’ destination,” Montemayor said. “With its beautiful scenery, this town can draw tourists.”

Meeting the mayors of San Ildefonso, Angat, San Rafael, DRT, Montemayor suggested that a unified area development plan for these towns be made to provide the national government a blueprint for action.

DRT alone has 93,296 hectares, the largest municipality in the province, with agriculture as the main industry of upland farmers who engage in vegetable, fruit, and coffee production.

Mayor Evelyn Paulino said the proximity of DRT to Metro Manila enhances the possibility of making the municipality a food basket not only for Bulacan residents but for Metro Manilans.

DRT was carved out from the municipalities of Angat, Norzagaray, and San Miguel and created into a municipality by Presidential Decree No. 1196, named after Doña Remedios Trinidad, the mother of former First Lady Imelda R. Marcos, a native of Baliwag, Bulacan.

Since the establishment of DRT, DA has been supporting the local government’s agricultural program, according to Pepito U. de Dote, DA regional executive director for Central Luzon.

The agency has been instrumental in putting up the Bulacan Farmers Training Center (BFTC) in cooperation with former Gov. Nacing Santiago right in the heart of DRT, De Dote said.

Thousands of farmers from Bulacan and nearby provinces underwent training as “barefoot technicians,” during the Masagana 99 rice production program, at the DRT training center.

DA remains in close touch with local government officials and provides material and technical assistance to farmers in the area, De Dote said.

Lately, the DA in coordination with the town’s officials, farmers and other government agencies has set up a community nursery intended for the propagation of fruit trees and coffee seedlings.

The planting of coffee started way back in 1956, according to Arnold Vicente, DA technician at DRT. “Caviteños from Silang and Amadeo were the pioneer coffee planters who found the climate in DRT ideal for coffee.”

Since then the planting of coffee has gone a long way and now DRT has about 400 hectares planted to Robusta and Excelsa coffee varieties, according to Adonis Ileto, municipal agriculturist of DRT.

He said the DA’s program on High Value Commercial Crops (HVCC) encourages and inspires farmers to go on planting high-value crops.

Ponciano Vinuya, head of the HVCC program in Central Luzon, said the hinterlands of Bulacan have rich potentials as fruits and vegetable growing zone fitting in the over-all picture of the Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA).

“That’s why under the HVCC program we continue to provide funds for the training of technicians and farmers on the new technology of coffee and vegetable production,” he said.

Off-season vegetables are now grown in the province, supplying Metro Manila markets with farm fresh tomatoes, eggplants, squash, patola, sweet pepper, and ampalaya, according to Vinuya.

Meanwhile, Rene Rafael C. Espino, head of the Ginintuang Masaganan Ani for High-Value Commercial Crops (HVCC), said technology demonstration (Techno-Demo) should be established in the area to evaluate the potential of various crops for the hinterlands.

"Farmers know best what's good for their welfare, that's why we don't tell them what to do instead we provide all-out support for their needs, " Espino said.

"For instance, we provide training supports for farmers and technicians undergoing HVCC training and seminars," he said.

In the same gathering, the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) assured farmers BAR would always be their partners in their search for better farming practices.

"We invite you to come to BAR for a shopping lists of what's new in farming techniques," Dr. Eliseo Ponce, BAR director said.

On the part of the provincial government, Jesus de Guzman, provincial agriculturist, said Gov. Josie dela Cruz has allocated P5.5-million for the HVCC program in Bulacan.

“Here at DRT we are planning a ‘plantation-type’ orchard for high value crops. Besides coffee production, we’re planning a banana plantation in barangay Camachin,” De Guzman said.

DRT as a tourist destination has a bright prospect. The town has a cooler and moister climate than the rest of the towns in Bulacan.

“Its natural features include rivers, waterfalls, forests, springs, limestone formations, mountain and hills,” according to a flyer distributed by the provincial tourism office.

An alternative North Expressway and Sierra Madre Highway as well as the planned provincial road linking Bulacan to the Pacific Ocean will traverse the municipality.

At present DRT can be reached via four entry points: Angat; Akle, San Ildefonso; Sibul, San Miguel; and Matictic, Norzagaray. However, the most convenient way going to the town center is through Angat and the San Ildefonso-Akle roads. ***

Saturday with Gerry Geronimo’s Ating Alamin radio program broadcast nationwide over DZAR station in Manila.Director De Dote explained there was no new strain of FMD virus, but the same strain that had been identified in 1995 which was Type 01 or Manesa strain.

“There’s no cause for alarm as the disease is under control,” said De Dote.

DA in Central Luzon has set up a 24-hour checkpoints along major routes to prevent livestock traders from transporting infected animals and to control the disease.

Reports showed FMD outbreaks in the region continued to decline with the launching of FMD control and eradication program. FMD outbreaks were recorded to have gone down to almost 50% last year when 70 outbreaks were reported compared to 122 cases in 2000.

Central Luzon is expected to be free from FMD by the year 2004 according to De Dote.

For the past three months the province of Zambales has been free from FMD, but the other Central Luzon provinces remain flashpoints of infection with sporadic reports of FMD incidence.

DA provides veterinary interventions by vaccination and preventive medication designed to minimize undesirable effects of diseases.

In Central Luzon, DA has a regional animal disease diagnostic laboratory (RADDL) where veterinarians and livestock technicians examine animals of their ailments. The laboratory is within the capitol compound.

Last year the laboratory received l,550 decapitated dog heads for rabies examination, 29% of which were found to be rabies positive. Victims of dog bites numbering 470 were referred to the Department of Health and received anti- rabies vaccination.

