Pondo para sa modernisasyon ng sektor ng agrikulutra sa susunod na taon, planong itaas ng DA
Pondo para sa modernisasyon ng sektor ng agrikulutra sa susunod na taon, planong itaas ng DA;
Mga itinitindang itlog sa pamilihan, lumiit umano dahil sa init ng panahon
Mga itinitindang itlog sa pamilihan, lumiit umano dahil sa init ng panahon
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Good afternoon to all of you and good afternoon to you, Asek Arnel.
00:05 Good afternoon to you.
00:06 And of course, since it's Friday, you are our main event, I told you,
00:11 there are a lot of questions for you.
00:13 So I know that our press is just a little bit slow,
00:18 I will read all of your questions.
00:20 First of all, Asek, the DA is pushing for a bigger budget for the next year.
00:27 What are the priorities of the DA and how much are you pushing for the budget?
00:33 This year, 2025, our administration will be helping
00:39 the head of our department, Secretary Francisco Chu Laurel Jr.,
00:44 with the big changes.
00:45 First of all, this is anchored in the so-called four-year plan of our department.
00:51 So the priority now is the expansion and improvement of our production areas.
00:56 So our department will focus on the improvement of big irrigation projects
01:02 because we know that agriculture is anchored in the availability of water.
01:08 So a big part of our department's fund for 2025 will be focusing on irrigation systems.
01:16 We'll also be focusing on modernization of agriculture.
01:19 We'll also be focusing on the improvement of our post-harvest
01:23 and reducing post-harvest losses.
01:27 We'll also be focusing on the improvement of our logistics,
01:30 focusing on improvement and expansion of new ports and piers,
01:36 our cold storages.
01:38 Digitalization is also very important,
01:41 and balancing the developmental and regulatory functions of the Department of Agriculture.
01:49 So our proposal is to double our budget from P170 to at least P250 billion next year.
01:57 Wow.
01:58 Our budget is really lacking now.
02:02 For those who want it to happen, we really need to double it.
02:06 So the price of pork has increased
02:10 because of the effect of African swine fever.
02:15 What is the detail of this now?
02:17 It's not the price of pork.
02:19 If we look at the prevailing prices in Kasim,
02:22 it's at P335 to P340.
02:25 It's higher than P5 to P10 last Sunday and Sunday.
02:30 But it's not that big.
02:32 In terms of Liempo, our prevailing prices are still at P380.
02:37 But we can see from other markets that the price is more than P400.
02:43 This is what we're focusing on.
02:45 Because the price of our farm gate is not that high.
02:50 It's a little over P200.
02:52 So if we add P100, this is our benchmark.
02:57 So it should be around P320 to P330,
03:00 which is the correct price of our Kasim.
03:04 Alright.
03:04 We have a question from our media partner,
03:08 Sheila Francisco of TV5 and Clay Padilla of PTV.
03:14 If the chicken doesn't die from heatstroke,
03:18 the size of the eggs will shrink because of the heat.
03:22 Is the heat effect big enough to affect the supply and price?
03:27 And how is the price of eggs now?
03:30 Nina, actually, I'll start with the price.
03:33 The price is lower than last week
03:37 simply because the eggs are smaller.
03:40 In terms of heat, if our house is an open space
03:47 and the weather is hot,
03:49 the natural environment of the chickens is directly correlated
03:55 with the amount of food they eat.
03:57 And the amount of food they eat
04:00 affects the quantity of eggs and the size of the eggs.
04:04 So if they eat less and they're stressed,
04:07 the eggs produced by our layers or chickens will shrink.
04:12 Alright.
04:13 So that's the reason.
04:14 Because I think it's connected to your answer
04:16 to Bernadette Reyes' question from GMA News.
04:20 What will you do to prevent the shrinking size of the eggs?
04:26 Because that's how it is.
04:27 If the chickens don't eat much,
04:30 of course, their product will shrink.
04:34 Nina, I also want to add
04:36 that not all houses of layers are open space.
04:41 Many have adapted
04:43 when there was artificial ventilation or tunnel ventilation.
04:47 That's why the production of medium and large-sized eggs is still ongoing.
04:53 I also want to add that it's a natural cycle.
04:57 In summer, there's this effect.
05:00 When it's rainy and cold,
05:02 the production or productivity of our layers is also good.
05:06 So it's a natural cycle and it's being monitored every year.
