Agri Trends

AGRITRENDS: There’s a huge international market for calamansi

In some parts of the world, it is called Philippine lime.  But most Filipinos call it calamansi or calamondin and in the Visayas and Mindanao, it...

AGRITRENDS: Silver Lining in Coconut Industry

The coconut industry is still in a quandary.  Last year, in an open letter address to President Rodrigo, coconut farmers asked the government for help...

ENVIRONMENT: MARINE TURTLES ON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION

It’s not just tawilis, lapu-lapu, sharks, and giant clams that are fast vanishing in the country’s waters. The Switzerland-based International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has also...

AGRICULTURE:FINDING SOLUTION TO DECLINING FISH CATCH

“An island nation, the Philippines necessarily depends, to a large extent, on its fishery resources for its food.  Fish, which used to be among the cheapest sources...

AGRITRENDS: THE SPECTER OF EL NIÑO (Last of Three Parts)

It rose out of the tropical Pacific in late 1997, bearing more energy than a million Hiroshima bombs.  By the time it had run its course eight months...

The Specter of EL NIÑO (First of Three Parts)

Jethro P. Adang is a little bit worried.   The corns are already flowering.  The ampalaya seedlings had been transplanted in the field two weeks ago.  The water in the...

AGRITRENDS: THE SPECTER OF EL NIÑO (Second of Three Parts)

El Niño occurs in the Pacific basin every two to nine years and usually starts during the Northern winter (December to February), according to the Philippine...

AGRITRENDS:TOBACCO GOES BEYOND SMOKING

When world explorer Christopher Columbus returned to Spain after discovering America in 1492, one of the things he brought back with him was tobacco.  Five hundred...

AGRITRENDS: There’s money in growing pineapple

Next to banana, pineapple (scientific name: Ananas comosus) is the second most popular tropical fruit.  It is no wonder why pineapple is grown commercially in the country.  In fact,...

ENVIRONMENT: EATING LESS MEAT IN THE TIME OF CLIMATE CHANGE

“Preventing catastrophic warming is dependent on tackling meat and dairy consumption, but the world is doing very little.  A lot is being done on deforestation...