The RADDL office has recently operated a vaccine laboratory and reconstituted 10,000 doses of vaccine against hemorrhagic septicemia, a disease of cattle and carabao.

DA and local government units veterinarians vaccinated a total of 46,924 animals against hemorrhagic septicemia last year. They also vaccinated 50,286 hogs against cholera, and 132,333 dogs.***

DA advocates urban agriculture

City of San Jose del Monte—While this former community of farmers has yet to fully shed off its rural setting to the creeping urban development, the Department of Agriculture has advocated the adoption of urban agriculture for residents here.

“It could not be helped that farmlands would give way to the demands of urban development, but agriculture need not be out of the picture,” Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor said during the holding of Farmers’ Field Day here.

Housing subdivisions now dotted the landscape where once field of grains basked in the sunlight.

However, vast track of vacant lands remain unoccupied and can be made productive by transforming them into vegetable gardens to supply the needs of the city.

"We must preserve this vacant lot for agriculture and make the land a food basket of city residents," Montemayor said. "We must also start adopting urban agriculture in residential areas with no vacant space for planting."

Urban agriculture simply means using pots, cans pails, basins, and other empty containers to raise vegetables for home use.

As developers crammed hundreds of houses in the housing subdivisions with little regards for planting area for home gardening, city dwellers can still plant vegetables using pots and empty containers.

Having noted the closeness of San Jose del Monte to his office in Quezon City, Montemayor invited farmers to go directly to his office which is closer than the provincial and regional offices of DA situated in Malolos and in San Fernando, Pampanga.

"We assure you of our support and assistance, " Montemayor said, who co-authored the bill creating the City of San Jose del Monte with former representative Lito Sarmiento, now a presidential adviser on agriculture.

Meanwhile, city agriculturist Larry Eugenio said the numbers of farmers has continued to dwindle with the passing of years.

“Our farmers are now down to about 600 from more than a thousand a few years back,” said city agriculturist Larry Eugenio.

The urban sprawl prompted farmers to sell their farms for a fortune offered by housing developers.

“Whatever, we can not neglect our agriculture and livestock here, even a city needs food,” Eugenio said.

“We will continue to develop agriculture as well as our livestock industry for they provide livelihood for many people here,” he said.

The establishment of an abattoir worth P5-million has recently been approved by the city council and would be under the newly created office of the city veterinarian, according to Eugenio.

“We are happy with the generous offer of Congressman Ben Cruz of P500,000 in support of agriculture," said Eugenio.

City Mayor Eduardo V. Roquero welcomed the guests and participants at the Farmers’s Field Day gathering held at the City Covered Court in Barangay Poblacion I.

The City Agriculture Office, in cooperation with the provincial government and DA regional office, awarded certificates of recognition to farmers and individuals for their contribution to the development of agriculture in the locality. The agriculture office also distributed about 1,000 pieces of tissue-cultured banana, citrus, and coconut seedlings as well as irrigation pumps.

A celebration highlighting agriculture is held here every month as one of the projects of the agriculture office, according to the city agriculturist.

For this month, theme of celebration is “Updates on Farming Systems and Technology,” where resource speakers from DA regional offices headed by regional executive director Pepito U. de Dote talked on DA’s programs and projects.

Among the topics discussed during the forum were the importance of organic fertilizer, crop protection, and market matching.

De Dote assured farmers of DA continued support for the development of agriculture even in areas classified as cities.

“In Central Luzon we have cities which remain agriculturally productive like Cabanatuan, San Jose, and Palayan City,” he said.

“DA will continue to lend support to local government units whether they are coastal, rural, or a city,” he said. “We cannot divorce agriculture as this is the number one source of our livelihood.” ***

‘Mild stroke’ of El Niño to hit Central Luzon

A ‘mild stroke’ of El Niño will hit Central Luzon this year, but could be fatal for farmers, fishermen, and livestock raisers.

Warning of a dry spell brought by El Niño was raised by top government officials in a meeting of the regional El Niño Task Force held at the regional office of the Department of Agriculture (DA) here Wednesday.

DA regional executive director Pepito U. de Dote said even a ‘mild’ El Niño will affect crops, fisheries, and livestock as these are vulnerable to dry spell or lack of irrigation water.

Forecast from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), showed Central Luzon will be hit by dry spell starting October, although some provinces in the region had already been experiencing drought as early as January.

The province of Tarlac and Pampanga were among the provinces predicted to suffer a reduction of rainfall at a time when the rice crop is in the critical stage of grain formation.

“This early we should inform the public so they can prepare,” said Jimmy Manalad, director of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Central Luzon who briefed the regional El Niño Task Force on the impending calamity.

Although the forecast is for a weak or mild El Niño as compared to the strong and devastating episode of 1997-1998, PAGASA director Leoncio A Amadore in a statement said the public should institute the necessary preparedness and mitigation measures.

Nationwide damage to rice and corn crops in the ‘97-’98 El Nino amounted to P12 billion. Livestock and poultry were also affected as the poultry industry was badly hit because of heat stroke and avian pest.

The ‘97-’98 El Niño was said to be the worst drought that hit the country which caused famine that affected 980,000 families in South Central Mindanao.

In Central Luzon then, the DA conducted 277 cloud-seeding operations through the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) to induce artificial rains, the most number of sorties made at that time.

As mitigating measures, DA in Central Luzon has encouraged farmers to build small farm reservoir (SFR). This is a catchment area of about 500 to 1,500 sq. m with a maximum embankment height of 4 m.

The technology allows storing of rainfall and runoff during the wet season that can be used during the dry season.

This is a time-tested practice among rainfed farmers in Central Luzon and other parts of the country.

