The Ilocos Times

USAID Philippines Deputy Mission Director Rebekah Eubanks (right) hands over a donation of fishing nets to Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Manotoc (left) at the Pasuquin Fish Farm on October 10. Laoag City —The United States government, through the U.S. Agency for Internation al Development (USAID), turned over Php5 million (US$89,500) in aquaculture equipment to the provincial government of Ilocos Norte to support fisherfolk in sustainably farming tilapia. USAID Philippines Deputy Mission Director Rebekah Eubanks handed over the donation to Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc at the government-owned Pasuquin Fish Farm on Oct. 10, 2024.   “The United States is proud to support fishers in Ilocos Norte with tools that can increase their income and create resilient communities,” Eubanks said.   “These supplies will help fishers, especially those impacted by the recent Super Typhoon Julian, restore their livelihood and contribute to long-term food security by increasing aff

City of Batac —The Mariano Marcos State University and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) unveiled this year’s rice paddy art featuring Senator Imee R. Marcos and her flagship program, "IMEEsolusyon!" on Sept. 11, 2024 at the MMSU Extension Demonstration Area. As a former Ilocos Norte governor Norte and a champion of agricultural development, Marcos continues to lead initiatives supporting local farmers, promoting food security, and improving rural infrastructure. Her “IMEEsolusyon!” platform underscores her commitment to these crucial issues, vital to the country’s agricultural progress. “I am deeply honored to be featured in this project. It not only celebrates my work but also pays tribute to the dedication of Filipino farmers and the future of agriculture,” Marcos remarked during the unveiling. She urged Ilocano farmers, particularly the youth, to join her in advocating for enhanced food security in the Philippines. “I would also like to commend MMSU fo

Laoag City —Senator Imee R. Marcos sponsored a legislative measure on Sept. 9, 2024, that aims to further empower and strengthen cooperatives, which are considered a lifeline for farmers, fisherfolk, small businesses, and families as proven during the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises. “ Sa panukalang ito, layon nating gawing mas madali at mas abot-kaya ang kanilang mga pangarap sa pamamagitan ng tax exemption, mas mababang kapital, at maluwag na patakaran sa pagsasagawa ng joint venture,” Marcos said. Senate Bill No. (SBN) 2811, which proposes the passage of the “Revised Cooperative Code of the Philippines,” aims to shore up the financial position and capacities of agricultural cooperatives by allowing farm and fisheries clustering and consolidation; and inter-cooperative arrangements “to pursue value and supply chain solutions and other agribusiness development programs.” This encourages big cooperatives to “adopt” micro agricultural cooperatives by infusing capital and know-

SEA BOUNTY. Tuna catch weighing 216 kilograms of Dilavo Fishermen Association in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte through lambaklad fishing. Lambaklad is being promoted by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to boost the income of small scale fishermen. (Photo courtesy of Dilavo Fishermen Association) By Leilanie G. Adriano Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte—“Lambaklad”, an eco-friendly fish trap technology, has boosted the catch of Dilavo Fishermen Association (DFA) members from Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte since it was introduced in May 2023. With favorable weather on March 26, 2024, two of the group’s motorized fishing boats were loaded with tuna weighing a total of 216 kilos. “In behalf of the whole association of Dilavo Fishermen Association, thank you, Lord, for the blessings,” Eúng Ramos said in his Facebook post that showed the association’s catch for the day. Vanessa Abegail Dagdagan, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Ilocos Region (BFAR-1) senior aquaculturist, told The Ilocos

