Agrilink, Foodlink, and Aqualink 2010 at the World Trade Center

The Foundation for Resource Linkage and Development, Inc. will be presenting the 17th International Agribusiness Exhibition and Seminars, the 11th International Food Processing, Packaging and Products Exhibition, and the 6th National Fisheries Exhibition and Seminars on October 7-9, 2010 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

With this year's theme, Good Agricultural Practices: Key to Competitiveness, the exhibit will focus on the continuous rapid changing of our agricultural landscape, nature of globalization of world trade, environmental degradation and a host of other factors have led the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO) to formulate the global standard called Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) to apply to a wide range of farming systems at different scales.

Moreover, this event is also supported by Agri-Aqua Network International, Bureau of Animal Industry, Cooperative Development Authority, Food Entrepreneurs and Exporters of the Philippines, Inc., Federation of Cattle Raisers Association of the Philippines, Federation of Goat and Sheep Producers and Associations of the Philippines, Inc., Livestock Development Council, National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc., National Onion Growers Cooperative Marketing Association, Organic Producers Trade Association, Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association, Philippine Association of Free-Range Poultry Advocates, Inc., Philippine Association of Hog Raisers, Inc., Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc., Philippine Coconut Authority, Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation, Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Organization, Philippine Rice Research Institute, Philippine Sugar Research Institute Foundation, Postharvest Horticulture Training and Research Center, Technology Resource Center, Vegetable Industry Council (Region IV-A)

For interested exhibitors, you may reach the Foundation for Resource Linkage and Development, Inc. at (632) 838-4852, 838-4549, 838-4491, 8384605, frld@pldtdsl.net or frld.agrilink@gmail.com.

7th Vegetables Congress in Mindanao

Consolidation and marketing opportunities in the domestic Vegetable trade were highlighted at the 7th Mindanao Vegetable Congress held at the Almont Hotel and Inland Resort, Butuan City last August 4 to 5, 2010.

“Sustaining the gains of the vegetable industry in Mindanao amidst challenges” was the theme of this year’s Congress, that showcased industry trends, provided presentations on the latest vegetable production technologies, and held “market-matching” meetings between growers and retail and institutional buyers.

The event is supported by the city government of Butuan, the provincial governments of Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur, the Department of Agriculture, the Southern Philippine Vegetable Council (SPVC), and USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program.

“This annual event has given a boost to vegetable growers in Mindanao,” said Valeriano Palco, president of the Caraga High-Value Cluster, Inc. (CHiVeCC), lead organizer of this year’s congress.

CHiVeCC is among several vegetable industry groups engaging in private sector – private sector collaboration to improve the production and domestic out-shipment of selected vegetable varieties from the region to Luzon and the Visayas, with GEM assistance.

For further information, contact the Butuan City Government office at (6385)342-3074, fax (6385)225-5737 or visit http://www.butuan.gov.ph.

ASEAN Experts Discuss El Niño Effects on Agriculture

The El Niño Phenomenon has cascading effects – not only does it change the weather cycles, it also affects the production of food, especially in agriculture-based regions of the world.

With this in mind, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO) and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEAMEO SEARCA) organized the “FAO-SEARCA Research Study on the Impacts of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO).” The International Rice Research Institute was also part of the organizing committee of the project.

The three-day conference slated last March 8–10 aims to examine the impact of El Niño on the production of the top three staple foods in Asia: rice, wheat, and maize (corn). Said SEARCA director Dr. Gil Saguiguit , Jr., the research program also aims to expand the number of countries and crops covered by the project.

This first of two meetings of the FAO-SEARCA project would hopefully be able to assist researchers regarding the impact of the climate on cereal/grain production. The output of the project is also directed in helping agricultural institutions and governments in developing policies and programs to address the effects of ENSO on agriculture in general by providing empirical and comprehensive data.

The FAO-SEARCA project’s research component currently covers 11 countries – Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Livestock and Poultry Industry Take Part in INAHGEN 2010

The country’s largest and most prestigious agribusiness exhibition, the 3rd International Animal Health, Genetics and Nutrition Congress (INAHGEN 2010): The Farmers’ Congress is scheduled on February 3 – 5, 2010 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City.

Organized by the Philippine Veterinary Drug Foundation Inc. (PVDAFI) and the Philippine Swine Industry Research and Development Foundation Inc. (PSIRDFI), the event will be participated in by livestock and poultry industry leaders from the Philippines and from around the world.

This bi-annual event provides excellent business and networking opportunities and will also feature educational programs, farmers meeting, and linkages among major industry players here and abroad.

During INAHGEN 2010, there will be live animal displays and trade shows for latest trend in livestock and poultry products, displays and innovations in latest equipments, information, and services that will focus on animal health, genetics, and nutrition. There will be plenary sessions, conference and seminars on up-to-date research, latest technologies, commercial findings, veterinary medications, and other interesting topics from top Filipino and foreign resource speakers.