Another mitigating measure set up by DA in Region III was the construction of small water impounding project (SWIP) and rehabilitation of 17 existing SWIP in the region. A total of 249 shallow tube wells (STW) were installed in farmers’ field last year.

In general, the effects of El Niño are reduction of area planted, inability of farmers to plant a second or third crop, and low yield. The probability of an incidence of locust attack is also higher. ***

Farmers pat DA’s back for farm to market road

Apalit, Pampanga— Farmers here and local officials were all praises for the Department of Agriculture (DA) in funding a l.5 kilometer farm-to-market road linking this municipality to nearby town of San Simon.

DA Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor said the road construction assistance of P1-million from the agriculture office was increased to P2-million with a P1-million counterpart from the municipality.

This sharing of resources or counterpart scheme was the idea of the President according to Montemayor.

“The people will lose their self-respect, even their dignity, if they would just cadge the government for their needs,” he said. “This is the reason why the national government is now asking a counterpart share from the local government for their own project.”

“Thus, the farm-to-market road in Apalit is now a reality,” said Montemayor during the inauguration of Tabuyok-Cansinala road that would ease the transportation problem of farmers in bringing their produce to the market.

Tirso Lacanilao, municipal mayor of Apalit, expressed his thanks to Montemayor and DA regional officials for extending support to his town not only in road building, but in crops, livestock, and fisheries production.

Lacanilao said the people should not always depend on the government for their needs. “Dapat tumulong din tayo sa pamahalaan. Kailangang ipakita natin na tayo’y nagsisikap na mapaunlad ang ating kabuhayan at pamayanan,” he said.

He said a number of farm animals had been given by DA to farmers in the past years, but not one farmer came around to report to him about the animals.

“Iyong mababait nating kasamahan ipinagbile, iyong iba kinatay. Huwag namang ganoon,” he said.

Lacanilao pointed this out upon receiving 10 hogs intended for farmers and 200 sachets of assorted vegetable seeds from DA, and 2,500 pieces of “ulang” fingerlings from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

“Tumutulong sa atin ang pamahalaan, pero huwag namang hingi na lamang tayo nang hingi,” said the mayor who has initiated a clean and green program for the town which won the first prize award for the project.

Unknown to many, Apalit is the birthplace of Bienvenido M. Gonzales who became a dean of the University of the Philippines in Los Bañoz and the 6^th President of the University of the Philippines.

The two huge Narra trees in front of the town hall whose canopy shield the park from the summer sun were said to have been sent by Gonzales from Los Bañoz when he was the dean of UPLB. He died on December 1953.

Apalit is a booming town whose public market is a beehive of activity from morning till evening, drawing customers from as far as the City of San Fernando and Masantol.

The agriculture secretary also noted the glut of tilapia in the province of Pampanga that he suggested to BFAR director Remedios Ongtanco to come up with food processing technique like tinapa-making for tilapia.

“The DA is here to help the town of Apalit. So I brought along our top officials for them to know how they can assist you,” Montemayor said in a lunch meeting with farmers and government officials held in the house of Severino Manahan, a farmer-leader of Tabuyuk.

Driving under the viaduct to reach the house of Manahan, the secretary and his party, noticed that squatters have already built hollow blocks houses underneath the left and right lanes of the 3-storey viaduct, the bridge-like structure spanning the Candaba Swamp. ***

GMA plants Hybrid Rice in Lubao

Dao, Lubao, Pampanga—Planting rice is never fun, but when a president of the country removes her shoes, rolls up her sleeves, sloshes on mud, and plants rice, it becomes a fete champetre.

Thus, when President Arroyo on her 55^th birthday took time out to spend time among farmers to plant rice, this barangay had a small fiesta.

Schoolchildren, students in various schools, barangay officials, and residents turned in mass lining the roads and highways to have a glimpse of the President as her entourage passed by.

Streamers festooned on trees, fences, and hung across streets and highways with Happy Birthday greetings blossomed in Pampanga, the day the President came to town on April 5.

In barangay Dao, the farm of Rening Baluyot became the locus of the presidential visit.

“We now have a story to tell our children and grandchildren for generation and generation to come,” Baluyot said. “That right here the President planted rice.”

As a symbolic gesture to promote the planting of Hybrid Rice, the President planting rice herself has put the cachet of importance to the new variety of rice in the food production program of the government.

Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor said the country can attain rice-sufficiency with the adoption of Hybrid Rice which can double the yield of farmers

“The 10-minute rice planting of the President in barangay Dao in Lubao is worth a thousand reams of promotional materials for Hybrid Rice,” said DA regional executive director Pepito U. de Dote.

Wearing a long-sleeve pink blouse and flesh-colored pants rolled up to her knee, the President discarded her balangut hat and basked in the 10 o’clock summer sun in planting rice to the rhythm of a guitar.

The 14-day old hybrid rice seedling the President planted in 20 x 20 cms straight rows came all the way from PhilRice in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija where the variety was developed by Filipino plant breeders.

PhilRice director Leo Sebastian said the country needs to adopt the planting of high-yielding rice like hybrid rice to meet the demands of the increasing population

“While there’s nothing wrong with local varieties as far as their flavor is concerned, their low-yield would hamstrung our effort to meet the demand of our population,” he said.

The average Filipino rice consumption ranges from 100 to 130 kilos per year or two cavans of rice.

With a population of 76.4 million and consuming 7.87 million tons of rice against production of 7.60 million tons, the country needs to import rice to meet its demand.

Top government and private agricultural officials were on hand to witness the President’s rice planting.on the ankle-deep mud of La Paz silt loam soil of barangay Dao.