SMART CROP. Drought-resistant crops at a seedling nursery at Brgy. Tabug, in the City of Batac. To aid farmers, the Ilocos Norte government has released over PHP15.1 million worth of irrigation assistance to mitigate the effects of El Niño, according to data released on March 15, 2024.( Lei Adriano) By Leilanie Adriano LAOAG CITY—Farmers in Ilocos Norte have received agricultural supplies worth over PHP15.1 million from the provincial government to mitigate the effects of El Niño. Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc confirmed this on March 15, 2024 after he reported that at least 140 units of water pumps and some 37 rolls of irrigation hose have been distributed to 140 farmers associations in the towns of Bacarra, Pasuquin, Vintar, Nueva Era, Pinili, Badoc, Dingras, Currimao, San Nicolas, and Solsona, Batac and this city. Fuel subsidy vouchers worth PHP3,000 each were also given as irrigation support to 766 recipients in the towns of Piddig, Vintar, Currimao, Burgos

Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) recently launched ‘PalayCheck App’, a new smartphone application, designed to make PalayCheck – a rice integrated cropping system, more interactive and accessible for stakeholders. The PalayCheck System recommends nine keychecks for crop management areas, including seed quality, land preparation, crop establishment, and management of nutrients, water, pests, harvest, and postharvest. The PalayCheck App serves as the mobile counterpart of this system with easy-to-use features for farmers, farm managers, and agricultural extension workers. Nehemiah L. Caballong, lead developer, said that one of the app’s main features is the cropping season calendar, which provides a comprehensive schedule of farm practices, from land preparation and planting to harvesting. The schedule is based on the variety of rice the farmer intends to use, the chosen establishment method, and the preferred nutrient management option. “For a successful harvest, ric

Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss during his visit to Laoag City By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—The Israel government has vowed to assist Ilocos farmers to boost their productivity by sharing their innovative solutions to modern agriculture. In his first visit to Ilocos Norte, Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss said one of the big areas they are looking at for stronger support and longer cooperation is battling emerging diseases in mangoes and other promising crops in the region by tapping mango experts from Israel. “We have lots of expertise in the approach. See what we can offer if I can identify good experts that can come and help in identifying the disease and solution which is not always on more and more pesticides but try different approaches to look into it and come back to the governor,” he said. As a junior diplomat to the Philippines back in the 1990s, Fluss recalled that the Israel government had introduced a traini

  ASF in Vintar. Vintar Vice Mayor Victor Amado Rasimo confirms that Brgy. Dipilat of his town is ASF-affected during an interview with the local media. ( Doms dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Vintar , Ilocos Norte—The African swine fever (ASF) has now affected this town. Vintar Vice Mayor Victor Amado Rasimo personally confirmed this in an interview with the local media. Rasimo reported that they have culled 581 ASF-infected hogs at Brgy. Dipilat here. He said he and municipal agriculturist Dr. Myrna Simon have already met with the provincial ASF task force twice, which confirmed the ASF cases in the said barangay. “ Isu a pangngaasi tayo appo lalo dagiti adda taraken na a baboy ti intero a Vintar ta ipalubos tayo kuma a maalaan iti blood samples dagiti baboy tayo tapnu saan kuman nga agwaras ken al-alisto met laeng a mai- declare ti ili tayo nga ASF-free no maduktalan a negative dagiti taraken tayo a baboy ,” Rasimo implored his townmates. With

  Eranio A. Mojica was standing beside a poster by the door of their office as he waited for the employees of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) to arrive. He was tapped to be part of an activity that would feature farmers-recipients of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund – Rice Extension Services Program (RCEF-RESP). Mojica, chair of the five-year-old First Damayan Bagsit Irrigators Association in Brgy. Bulawen, Palauig, Zambales, can be seen smiling even if half of his face was covered with a face mask as the PhilRice staffers approached him. “Welcome, Ma’am and Sir! These are the posters on PalayTandaan that you sent us,” he greeted the PhilRice staffers with eagerness. The First Damayan Bagsit is among the hundreds of farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs) reached by the RCEF Extension Program. As part of the goals of the program to enhance the skills and capabilities of the farmers on modernized rice farming for impr