05:10 So you mean last year during the summer,
05:13 the eggs shrank during the summer season?
05:16 Correct.
05:16 So it's not because of the extreme heat
05:19 that we're feeling right now
05:21 that it shrank compared to last year?
05:24 No, it's almost the same.
05:27 Maybe El Nino exaggerated it
05:31 but in terms of our summer season and rainy season,
05:36 it's always the same.
05:37 It's the experience cycle of our layer industry.
05:40 But is the supply of medium and large still sufficient?
05:44 Yes, it's still sufficient.
05:46 Though we've seen that the size of small and peewee eggs is increasing.
05:51 So when it comes to the market,
05:53 we can see that the price of eggs is lower.
05:56 So since it's increasing,
06:00 regarding the price of rice,
06:02 Bernadette Reyes from GMA7 asked,
06:07 "Oil and other things, according to the PSA,
06:09 what can you say
06:11 regarding the price of rice, oil, and other things?"
06:17 Nina, during this harvest season,
06:20 we can see that the price of rice is decreasing.
06:24 That's why, since we also increased the price of farm gate of NFA,
06:31 now we can see that even though it increased, it's only a fraction.
06:35 Last week, the prevailing prices were at 50-51
06:39 and we were able to see 46, 47, 49.
06:43 Now, we can still see 48, 49.
06:46 But our prevailing is at 51, 52 pesos.
06:49 So the prevailing prices of rice increased by a peso per kilo
06:54 for regular and well-milled rice.
06:57 Why?
06:58 We can see, maybe,
07:01 I'll just add something, Nina, before that.
07:03 The USDA said that the rice that will be imported from the Philippines
07:12 was previously projected at 4.1 million metric tons.
07:16 They lowered it to 3.9 million metric tons.
07:19 That only means that the harvest we're expecting this season is good
07:25 even though there's a storm, because the storm is limited,
07:29 and because the irrigation in Central Luzon is good,
07:32 it's not affected much,
07:34 our production is still good.
07:37 In terms of prices, why did it increase a bit?
07:40 We'll check that with the National Food Authority
07:43 and with other agencies.
07:46 We didn't see a big increase,
07:49 but it still increased, Nina.
07:52 It's like it's just a peso or two.
07:54 Correct.
07:55 And then you said that the price we'll import will also decrease.
07:58 Yes, by at least 100,000 according to the projections of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
08:03 That's good news, sir, despite the El Nino.
08:06 Now, Bela Carriazo of Philippine Star also has a question
08:10 regarding the update, if you have the latest on damage to El Nino.
08:16 Now, there are more affected areas.
08:20 Are you expecting more or will the damage to agriculture increase?
08:24 Nina, in the last bulletin, number 7 of our DRRM,
08:29 the office that handles El Nino,
08:31 the damage has increased to almost 4 billion or 3.9 billion.
08:37 But the area, because other commodities have already reported damage,
08:42 especially those with high value.
08:44 In terms of rice, the damage is still at more than 30,000 hectares.
08:50 It's still not that big.
08:52 Overall area damage is about 2% of our projected area that was planted.
08:59 In terms of volume, it's about 1.5%.
09:02 So it's still not that big,
09:04 but we're not seeing that big of a significance
09:07 that has an effect overall on our productivity level
09:10 in the production of rice in the whole country.
09:13 And Bela Carriazo has a next question.
09:16 What will happen to the panel that investigated the NFA?
09:21 Now, Attorney Escoto has been dismissed.
09:24 Has Secretary Tew Laurel been replaced?
09:27 Nina, Attorney Escoto was dismissed by Ombudsman
09:33 because of his previous case in 2018, and we're saddened by this.
09:38 In the panel's investigation, he was the head here,
09:43 and there were two people with him,
09:45 Attorney Ang Sze and Asek James Layug.
09:49 So the majority of the team is still there.
09:53 And the talks will continue,
09:55 and anytime Secretary Tew Laurel will report and announce that he will be the head.
10:01 For the meantime, the two people in the panel
10:04 are still investigating the issue of the NFA.
10:09 Will there be a delay because of this?
10:12 Or is this a sudden decision?
10:14 We didn't expect this from Attorney Dem Escoto,
10:18 but the panel has the support that is helping them.
10:23 And there are two people left, Asek James Layug and Attorney Ang Sze.
10:28 Alright, thank you very much Asek Arnel for the updates that you shared with us
10:33 from the Department of Agriculture.