AGRICULTURE   The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) lambasted the announced partnership of DuPont and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), saying that the collaboration will only focus on hybrid rice breeding and the commercialization of higher yielding hybrids in Asia.

Peasant leader and Anakpawis party-list Representative Rafael Mariano today said the Senate blue ribbon committee report on the controversial fertilizer fund scam is more than enough to indict President Macapagal-Arroyo.
“Although the Senate committee report states that there is allegedly no direct evidence linking Ms Arroyo to the scam, there is indisputably a stream of circumstantial [...]

Recognizing the critical role as frontliners in agricultural development, 10 local government units has formally forged ties to promote organic agriculture through a declaration supporting a government program to shift from conventional farming to the more sustainable organic farming.
The declaration was formally signed during the LGU Caucus for Sustainable Agriculture held last February 18, 2009 [...]

A consortium of nongovernment organization has called on lawmakers to step up the passage of a bill that will promote organic farming as a strategy in fighting rural poverty in the Philippines.
Atty. Efren Moncupa, lead convenor of Go Organic! Philippines said the passage of an organic farming or organic agriculture bill will boost current efforts [...]

Anakpawis party-list Representative Rafael Mariano today described President Macapagal-Arroyo’s talk at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland as “nothing but plain boast and empty rhetoric.”
Mariano issued the statement after the President called on America to “do something” to address the global economic crisis and that “as far as the Philippine government is concerned, we [...]

Anakpawis party-list Representative Rafael Mariano today said that the global economic crisis already hit Philippine agriculture and called on President Macapagal-Arroyo to act on measures pending in Congress that will provide medium and long-term solutions to the crisis.
Recent reports said that “in Bukidnon, pineapple giant Dole Philippines (Dolefil) has reduced its workweek from six to [...]

The P2.5 Billion economic stimulus package for food production should be geared towards the promotion of sustainable agriculture that will generate jobs and livelihood opportunities in rural communities.
Central to this is the much-needed comprehensive rural development package that will strengthen Philippine agriculture such as infrastructure development, including the construction of more farm-to-market roads, new irrigation [...]

Rice Watch and Action Network (R1) sought for transparency in the details of the economic stimulus fund allotted for agriculture to ensure that increase in the agency’s budget will not be squandered and address the potential impact of the existing global economic and financial crisis.
“We are pleased that the agriculture agency got more money this [...]

Activist Jaime Tadeo is not exactly picking one advocacy over another. But lately, this staunch agrarian reform advocate is making his presence felt in promoting organic farming in the face of yet another looming rice crisis.
“The redistribution of land alone will not solve the multi-faceted problems of Filipino farmers. Government support to strengthen Philippine [...]

A biofertilizer developed by the National Institute on Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (Biotech) in UP Los Banos has been proven to be virtually a nitrogen factory in the soil.
This biofertillizer, called Nitro Plus, was the product of a comprised of Dr. Erlinda Paterno, [...]

By Yvonne T. Chua and Luz Rimban | VERA FILES
(Conclusion)
When Quedancor negotiated with the banks, it was already in the red because of its various failed lending programs.
Second Part: Politicians Dip Hand Into Quedancor Funds
First Part: Quedancor Swine Program Another Fertilizer Scam

By Yvonne T. Chua and Luz Rimban | VERA FILES
(Second of three parts)
The Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. (Quedancor) does not only give out loans to the poor. It also “lends” money to “needy” politicians, congressmen included. Insiders say Quedancor is the one government corporation politicians know they can run to when they want cash — for political reasons or otherwise. The “loans” are known within Quedancor as “political accounts.”
First Part: Quedancor Swine Program Another Fertilizer Scam

By Diosa Labiste, Luz Rimban and Yvonne Chua | VERA FILES
(First of three parts)
Documents and interviews show that officials involved in questionable Quedancor transactions were the same ones implicated in the P728-million fertilizer scam: then Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo, who chaired Quedancor, and then Agriculture Undersecretary for finance and administration Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante who was at the time also a director of the Land Bank of the Philippines from which Quedancor obtained billions of pesos in loans.

Greenpeace slams DA for ignoring warnings on US rice shipments
Manila — Greenpeace revealed last week that despite their
repeated warnings, two GMO-contaminated rice varieties have slipped into
the Philippines once again. Greenpeace commissioned tests have detected
the presence of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) in two imported US
long grain rice brands, Blue Ribbon Texas Long Grain and Riceland
Arkansas [...]