The 3rd International Animal Health, Genetics and Nutrition Congress is co-presented by the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry, Livestock Development Council, National Meat Inspection Service, Bureau of Agricultural Statistic, Philippine College of Poultry Practitioners, Inc., Philippine College of Swine Practitioners, Inc., Philippine College of Veterinary Feed Practitioners, Philippine Veterinary Medical Association, and Philippine Society of Animal Science.

The event is sponsored by Adepta, Ariela Marketing Co., Inc., Broadchem Corp., Cargill http://www.cargill.com/, Data Serve Management International, Inc., Hypig Genetics, Inc., INFARMCO Group of Companies, Inphilco, Inc., JSN Group of Companies, LNB, Nuevo Milenio, Inc., Pfizer, PHILCHEMA, San Miguel Animal Health Care, Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines (AGAP) Party list , Bayer HealthCare, Boehringer Ingelheim, and I Feed Philippines, Inc.

Admission is Free. Register at http://www.inahgen.com. For more information, contact Delta Management Consultant Service at (632) 654-5523, 654-5609, 782-9531, fax (632) 654-5523, or email deltaman.mildred@gmail.com

NPSP Convenes for Chemical Diversity

In cooperation with the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) situated in Nueva Ecija, the Natural Products Society of the Philippines (NPSP) held its 14th Annual Convention last December 3-4, 2009 at the Philippine-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology. The two-day event carried the theme, “Mining Nature’s Chemical Diversity for Various Applications” gathering scientists, teachers and students from different research and academic institutions in the country.

Meanwhile, the phytochemistry pioneer in the Philippines and National Scientist, whom serves as a model for the next-generation scientists, Dr. Alfredo Santos conducted a lecture series that touched on various areas namely biosystematics, natural products chemistry/biology (terrestrial, marine, and microbial), natural products potential applications, and biodiversity. In addition, there were scientific and plenary sessions, poster exhibits, a business meeting and a tour of Banawe Rice Terraces that were also held among other things.

As it is known that natural products provide needed leads for the development of therapeutic agents and are indispensable tools in providing potency and selectivity, the event presented various ways by which chemical and biological data serve as tools in transforming natural products into more useful biological agents.

Philippine Coffee Board Celebrated Coffee Month Festival

In celebration of Coffee Month, the Philippine Coffee Board’s annual coffee festival was held at the Greenbelt Malls last October 13-26, 2009. This year’s festival was dubbed “Coffee Origins, Discovering the Philippines’ Best.”

Exhibitors conducted seminars, coffee cupping, and primers on how to open your own coffee shop. Various contests and activities such as barista classes were also organized. All seminars were held at Le Bistro in Salcedo Village.

Seminar about basic coffee 101 (with hands-on barista), how to put up a coffee shop, coffee cupping, coffee farming, and professional coffee course (with Barista 101) were held during the event. Appreciation courses for office workers were held after office hours by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)-accredited Philippine Coffee and Barista Academy.

The festival ran from October 13-26 at the Greenbelt 5 Gallery, while it only lasted from October 13-21 at the Greenbelt 3 Lobby. Free samples from different roasters and processors, small towns and private farms were given away throughout the event.

The first 50 visitors on October 17 and 18 got a free taste of Kapeng Alamid, which is touted to be the world's most expensive coffee at P14, 000/kilo as compared to P150-300/kilo of usual Philippine coffees. The coffee beans are harvested by wild cats in the rainforest of Benguet and Mindanao. The free Kapeng Alamid was sponsored by CAFEX, Roasters of Batangas Harvest, Cafe Montealto and Continental Coffee and Cordillera Coffee of Frank and Grace Young.

Also in line with Coffee Month, the second National Coffee Summit was held last October 26 at the AIM Conference Center. The theme of the conference was “Creating Partnerships for Self-Sufficiency in Coffee.” Registration fee of Php 2,500 per person was inclusive of meals.

Coffee Origins was made possible in cooperation with Ayala Malls, Kape Isla, Nescafe, and Greenbelt.

Official sponsors were Gourmet’s, Equal, Cordillera Coffee, Sony Centre, Rancilio, Continental Coffee, and Aquabest. Media Partners were Inquirer.net, Business Mirror, Mellow 94.7, Business World, HerWord.com, HighLife, and 2nd Avenue.

For more details about Philippine Coffee Board and its events, call/text (63915) 576-7886, e-mail philcoffeeboard@gmail.com or visit http://www.coffeeboard.com.ph.

Specialized Pavilions Highlighted Agrilink 2009

Three specialized exhibit pavilions that caters to agribusiness, food and aquaculture industry players highlighted Agrilink, Foodlink, Aqualink 2009 held last October 8 – 10, 2009 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

Organized by the Foundation for Resource Linkage and Development, Inc., (FRLD) the international exhibit will carry the theme, “Sustainable Food Production: Focus on the Filipino Market”. This year’s Agrilink, Foodlink, and Aqualink aims to focus on micro-enterprises that cater primarily to domestic consumption, which can help assure sustainable local food production.

