The island of Negros is not only distinguished as the country’s “sugar bowl” for producing half of the country’s sugar output, it is also at the forefront of producing biomass for power generation. In its mills, sugar and renewable energy go hand in hand as bagasse, a sugarcane byproduct, is used to power equipment. Negros…
The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDa) is looking to establish king crab and oyster hatcheries in a town in Zamboanga Sibugay to develop the aquaculture industry in the region. MinDa chair Emmanuel Piñol said in a Facebook post on Thursday they were in talks with Iloilo-based Southeast Asia Fisheries Development Center (Seafdec) for the provision of…
Luis Macalincag already saw the great potential of dragon fruit as a viable long-term investment when he was just 23 years old. Straight out of college, he borrowed from his grandfather and invested it in his agriculture venture. Now 34, he continues to reap the benefits of his foresight and hard work through Agbeam Farm…
High inflation seen persisting throughout the year and vaccine hesitancy may slow the Philippines’ economic recovery, but the government is still confident that rebound from the pandemic-induced recession is just around the corner. In an economic bulletin Monday, Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretary and chief economist Gil Beltran noted the 20.7-percent growth in total external…
As a kid, summer meant total freedom from the responsibilities of school, which for me meant climbing trees to pick and enjoy the fruits in season. To this day, bayabas, santol, aratilis and mangga are the comfort foods that I eagerly await each summer. I have always had a close kinship with the outdoors, whether…
The Bureau of the Treasury on Monday raised a bigger P21 billion from short-dated treasury bills as rates declined across the board due to stable inflation and improving economic prospects. The Treasury was supposed to sell only a total of P15 billion or P5 billion each across the three tenors but it doubled the award…
Yes we want to change things fast, but in a slow way. And what inspires us to do so is our being part of Slow Food (www.slowfood.com), a grassroots movement to eat good, clean and fair food. How is going slow possible? In Palawan, a friend started what is inspired by Israel’s kibbutz—a commune type…
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) and Nestlé Philippines announced their partnership to upskill workers and trainers in the agriculture sector through the Tesda registered Coffee Production Level II Program and Scholarship. This progressive Robusta coffee production training program provides enterprise-based competency training in coffee farming to aspiring agripreneurs, particularly smallholder farmers and indigenous…
The Philippines’ trade in goods with the rest of the world rose 5 percent year-on-year to in the first quarter of the year amid an overall recovering global economy from last year’s pandemic-induced recession. The latest preliminary Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed that merchandise exports from January to March grew by 7.6 percent year-on-year…
Conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) saw a 276-percent year-on-year first quarter net profit growth to P7.6 billion, driven by the sharp earnings rebound across its power, banking, food, real estate and infrastructure businesses. Excluding non-recurring items, AEV’s core net income for the first three months of 2021 amounted to P7.8 billion, up by 243 percent…