By Leilanie G. Adriano ( Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—More than 1,000 pigs in Solsona and its neighboring Dingras town in Ilocos Norte have been culled to contain the spread of African swine fever (ASF), the Provincial Veterinary Office reported. While depopulation is ongoing within the infected zone, Dr. Loida Valenzuela, provincial veterinarian, has urged hog raisers to cooperate with local authorities by reporting an unusual death of pigs in their areas and to refrain from feeding them with swills or getting their water from an irrigation canal. According to Valenzuela, they are still investigating what triggered the outbreak which started in the remote Brgy. Manalpac in Solsona with a few small hog raisers. During the course of their investigation, they found out that a farmer from Brgy. Maan-anteng in Solsona town dumped his dead piglets and sow in a water irrigation system that spread to other sub-villages. “All adjacent municipalities near the border of Apayao are being

By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—The Ilocos Norte provincial government keeps on inspiring farmers to increase their productivity with the continuing distribution of livelihood assistance such as additional agricultural inputs and equipment to mango, rice and vegetable growers in the province. Recently, the provincial government distributed a total of 2,749 bags of commercial fertilizers, 23,200 packs of humus, 1,120 carrageenan and foliar fertilizer to registered rice and corn farmers, both in the first and second districts of Ilocos Norte.  For mango and vegetable growers, they likewise received 845 bottles of insecticide and 3,860 vials of fruitfully attractant while other high value crops associations and backyard vegetable growers received 800 units of knapsack sprayer, 30 power sprayer, 525 rolls of irrigation hose, one unit shredding machine, 50 units grass cutter and 40 units of jetmatic pump courtesy of the Sustainable Development Center (SDC) of the I

LAOAG CITY—Small farmers in rain-fed farmlands of Ilocos Norte will now have a chance to grow high-value crops even during summer by harnessing the power of the sun as alternative energy. Tapping the sun's energy is the new craze at Brgy. Lang-ayan in Currimao, Ilocos Norte, where a solar-powered irrigation system with at least four solar panels was installed near a communal food garden where its residents can grow off-season fruits and vegetables. Funded by the province’s share from the tobacco excise tax, there are four units of this kind of small-scale irrigation project being pilot tested in the second district of Ilocos Norte where water is scarce during the summer months of March to May or even longer due to prolonged El Niño phenomenon. The other units are located in the rural Barangays of Camguidan and Camandingan in Batac City and Barbar, Pinili town. The solar-powered irrigation system worth PHP486,250 per unit may be a bit costly for small farmers but in the long

By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—Another batch of 1,000 farmers received a soil fertility package covering 250 hectares last week in the continuing soil restoration program of the Ilocos Norte government. For every hectare, the local government provides at least 20 sacks of organic fertilizer, urea (nitrogen fertilizer), and gypsum (soil conditioner) to help rehabilitate farmlands and boost production efficiency. Soil experts say agri-gypsum is a good source of calcium and sulfur and improves soil characteristics. It helps soil better absorb water and reduces erosion. “This is enough to restore the soil fertility if we get the appropriate measure for every hectare. That is why we are asking our farmers to do their share,” Edwin Cariño, head of the Sustainable Development Center, said during the March 16, 2021 ceremonial distribution at the Rizal Park here. Cariño said the soil restoration program started during the term of then-Ilocos Norte Governor and now

Laoag City —The Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) and the city government of Laoag will soon establish a nipa plantation in the city of Laoag. In a resolution, certified as urgent by Laoag Mayor Michael M. Keon, and unanimously approved by the city council sponsored by the committee of the whole led by Laoag councilor Juan Conrado Respicio as movant, MMSU and Laoag City will enter a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the said purpose. Respicio, who chairs the committee on ethics, rules and regulations, said the nipa resource establishment supports the “Expanded National Greening Program” and the production of bio-ethanol, a climate change mitigation and a source of livelihood. The nipa, which is a mangrove species, has been shown by MMSU as a promising source of bioethanol to augment the shortage of locally produced bioethanol as required by RA 9367 known as Biofuels Act of 2006 and reduce the country’s dependency on imported fossil fuels. “The valuable economic and ecologi