Once a sugarcane hacienda, the land was parceled out to tenants under the land reform code a legacy of former President Diosdado Macapagal, who hails from this town and dubbed as the “Poor Man from Lubao.”

With farmers now owning the land, they have transformed the sugarcane fields to rice farms, vegetable gardens, tobacco and sampaguita fields, and tilapia fishponds.

The farm has a year-round irrigation system supplied by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) which made possible the planting of various crops throughout the year.

“Kung may kalahating ektarya ka lang dito, buhay ka na,” said a Dao farmer who along with some 100 farmers and government officials shared breakfast with the President in a makeshift tent about 30 meters from the farm.

The President through the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Region III distributed irrigation pumps, portable rice thresher, 19 bags of hybrid rice, and 100,000 pieces of tilapia fingerlings.

Among government officials around were DA undersecretary Ernesto M. Ordoñez, presidential adviser Chito Lorenzo, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) regional director Remy Ongtanco, and DA-RFU III assistant directors Cesar D. Rodriguez and Redentor Gatus. ***

This nostalgic schooldays' experience were reminisced during a farmers' field school (FFS) graduation held in barangay Sapang, Moncada, Tarlac, sponsored by the Department of Agriculture (DA) recently.

Those days are gone at least in Central Luzon where farmers have gone home and planted camote and make the grades.

Camote or sweet potato is no longer a plant maligned by teachers. It's now a crop considered as a high-value ones, ranking among the so-called high-value commercial crops (HVCC).

"And for Central Luzon, it's our number one high-value crops," said Pepito U. de Dote, regional executive director of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

An all-out support for the sweet potato through the HVCC program of DA has been launched in Central Luzon in partnership with the local government units, Tarlac College of Agriculture (TAC), and farmers of Tarlac.

"We have initiated the training of farmers on the new technology of sweet potato production, seeing the potentials of the crop both for human food and livestock," said Ponciano Vinuya, DA supervising agriculturist and project leader of HVCC program in Central Luzon.

For six months, DA and TCA conducted a sweet potato training for 150 farmers from the municipalities of Sta. Ignacia, Camiling, Paniqui, Moncada, Gerona, Capas, and Bamban.

Their schooling was capped by a graduation ceremony and a field trip to pilot camote farms where DA officials and local government officials saw a wide expanse of land inundated by lahar brought back to life by sweet potato farms.

At the graduation ceremonies, Dr. Rene Rafael Espino, program director of HVCC, representing Sec. Leonardo Q. Montemayor, said DA would always be a partner of farmers.

"We in DA has a new way of helping our farmers. We no longer tell farmers what to do. We listen to their problems and begin from there," Espino said.

At DA regional level, Dr. De Dote assured the farmers of Moncada that the multi-purpose drying pavement which they need would be constructed soon in the barangay.

As to marketing problem, a private company headed by Soledad Agbayani said the company was willing to buy the farmers' crop at P5 a kilo dried at 14% moisture content.

Meanwhile, a tissue culture laboratory at the TCA provides farmers with disease-free cuttings to start the production of planting materials.

Clean planting materials produced from tissue-cultured sweet potatoes reduces incidence of a viral disease locally named "kulot."

"This answers the need of farmers for disease-free planting materials and assures them of high yields," said Dr. Lilibeth B. Laranang, TCA professor and project team member.

"We are eyeing a network of farmers who will produce planting materials right here in Tarlac so they will not go to Bataan to buy their planting materials," said Dr. Laranang.

Cuttings for planting sell at fifteen centavos a piece, an additional source of income for farmers engaged in the production of cuttings.

The sweet potato project in Moncada was started in 1999 with TCA, DA, the International Potato Center--Users' Perspectives with Agricultural Research and Development (IPC-UPWARD), and the local government units as proponents. ***

Thus, a top government research official describes the situation of the rice industry in the country.

“Our Asian neighbors send their students to study in Los Baños, but we import rice from these countries which learned agriculture from us,” said Leocadio S. Sebastian, executive director of PhilRice , a government institution based in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.

Speaking before a graduation ceremonies for farmers and agricultural technicians held at Dinaluphin Civic Center in Bataan recently, Sebastian said the technology for rice production was right here in the country.

“What’s wrong with us. We have the technology and yet our farmers lagged behind our Asian neighbors?” he asked.

An awardee in last year’s Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines, Sebastian said producing rice in the country is much costly than in Thailand and other Asian countries.

“In Vietnam, farmers spent $114 to produce one ton of palay, in the Philippines it’s $118,” he said.

Filipino farmers spent from P340-P400 for hired labor, while Vietnamese spent only P100 in a hectare of rice farm.

Similar observations were pointed by Jose P. Payumo, municipal mayor of Dinalupihan who said his wife working as bank executive in Vietnam told him that most Vietnamese occupying high government positions in agriculture studied in the Philippines.

“I was told Vietnamese farmers would flow back their farm earnings in their farming operation,” Payumo said. “Unlike here when almost 80 percent of farmers income are spent and not invested in production purposes.”

“Our farmers must invest their farm income back to the farm, if farmers would improved their lot,” Payumo said.

Vietnamese farmers are hard working, their work ethics forged by the hardships they had experienced in their war-torn country in the past.

“Filipino farmers would rather pay farm laborers than do the tasks themselves, so the increase in the cost of labor,” Payumo said.

The mayor also took a dig on the crab mentality and lack of sincerity of people working in the government, which hinder the development of the country.

Meanwhile, Central Luzon topped rice production last year with the widespread planting of certified and hybrid seeds, according to DA rice program leader Eduardo Gonzales.

