Agriculture Secretary William Dar is encouraging local government units (LGUs) and concerned agencies to include chicken in subsidized food packs for distribution to their constituents and clienteles to ease supply glut and stabilize prices of said poultry product.

“The inclusion of fresh chicken in the relief goods would hike the demand and increase the farmgate prices of broilers,” Secretary Dar added.

To ensure an adequate supply of affordable food and provide farmers, fishers, and their families steady income, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will implement short-gestating farm and fishery projects that will help perk up the country’s economy.

“As we continue to confront the COVID-19 pandemic, we will vigorously implement emergency or short-gestating food production projects in partnership with farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs), the private sector, and local government units (LGUs),” said Agriculture Secretary William Dar.

RICE farmers’ incomes and yields are rising as a result of programs supported by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), according to a survey conducted by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).

PhilRice surveyed more than 4,000 RCEF beneficiaries across 55 provinces who harvested an average of 4.14 metric tons (MT) per hectare.

Respondents reported an additional yield of 440 kilograms per hectare were realized after farmers used certified inbred seed distributed by PhilRice under the RCEF program.

COTABATO CITY -- Hundreds of rice farmers from the Provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur had an access of information about the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Program) of the Government.

The center’s Information Services Section conducted last July 13 and 14, 2020 the RCEF Information Caravan Radio Broadcast and Facebook Live and was aired via DXMS 882 khz Radyo Bida Cotabato City and 88.3 FM Radyo ni Juan Tacurong City, respectively.

KIDAPAWAN CITY- To harmonize the implementation of Rice Extension Services Program (RESP) under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) in the Region, the ATI-RTC 12 organized a series of consultation meetings along with the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in Region 12.

Four consultation meetings were conducted across the region. For South Cotabato Province, it was held last July 9, 2020 at ATI-RTC 12, San Felipe, Tantangan. The day after was the consultation for Sarangani and Gensan held at Envirogreen Village Educational Foundation, Inc.

For the past 20 years, farmer Teodolfo Gindap of Barbasa, Antique, has been using traditional rice seeds, giving him a measly harvest of 1,500 kilograms (kg) or roughly 30 cavans of palay, from a 7,500-square meter farm lot.

Last 2019-2020 dry season, he got a record harvest of 3.8 MT, more than double his previous yields in his two decades of farming, as he planted for the first time certified inbred rice seeds. He thus earned an additional income of P39,000 from his toil.