One of the highlights of the three-day international event was the grand aquaculture exhibit which has live fresh and salt water fish species such as pompano, siganid, grouper, vannamei, seabass, koi, abalone, snapper, red tilapia, sea urchin, macrobrachium (ulang), sea cucumber, seaweeds, pangasius, tilapia, milkfish (bangus) and other tropical and ornamental fishes.

The International Livestock, Dairy, Meat Processing, and Aquaculture Expo (ILDEX) pavilion showcased the latest technology and business solutions from Argentina, China, Korea, Thailand, the Netherlands, the Philippines, UK, and USA.

Finally, the French Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (Le Club) housed 15 leading French agricultural firms that displayed a wide range of French products and services that could help boost the growth of the local and global agribusiness industry.

Other highlights of the event included international indoor and outdoor exhibits, live plant and animal displays, product launches and demos, technology and marketing presentations, onsite contests, wholesale and retail, and many other business activities.

Agrilink, Foodlink, Aqualink 2009 is supported by Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, National Agricultural and Fishery Council, and sponsored by San Miguel Foods, Inc., (B-MEG, San Miguel Animal Health Care, Monterey Foods Corp., and Magnolia Chicken), Univet Nutrition and Animal Healthcare Company (Univet, Pigrolac, and Thunderbird), and Belmont AgriCorp.

For more information, contact the FRLD at (632) 838-4549, 838-4852; fax 838-4573; or email frld@pldtdsl.net.

First Shellfish Summit Aims at Increasing Fisher Folk’s Lives

The Asian Fisheries Academy (AFA) and the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (DA-BFAR-NFRDI), together with the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research (DOST-PCAMRD) conducted the first ever National Shellfish Summit at Dagupan City in Pangasinan last Sept. 23–24.

According to PCAMRD director Cesario Pagdilao, this summit is particularly geared to gather information on available shellfish technologies, markets, culture and processing. Mr. Pagdilao also said that the summit is concentrated in the study of the molluscan species of the shellfish kingdom.

Meanwhile, Dr. Westly Rosario, interim executive director of the NFRDI, said that a five-year road map for the industry shall have been drawn after the two-day event. A resolution for the promotion of shellfish as a valuable resource was also included in the output of the conference.

The two-day event saw to several discussions and presentations regarding the local and international shellfish industry, as well as workshops based on specific lines of expertise including biology, ecology, and assessment; broodstock development and seed production; culture; and processing, marketing trade, and promotion.

More than 300 participant from all over the country participated in the event, representing various sectors of the agriculture and aquaculture communities.

For interested parties, please contact the PCAMRD Los Baños Secretariat at (049) 536-55 or the AFA/NFRDI at Bonuan Binlec, Dagupan at (075) 653-0305.

DairyConEx 2009 Drew Farmers and Stakeholders to CamSur

Milk farmers, processors and other stake holders gathered for the 12^th Dairy Congress and Expo 2009 (DairyConEx) held last May 14-16,2009 at the Camarines Sur Watersport Complex and Convention Center in Pili, Camarines Sur.

The event, organized by the Dairy Confederation of the Philippines (DCP) and managed by Premier Events Plus Group, Inc., carried the theme, “Sa Dairy, ang Kita ay Daily” [With Dairy, Earnings Come Daily]. DairyConEx aims to build a stronger and more productive local dairy industry. It aims to boost dairy production in the country to counter the effects of dairy imports, which constitutes the largest agricultural import of the country.

Camarines Sur 2nd District Representative Luis Villafuerte welcomed the delegates, exhibitors, and guests during the opening ceremony. Other officials present during the event include DCP President Danilo V. Fausto, National Dairy Authority (NDA) Administrator Orkhan H. Usman, Philippine Carabao Center Executive Director Dr. Libertado C. Cruz, and Livestock Development Council Executive Director Dr. Carlos Mendoza.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Richard Gordon gave the keynote address. In his speech, Senator Enrile commended the “invaluable contribution and unstinting support of the Dairy Confederation of the Philippines to [the] government's food security program." Senator Francis 'Chiz' Escudero also graced the second day of DairyConEx.

The event was filled with valuable plenary sessions conducted by experts in the farming and dairy industry. Topics discussed were goat dairying, breeding practices, milk quality and standard, nutritional changes in milk composition, milk product development and processing, dairy food safety, quality and consumer protection, product packaging, labeling and storage, and strengthening of organizational structure of the Cooperative Code of the Philippines.

The Dairy Congress and Expo 2009 is sponsored by National Dairy Authority, Land O'Lakes Foundation Philippines, Inc., Philippine Carabao Center, Livestock Development Council, CHR Hansen, DanAsia, Inc., Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), Marid Agribusiness Digest, 106.3 Energy FM Naga, SBP Printers, 95dot1 Home Radio Naga, 92dot3 Home Radio Legazpi, Magik FM 103.1 and Manila Bulletin.

For more information about the Dairy Congress and Expo, contact Dairy Confederation of the Philippines at (632) 382-7469, 926-3840, (63928) 478-2088, email dairyconphil@yahoo.com or visit their website at www.dairycongress.com.