“We were able to harvest 2.9 million tons of palay last harvest season, contributing 27 percent to the nation’s rice production,” Gonzales said before the graduates of a 4-month training course on inbred and hybrid rice production technology.

A total of 33 agricultural technicians from Bataan, Bulacan, Zambales, Tarlac, and Pampanga underwent a 4-month training at the ATI Training Center situated in Dinalupihan.

Another batch of farmers composed of 96 participants simultaneously finished a 4-month season long training under the ATI’s Farmers Field School (FFS) training program also in Bataan.

In a mass graduation ceremony, Dominador Ong, head of ATI in Bataan-Zambales, confirmed the 129 graduates for having successfully completed the requirements of the 4-month season long training.

The graduates were also told to make PhilRice their lifeline in rice production to keep them abreast of new technology.

PhilRice assured the graduates of continued support in terms of providing them with new varieties of seeds and information materials. ***

The Department of Agriculture has started cloud seeding operation over the watershed areas of the two biggest dams in Central Luzon—Pantabangan and Angat Dams—to mitigate the effects of El Nino.

Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor ordered the DA-RFU3 Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) to undertake the operations on account of the fast receding water level in the two dams.

“We’re in for a long hot dry spell which is expected to last until next year.” Montemayor said.

Although occasional rains are being experienced in the past few days, these were not enough to fill the two huge reservoirs.

The cloud seeding operations are expected to induce rains over the two dams which provide not only irrigation water and domestic water supply, but also power the turbines of the National Power Corporation (NPC).

Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija irrigates the rice farms of Nueva Ecija and outlying municipalities of San Miguel and San Ildefonso in Bulacan with a total area of 102,832 hectares.

On the other hand, Angat Dam provides water for 31,485 hectares of farms under the Angat-Maasim river irrigation system.

Ninety percent of the domestic water supply of Metro Manila comes from Angat dam. During the 1997-1998 El Nino episode, the dam cut off the irrigation water for some 10,000 hectares of rice farms and diverted the water for the domestic need of Metro Manila.

A few rainless months are enough to hamper agricultural and industrial activities, more so in the advent of El Nino, said Montemayor.

DA has commissioned a twin-engine plane owned by ChemTriad Aviation Corporation to undertake the cloud seeding operations in Luzon which took off at 9:58 a.m. in a rural airport in Plaridel, Bulacan Wednesday on its firs t sortie over Pantabangan.

During the ’97-’98 El Nino episode, Central Luzon, considered as the major rice producing region, had the most number of cloud seeding operations - - 277 sorties out of the total 1,330 sorties made during the dry spell.

Gene Briones, BSWM specialist who trained on cloud seeding technology in Thailand said that through cloud seeding, the volume of rainwater is increased twice as the surrounding rain-bearing clouds are drawn to the “seeded clouds.”

Cloud seeding is a method of inducing a cloud to produce rain by deliberate introduction of various substances that act as condensation nuclei to induce rain.

The first experiments with cloud seeding started in 1946 using solid carbon dioxide or dry ice.

Silver iodide was later used as it could be stored at room temperature and did not require an airplane as a delivery mechanism, but could be fired by cannons high into the air where wind and updrafts carried them into the clouds.

The aircraft that took off in Plaridel airport had on board 500 kilos of 100% refined iodized salt manufactured by Dennys Enterprise in Malabon, Metro Manila. The salt came in 25 kilo-bag.

Waiting for the go-signal of a “spotter’ (one who monitors cloud formation) positioned in the Pantabangan area, the cloud seeding team headed by Blesie Concepcion of BSWM, took off when informed though a cell phone that rain-bearing clouds loomed over Pantabangan Dam.

Capt. Pamplona said the trip to Pantabangan form the Plaridel Airport would take only about 15 minutes. The plane later returned after an hour flying at a altitude of about 10,000 ft. where rain-bearing clouds would be.

“We’re actually looking and entering a turbulent cloud commercial airlines avoid, but we’re after those rain-bearing clouds and so that’s where we go.” Pamplona said asking for another 500 kilos of salt and back again to Pantabangan for the second round of cloud seeding.

Cagayan Valley is DA’s next target and would be simultaneously seeded as that of Central Luzon.***

"This is the reason why we're campaigning for an early rice planting, " said De Dote. Along with the information campaign on mitigating the effects of the drought, DA is also conducting training for farmers and farm technicians on proper water management.

The dry spell now being felt in Central Luzon which affected some 5,000 hectares in the region and not 35,000 hectares as earlier reported in the papers, is not caused by El Nino yet, according Mario Collado, chief of the bureau of soils and water management (BSWN) in Central Luzon.

Reports gathered from the field by DA showed out of the 5,000 hectares affected by drought, 3,000 hectares could recover and the remaining areas considered as lost.

"It's the normal dry season we are having,'" Collado said on the dry spell being experienced now in Central Luzon.

DA has created an inter-agency task force involving all government agencies in the region to extend assistance in cushioning the adverse effect of the dry spell.

Various committees were formed to focus on agriculture, natural resources and water management with DA as lead agency.

Involved in early warning system and information campaign are the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), the departments of Education, Local Government, and PAGASA.

The committee on energy, power, public works, transportation and telecommunication is headed by the public works department while consumer protection, social services, health, rescue and relief operation is placed under the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).

Rehabilitation of irrigation facilities such as shallow tube well (STW), small water impounding project (SWIP) is an on-going project of DA and has started since last year when Pagasa declared the dry spell would hit the country .

"We have also launched an information campaign advocating early rice planting and growing of crops which can withstand dry spell like cassava, sweet potatoes, corn, peanuts, and mungo," De Dote said.