  LAOAG CITY—The provincial government here is eyeing to increase its share in tobacco excise tax with strengthened monitoring this trading season. In partnership with authorities from the provincial government, the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, the National Tobacco Administration (NTA), and the Philippine National Police, the transport of tobacco outside the province will be monitored in border checkpoints to ensure that tobacco grown in Ilocos Norte are properly documented. Recently, the monitoring task force representing these four agencies convened a meeting at the NTA in the City of Batac to familiarize themselves with the legal basis for the issuance of NTA trading rules and regulations, as well as the rules and regulations in the implementation of regulatory activities. Luzviminda Padayao, NTA officer-in-charge, said during the orientation that the subjects of inspection include traders, vehicles carrying tobacco as well as its volume and capacity, among o

By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—The province of Ilocos Norte has intensified its efforts to protect the province from African swine fever (ASF) by requiring hogs and chicken suppliers to register with the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) here. Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Domingo Ambrocio, chair of the committee on agriculture, said the move is meant to keep the province protected from the highly infectious and contagious disease that has been affecting the hog industry since it entered the country in August 2019. As one of the three remaining provinces in mainland Luzon that is free from the viral disease, Ambrocio said there is a need to implement more stringent measures and help stabilize exorbitant pork prices. " Viajeros [traders] and their partner buyers shall be both responsible for anything related to each and every hog shipment. Both partner and viajero , when found in violation of any or part of the ordinance, or any guidelines and pro

STA. MARIA, Ilocos Sur—State-run Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) opened its first “Agri-Hub” in this province, the LANDBANK Sta. Maria Agri-Hub, on January 15, 2021. The LANDBANK Sta. Maria Agri-Hub will provide financial and technical services to the Bank’s clients, especially to more than 10,000 farmers and fisherfolk in the municipalities of Sta. Maria, Burgos, and San Esteban. LANDBANK’s “Agri-Hubs” are strategically located in the top rice-producing provinces in the country and designed to provide a wide array of services. This includes banking services such as account opening, withdrawals, and check encashments; lending services such as the processing of loan applications; and agrarian services such as processing of AR bonds and handling of agrarian-related concerns from landowners, bondholders, and Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs). The LANDBANK Sta. Maria Agri-Hub will also offer LANDBANK’s various digital banking platforms, including the digital onboarding sys

By Bernardo B. Ver II  (Contributor) Senator Ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos has called on the government to prevent pork importers from taking over local market supply and pushing Filipino producers out of business. “The slaughter of our local hog raisers will begin if the Department of Agriculture (DA) executes its plan to raise the minimum access volume of pork imports by as much as three times the present 54,000 metric tons,” Marcos said. “The DA may be overcompensating in its rush to increase imports to reduce consumer prices. It may deal the coup de grace to our pork industry before Vietnam could release a vaccine against African swine fever (ASF) later this year,” she added. Marcos, who chairs the Senate committee on economic affairs, said the DA should instead speed up its investigation into the hoarding of pork products that may be causing an artificial hike in market prices amid the spread of ASF, particularly in Luzon. “Many local hog raisers have already shut

By Leilanie G. Adriano ( Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—The province’s livestock sector including other agricultural commodities is not swayed by the pandemic nor the threat of African swine fever in this part of northern Luzon. Dr. Loida Valenzuela, provincial veterinarian said the province has more than enough supply of pork and other meat products. “Our livestock situation in the province is stable. There has been no price increase of meat products and eggs amidst pandemic,” said Valenzuela. According to Valenzuela, the province continues to supply livestock and poultry products to neighboring cities and provinces such as in Tuguegarao, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Baguio City. To augment the high demand for meat products in Metro Manila, Ilocos Norte also hopes to share a pie in the supply chain by bringing in frozen goods in the area. Since May 2020, the Department of Agriculture-National Livestock Program (DA-NLP) reported around 213,500 hogs from Visayas and Mindanao were tr