WorldWatch:

[mikey]

Animal Feed & Animal Nutrition News DFM reduces E. coli in feedlot cattle
// 14 jul 2008

Research conducted by a team from the College of Agriculture at North Dakota State University investigated the effect of Direct Fed Microbial (DFM) products on the control of E. coli in feedlot cattle.

 
Results of the trial showed a significant reduction (32%) in fecal shedding of E. coli O157:H7 among the steers treated with the Lactobacillus Acidophilus BT1386. Steers placed on the DFM supplement were almost three times less likely to shed E. coli in their feces as opposed to their control counterparts.

In addition, feeding the DFM significantly reduced the probability of new infections with Salmonella among DFM-treated cattle, compared to controls. This work was published in the March 2008 issue (with an erratum in the May 2008 issue) of the Journal of Food Protection.

The DFM strain used for the study is the same commercial product available as Micro°©-Cell LA and Micro-Cell GOLD from Lallemand Animal Nutrition, North America. Lallemand offers a range of DFMs for the beef feedlot industry: Micro-Cell GOLD for cattle on a diet of dried distiller grains solubles (DDGS), Micro-Cell LA for pathogen control and Micro-Cell PB for hot rations.

[mikey]

Feed milling with turkey manure energy
// 23 jul 2008

Sietsema Farm Feeds in Michigan, USA will install equipment for converting turkey manure into energy in its feed mill that it will use to produce livestock feed.
 
Work on the new, $3 million biomass operation is expected to begin by late August or early September, said company owner Harley Sietsema.

The equipment will generate steam and electricity from the litter of 1.1 million turkeys being raised at eight of Sietsema’s farms, said Norma McDonald, operating manager with Phase 3 Renewables in Cincinnati, which is working with Sietsema Farms Feeds on the project.

"It's just a matter of getting the most out of all your products and byproducts," Sietsema told The Daily News of Greenville.

The turkey and feed mill operation is based in Allendale and has 38 associated farms within a 75-mile radius of the city.

The company raises around 1.3 million turkeys per year. Its pig operations finishes around 300,000 pigs per year.

Sietsema Farms Feeds, which he opened five years ago, at two feed mills (Howard City and Ravenna) annually 175,000 tonnes of feed is produced.

Sietsema started looking years ago for other uses for the turkey waste besides fertilizer. He discovered that large farm operations had started using a process called gasification to extract energy from animal waste.

In October, the US Department of Agriculture awarded Sietsema Farms Feeds a $500,000 grant and a $700,750 loan guarantee to construct the project.

Sietsema said he doesn't expect a profit from the new venture for three or four years but that should eventually change as energy costs continue to rise.

After meeting the mill's energy requirements, the excess electricity will be sold to a utility company

[mikey]

Animal Feed & Animal Nutrition News Japanese pigs and poultry enjoy sukiyaki
// 24 jul 2008

Due to high feed costs, Japanese pigs and poultry eat more food scraps from restaurants and supermarkets instead of their normal diets.

 
Japan disposes around 20 million tonnes of food waste per year. The leftovers used to be dumped in landfills where they decomposed and produced methane, a greenhouse gas. However government legislation since 2001 has stimulated to turn food scraps into animal feed. Initially, farmers had been reluctant to feed the recycled food, but rising feed prices have made them more receptive to it. Feed from recycled food is about half the price of regular feed.

Food recycler
This trend has stimulated former garbage truck driver to set up Agri Gaia System, at the moment the largest food recycling company in Japan. His drivers now cart truckloads of rice balls, sandwiches and milk discarded by 1,200 7-Eleven stores to his factory on the outskirts of Tokyo, where the food scraps are turned into two types of dry feed after a final heating process - one rich in fat and protein, the other lower in fat and protein but with more carbohydrates - and a liquid type, from pasteurized drinks such as milk and chopped vegetables.

A blind test of pork shows respondents tell the difference immediately, according to a university research. The fat of the pigs fed recycled food is sweeter than usual. Another effect of tasty feed is that hens produce more eggs than usual.