"If worse comes to worse cloud seeding will be resorted to," De Dote said pointing out that he had already sent a request to Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor for immediate cloud seeding operation over the watershed areas of Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija, Camiling, Tarlac and in the Sierra Madre Mountain Ranges. ***

Iba, Zambales – Agribusiness gets a boost from the Department of Agriculture (DA) with the release of P5-million for the establishment of an agribusiness service center here.

DA Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor handed the check to Gov. Vic Magsaysay in a simple rites for the cornerstone laying at the compound of the provincial agriculturist office in the presence of farmers, national and local governments officials.

When completed, the agribusiness center will help answer the needs of farmers from production to marketing, as well as a venue for farmers training, according to DA regional executive director Pepito U. de Dote.

It will also provide post harvest equipment such as hot-water treatment facility to prevent newly harvested mangoes from pests and diseases.

Zambales takes pride of its “Lamao” mango variety touted as the sweetest mango in the country and the second largest producer of mangoes in Central Luzon.

Secretary Montemayor urged farmers not only to develop mango but also coconut, cashew, and yellow corn which are sources of good income.

He said Zambales with its proximity to Taiwan could supply its needs for buko juice which Taiwanese found refreshing than soft drinks.

Gov. Vic Magsaysay expressed thanks to the Montemayor for their concern for the welfare of farmers and fishermen of Zambales, recalling that the late father of the secretary was a close friend of former President Ramon Magsaysay, the governor’s uncle.

“I remember the time when I tagged along with my father and would often drop by the house of Dean Montemayor and take our meals in his home while discussing the concern of the Federation of Free Farmers,” the governor said.

The elder Montemayor was the founder of FFF whose concern for the welfare of farmers was well known to President Magsaysay that Montemayor was often asked to prepare the speeches of the late president, said the governor.

“President Magsaysay and Dean Montemayor drew inspiration from each other as both of them had in their heart the sincerity of helping the rural folks,” said the governor.

In the same gathering, Rep. Ruben Torres of the 2^nd District of Zambales said the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo has disrupted the livelihood of residents as many of the farmlands had been inundated by lahar, making them unsuitable for crop production.

"Our problem is providing livelihood to our people,” he said. “It’s good we have the 200 kilometers Zambales shorelines where people make a livelihood out of fishing.”

He said a proposed marine culture parks in Masinloc and Palawig would become a tourist’s destination and would benefit between 7,000 to 10,000 residents.

“This marine culture park will be the second in the country after a similar project in Mindanao and will cost about 10 million pesos,” Torres said. The Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (Seafdec) and the Bureau of Aquatic and Fisheries Resources (BFAR) had been tapped to assist in the project according to the congressman.

Meanwhile, in a dialogue with farmers at the Ramon Magsaysay Technological University (RMTU), Magsaysay and Montemayor in tandem provided solutions to problems raised by farmers and fishermen right on the spot.

A patrol boat requested by fishermen group to be used by Bantay Dagat to prevent poaching in the Zambales coast was immediately approved.

Similarly, a group of farmers needing a backhoe for converting their croplands buried by lahar into fishpond was met by a ready solution from Magsaysay and Montemayor.

“We will buy two backhoes,” Magsaysay said. “One million peso would buy two backhoes and the provincial government will provide P500,000. The Department of Agriculture will share another P500,000” he said.

With Secretary Montemayor, we will make things happen, “the governor said and the 100-strong farmers and fishermen group burst into applause above the din of rains pelting the unfinished covered court of RMTU.

Magsaysay said the DPWH secretary was amendable of channeling the budget coming from DA directly to the province of Zambales for the construction of farm-to-market roads.

“We can do the construction as we have a pool of 86 pieces of heavy equipment and 30 dump trucks. With these equipment we were able to finish a 240 kilometers asphalt road in six months’ time,” he said.

After the dialogue, the secretary’s party had a whirlwind visit of the projects of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Look, Castellejos, accompanied by BFAR director Malcom Sarmiento and Remedios Ongtangco, regional director of BFAR for Central Luzon.

A signing of memorandum of agreement (MOA) of Lambaklad Project for Mabayo, Morong, Bataan was also held at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Area (SBMA) with Montemayor and Bataan Governor Ding Roman and SBMA chairman Tong Payumo.***

Francisco Tolentino, a hybrid corn farmer of barangay Lawy, Capas, Tarlac, admits preconceived doubts over suggestions of corn technicians to forego primary tillage operations in his one hectare farm after his regular season rice harvest, sometime October last year.

But keeping an open mind and willingness to adapt mature agricultural technologies, Tolentino accedes and let it go at that.

So, sans primary tillage operations, he availed of the services of a mechanical corn planter hired out by private hybrid corn seed stakeholders in their promotional strategies to increase corn production areas.

With adept adjustments of skilled operators, a tractor-driven mechanical corn planter can efficiently distribute 70,000 to 75,000 seeds per hectare, the recommended planting density for yellow corn production. For corn forage cropping, planting density can reach as much as 100,000 to 120,000 hills per hectare.

Manual planting of corn can only distribute about 35,000 to 40,000 hills per hectare depending upon the supervision of the farmer.

An added advantage of using a mechanical corn seeder is that it can simultaneously apply the recommended rate of fertilizer in a single operation.

Mechanical corn planters with fertilizer applicator are available for lease by some private seed companies who invested a lot to acquire the state-of-the-art equipment at a minimum cost of P1,650 per hectare, thus reducing the operational expenses of a corn farmer by some P3,000 per hectare.

With closer post-emergence supervision and follow-up by government and private corn production technicians, Tolentino went through the routine culture in corn production.

