Seed firm targets indigenous peoples for knowledge transfer
VEGETABLE seed producer and supplier East-West Seed Co., Inc. (EWS) said its Knowledge Transfer program is being positioned for the use of indigenous peoples and smallholders.
Tawi-Tawi town gets P20 million from PRDP for seaweed project
DAVAO CITY -- The Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) has allocated about P20 million for the development of the marine industry in a town in the island province of Tawi-Tawi.
US seed sellers push for limits on Monsanto, BASF weed killer
CHICAGO -- America’s two biggest independent seed sellers, Beck’s Hybrids and Stine Seed, told Reuters they are pushing US environmental regulators to bar farmers from spraying dicamba weed killer during upcoming summers in a potential blow to Bayer AG’s Monsanto Co.
PhilMech hoping to bring improved palay dryer to market
THE Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) expects to commercialize its Fluidized Bed Dryer mainly for rice farmers within the year.
Canada to phase out crop chemicals linked to bee deaths
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA -- The Canadian government said on Wednesday it would move to restrict use of two types of crop chemicals that have been linked to deaths of aquatic insects and bees, in a victory for environmentalists and the latest setback for companies that sell the pesticides.
France’s Tereos expels three members amid strategy row
PARIS -- France’s Tereos, one of the world’s largest sugar makers, has expelled three cooperative members it accuses of damaging its reputation in a row over the group’s push to diversify.
Agriculture dep’t maintains 4% farm output growth target
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is sticking with the official 4% growth target for farm production output in 2018 despite the first-half growth rate of 0.58%.
China expects agricultural imports from US to fall sharply on trade retaliation
BEIJING -- China’s imports of U.S. agricultural products will fall sharply once Beijing implements retaliatory trade measures and the country is able to cover its demand for cooking oil and animal feed, vice agriculture minister Han Jun said on Friday.
DA to allow imports of galunggong for direct sale to market
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) and the fisheries industry agreed on Friday to allow the importation of round scad, or galunggong, as the closed fishing season nears.
After big-name cocoa sector exits, small firms start filling trade gap
LONDON -- A number of small trade houses are beefing up their cocoa teams, as a wave of high-profile exits left the sector highly concentrated, presenting more physical trading opportunities.
USDA boosts forecast for 2018/19 sugar crops
THE U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday upped its outlook for sugar supplies in 2018/19 amid higher production of both beet and cane.
Drought slashes EU wheat output, reducing region’s export surplus
HAMBURG -- Drought and a heatwave that scorched fields in northern Europe may cut the European Union’s wheat export surplus and the bloc will need to consume more of its own grains, experts said on Friday.
