LAGUNA -- The onset of 6.7% inflation in September disrupted many people’s lives, not least of them the poor, who now have to make do with less. Inflation’s effects are visible to anyone who fills up his car with fuel or puts together a household budget or buys groceries. For those who spend most of their time in the online world, inflation has even become meme-worthy, with the price of the humble sili scandalizing the population and urban legends cropping up about commuters offering to pay their way with chili peppers, once so common as to be given away free at restaurants, now worth their proverbial weight in bus fare.

THE Bureau of Fisheries and Agricultural Resources (BFAR) said that the Philippines has to develop markets for tilapia, a widely-cultivated fish, amid a consumer preference for galunggong, or round scad.

THE United States is projecting a 10% increase in foodexports to the Philippines to $2.83 billion in 2018.

NATIONAL SCIENTIST Romulo G. Davide will be the guest speaker at a scientific conference, “Couldn’t AGRI More: Harvesting S&T Knowledge” on Nov. 23 at the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) in Los Baños, Laguna.

DAVAO CITY -- The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) said successful cooperatives, particularly those in the Davao Region, should consider mergers and venture into new operations such as food processing.

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL will become the first provincial government to invest in a seed production program focused on at most three rice varieties, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said on Sunday.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Friday it will lead a trade delegation of farm organizations and businesses to South Korea, in an apparent effort to boost opportunities for U.S. farmers in a key U.S. export market.

MOSCOW/SÃO PAULO -- Russia’s agriculture safety watchdog said on Wednesday it would allow imports of beef and pork from nine Brazilian plants to resume from Thursday, ending an 11-month ban triggered by food safety concerns.

CHICAGO -- Since the mid-2000s, North Dakota farmer Paul Thomas has planted more of his land with soybeans as China’s demand for the oil seed grew. The shift culminated this year when Thomas planted 1,600 of his 5,000 acres with soybeans, the most ever.

DAVAO CITY -- The recently-concluded 5^th Davao Chocolate Festival saw a growing number of chocolate makers preparing to raise the industry’s profile in international trade shows.

HENRY & SONS, a coffee trader, said that it expects self-sufficiency to be possible in the Philippine coffee market as the industry strives to improve both volume and quality.

THE Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) is seeking to adopt mapping technology to improve its estimates of coconut production per region.