In his zero-tillage demonstration farm however, special attention was directed on weed control, especially during the early stages of growth development.

During the harvest season, the same hybrid corn seed company made available a corn harvester cum sheller for lease at a cost of P3,650 per hectare.

Again, Tolentino reduced his production expenses by some P3,000 per hectare when he rented the corn combine in his operations.

And to top it all, Tolentino harvested 9.1 tons per hectare from his zero-tillage demonstration farm. This harvest is way, way above the national average of 3 tons per hectare for hybrid corn. In summary, Tolentino saved as much as P10,000 per hectare using the zero-tillage technology and combining it with full farm mechanization for his corn production, giving him a net income of more than P50,000 from his zero tillage demonstration farm.

Corn, both yellow and green, is the second most important crop in the Philippines next to rice.

The advantage of the culture of corn however over rice is that corn production can be fully mechanized with a high degree of precision from seeding, fertilizer application, cultivation and up to harvesting and shelling. With full farm mechanization, corn farmers can reduce their cost of production by more than P6,000 per hectare.

With extensive use of sophisticated equipment for full corn farm mechanization, corn farmers can be more productive, competitive and assured.

Corn production full farm mechanization however can only be operationally and economically viable in areas of more than 200 hectares or more in a single concentrated production area.

The concept of full farm mechanization in corn production comes at a time when corn farm clustering has established a foothold in Central Luzon in the program implementation of the Department of Agriculture’s GMA Corn program.

Five years ago, Cornworld proprietor, Benigno Magno Domingo, imported a complete set of state-of-the-art equipment for corn full farm mechanization. The set included two 4-wheel tractors, two disc harrows, two chisel plows, one mechanical corn planter, one cultivator, one boom sprayer, one harvester-sheller and a mechanical dryer with a storage silo, at less than P20 million. The investment was meant to pursue his own dream of having a fully mechanized corn production in his own farm and perhaps lease the equipment to neighboring farmers. Aware of the precision efficiency of such sophisticated equipment, other investors, particularly hybrid yellow corn seed producers, followed suit .

Edwin Paningbatan, DA RFU III’s regional coordinator and program officer says that 14 corn clusters were established in the provinces of Tarlac and Pampanga with a combined area of 5,478 hectares last year and harvested an average of six tons per hectare, Expansion area is projected at another 5,215 hectares by the next cropping season.

Corn farmers in the clustered production area are now sold to the idea of full farm mechanization. But with the huge investment needed to import a set of the sophisticated equipment, financing poses a problem, declares Paningbatan.

The Department of Agriculture’s Corn Agribusiness Systems Technology (COAST) comes to the rescue. The COAST program can extend financial assistance to corn –based cooperatives for them to acquire corn farm mechanization equipments. Through this program, the equipments are loaned to the cooperatives at 1 to two percent interest per annum and payable within eight years. For this scheme to be viable, cluster farming is a prerequisite.

With the momentum of yellow corn production full farm mechanization looming at the horizon, production efficiency, better yields, productivity and profitability are more or less assured for corn farmers. So much so that corn cluster areas have become treading grounds for financing assistance both from the government and private lending institutions.

Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, Quedancor as well a number of feed milling companies and private commercial cattle fattening firms are only too willing to invest in corn production cluster farms.

Access to credit and guarantee funds is a built-in advantage of corn cluster farms because of lesser risks involved in production.

An interesting proviso in corn cluster farms however comes before any credit assistance. Government as well as private lending institutions wants to deal only with a single qualified leader in a corn cluster production area.

To gain access to credit assistance, both from the government and private sectors. participating farmers should first elect among themselves a single leader. Even financing institutions believe in the old adage that too many cooks spoil the broth.

Corn cluster areas, to be qualified for whatever assistance must have a single qualified leader to transact business on financing, sourcing of farm inputs, dealing with local government units and NGOs, input suppliers, marketing and collection of loans.

The corn cluster leader must possess the qualities of honesty, integrity, credibility and the capacity to inspire obedience from the members on the duties and responsibilities in the community.

Corn cluster members meanwhile are expected to have good track credit record and willingness to adopt new technologies in corn production

Marketing and joint venture production agreements between corn cluster members and consumers is another feature in corn cluster production areas that merits a distinct advantage that can be availed of.

Consider this. There are 78 active feed milling companies operating in Central Luzon, with a daily yellow corn requirement of at least 4,615 metric tons. Central Luzon’s yellow corn production comes to only 34,000 metric tons. This is only a week’s supply against the huge demand of local feed millers.

Added to the demand of feed mills, private commercial cattle fattening firms in Central Luzon have their own requirements for forage corn. In most cases these cattle fattening firms contract individual farmers to supply them their needed daily rations.

To the advantage of the corn farmers, some cluster farms especially in Tarlac have inked contracts with feed millers for the wholesale purchase of all their yellow corn production outputs.

A standing contract exists between PMI feed mills and the Lawy Multi-purpose cooperative of Capas, Tarlac for the feed mill to buy all the yellow corn produce in the corn cluster farm at P0.30 more per kilo from the prevailing market price.

The accessibility and a ready and available market to absorb all the yellow corn production in cluster farms are plus factors that paint a rosy future for the local yellow corn industry.

DA-RFU III’s regional executive director, Dr. Pepito U. De Dote says that the regional office makes available to established corn cluster areas equipment loans for tractors, shallow tube wells for irrigation, corn shellers, mechanical dryers and multi-purpose drying pavements. in a corn cluster community.

Participating farmers will likewise be trained periodically through season long Farmers Field School (FFS) for practical and hands-on training on the latest corn technologies which includes among others the free assistance of trichogramma cards for the biological control of corn borers.

RFU IIIs regional assistant director for operations Dr. Redentor Gatus adds that the regional office is ready to provide soil amelioration assistance through free soil analysis, Soil Test Kits and fertility trials on site.

Central Luzon may not be recognized as a traditional corn producing region. In fact only two provinces, Pampanga and Tarlac were actively involved in production through cluster farms.

Efforts are now concerted to expand the yellow corn area from the existing 5,000 hectares to 10,000 hectares by next cropping season. The projected expansion area now includes the provinces of Nueva Ecija with 1450 hectares, Zambales with 525 hectares and Bataan with 100 hectares.

As the GMA Corn program slowly gains momentum in the non-traditional corn areas in Central Luzon, the DA regional office expects to meet the specific objectives of the corn program with farmer cooperators increasing the average yellow corn production from three to six tons per hectare; reducing production costs from P 17,000 to P 12,000 per hectare through full farm mechanization, and decreasing production losses through extensive use of corn post harvest facilities.

Full corn farming mechanization; credit assistance, guarantee funds, marketing and joint venture agreements, technical assistance both from the watchful eyes of government and private corn experts. Corn cluster farming is a package of complete assistance that can propel Central Luzon corn farmers on to global competitiveness and contribute to the reduction of yellow corn imports that drains our dollar reserves.

With the whole gamut of assistance extended to corn cluster farms, it will not be long before Central Luzon will join the elite group of corn producing regions in the Philippines. ***

For fears of their lives, Bulacan fishpond operators pay the new People’s Army about P10-M yearly.

This was disclosed in a fishermen’s forum sponsored by the provincial government of Bulacan held at Hiyas Convention Center Tuesday.

“We can’t help paying as it is our lives that are at stake,” said Pat Laderas, member of the provincial board and fishpond operator in Hagonoy town.

Payment of the so-called ‘revolutionary tax’ to NPA has been going on for decades, a tacit knowledge in the coastal towns of Bulacan, Bulacan, Malolos, Paombong, and Hagonoy.

This is terroristic taxation,” said P/Senior Supt. Edgardo Acuna, Bulacan police director.

He said the province of Bulacan is a rich source of NPA’s fund extorted from fishpond owners and various business establishments including poultry and livestock raisers.

“From fishpond owners alone the NPA collects between P10 to P15 million a year,” he said.

Out of the 518 barangays of the province, NPA has infiltrated 7% or 39 barangays, 18% or 106 barangays are threatened, and 1% or five barangays are under its influence, said Acuna.

“Although they have been pushed to the periphery of the province by the combined forces of the PNP and the AFP, the NPA will be back before Christmas for the collection,” he said.

Owners of piggery and poultry farms in outlying towns of Norzagaray and San Jose del Monte fell victims too under the terroristic taxation activities of the NPA, Acuna said.

“We need everybody’s cooperation to stop these. Shall we let this “kutong,” continue?”

He said the PNP and the AFP have plans, but needed the support of the civilian population if the plans are to succeed.

“It’s not a simple insurgency problem,” he said. “What we have are several issue confronting the country which are social, economic, and political problems.”

In the same forum, Cesar Drilon, undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the future of the fishing industry lies in aquaculture (fishponds) because of over fishing in the coastal areas.

He said fish catch couldn’t cope up with population demand. “Our fishing industry grew only by 1.1%, while our population increases at the rate of 2.3% a year.”

“Filipinos on the average consumes 27 kilos of fish when this should be at least 30 kilos per year per person.”

He attributed the low fish consumption to insufficient supply of fish caused by water pollution and low production.

Drilon was introduced by Remedios Ongtangco, regional director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Central Luzon.

Among those who attended the gatherings were local government officials from the coastal municipalities of the province, fishpond operators, police and army officers.***

Paging Australia and other countries that advocate free trade but, at the same time, shelter their subsidized farm sectors.

There is a new man at the top of the Department of Agriculture, and he is ready to play hardball with countries that discriminate against the country’s fruits, vegetable and meat exports.

Newly minted Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo called on Filipino businessmen to take “a stronger stance and demand immediate results” in trade discussions on agriculture issues and to be ready to retaliate against countries engaged in unfair trade practices.

“Success in global trade depends on the country’s forcefulness and resolve on the WTO (World Trade Organization) negotiating table. We must negotiate more effectively and take bolder steps to ensure that developed countries implement the same tariff reduction policy that they so garrulously impose on developing countries,” he said.

In his first major speech as agriculture secretary during the 28^th Philippine Business Conference, Lorenzo zeroed in on Australia’s discriminatory import policy against Philippine bananas and pineapples even though that country has for years been enjoying a $600-million trade surplus-mostly in beef and dairy products--over the Philippines.

Lorenzo took to task Canberra for using the “import risk analysis” procedure without legal or scientific basis to repel Philippine fruit exports-considered world-class and high quality else where-to protect Australian farmers.

Australia has retained its ban on Philippine banana exports, citing safety concerns on exotic frogs found in banana boxes and use of harmful pesticides such as hydrogen cyanide and methyl bromide. It has also imposed harsh pre-conditions-such as de-crowning—on Philippine pineapples.

Lorenzo issued a stern warning against the Australian government, saying if these issues were not resolved, the Philippines would be forced to respond by restricting the importation of Australian meat and seek alternative import sources.

Lorenzo, whose family controls fruit exporter Del Monte, said the agriculture department was currently verifying reports of probable anthrax traces in some Australian cattle.

“In the process, we might end up finding a cheaper source of safe, quality meat, livestock and dairy products in other developing countries.” ***