The feed is not used for cattle or sheep because of strict health regulations that were imposed to prevent mad cow disease.

Rely on imports
Japan imports about 75% of its raw materials from abroad. It is the world's biggest importer of corn used for animal feed. The recent price increases of corn and soy meal have raised demand for recycled feed, but it still accounts for only 1% of raw material use in Japan, or about 150,000 metric tons in 2006, twice as much as in 2003.

[mikey]

Vietnam: tax cut on animal feed
// 14 aug 2008

Deputy Minister of Finance, Do Hoang Anh Tuan, has signed an agreement to lower the import tax of some ingredients for animal food production.
According to reports, the import tax on whey and whey powder has been cut from 10% - 2%, while soybean has been lowered from 2% to zero.
 
Relieve difficulties for farmers
The Deputy Minister’s decision is in aid of solving some difficulties for farmers, following 20% - 50% increases in the price of animal feed ingredients in months recently. And also, the decision is aimed at strengthening the development of animal husbandry in Vietnam.

Imports – due to shortage
Vietnam is now being urged to import many ingredients for animal feed - this is due to a shortage of domestic supplies.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Animal Husbandry Department, almost 40 domestic feedstock-production enterprises for cattle, pigs, poultry and even fish have temporarily close down.

Hoang Kim Giao, director of the department, said growth in animal husbandry was only a weak 0.03% in the first half of the year.

"To reach the annual growth rate of 4% -5 % in the second half of the year, the industry must grow by at least 8% -10%," he stated.

It is expected that demand for these products should rise to 8% in the next 10 years.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has been urging the Government to place animal-food products and ingredients on the list of essential commodities and reduce import tax to zero per cent.
 

[mikey]

Animal Feed & Animal Nutrition News Record soybean production expected in India
// 15 aug 2008

Soya bean output in India may reach a record next year after good monsoon showers and high prices spurred planting, a spokesman for the Soybean Processors Association of India said.
 
India is Asia’s biggest exporter of soya bean meal. Output for the harvest starting October will surpass the 9.99 million tonnes (mt), estimated by the government for the previous season, spokesman Rajesh Agrawal said.

Boost exports
India’s record harvest will boost exports to countries including Vietnam, Japan and South Korea and pose competition to suppliers in the US, Argentina and Brazil. Record prices of soya beans, wheat and corn have encouraged plantings, helping ease a food shortage.

"Exports will be robust and a bigger crop will ensure we have enough supplies to meet additional demand," Agrawal said. Shipments will be more than the 5 million tonnes estimated for this year, he added.

The area planted with soya beans rose to 9.26 million ha by 11 August, 6% more than a year earlier, the group said in its first crop survey this year.

Soya bean meal
India, which grows non-genetically modified soya beans, sells more than 70% of its animal feed output abroad. Soya bean meal, India’s largest meal export, is added to poultry feed as a form of protein to aid birds’ growth.

The area planted with soya bean rose 4.4% to 5.2 million ha in Madhya Pradesh, which accounts for more than half of the country’s production, according to the group’s survey. It fell to 2.7 million ha in Maharashtra, the second biggest grower, from 3.2 million ha last year.

"The crop is in good condition and if the weather remains favourable in September, we will have a bumper crop," Agrawal said. "Rains in the past few weeks have helped farmers sow the crop to the maximum area possible."

[mikey]

Animal Feed & Animal Nutrition News Vietnam: feed costs impact meat industry
// 12 aug 2008

If the animal breeding and feed processing industry do not to solve its current situations soon, Vietnam may have to import pork, beef and poultry at the end of this year, Le Ba Lich, chairman of the Vietnam Animal Feed Association has warned.
 
Feed prices cause for concern
Lich stated that many pig farmers, especially in southern provinces, quit the business when feed prices sky rocketed.

Currently, the price of pig feed is VND8,500 (US$0.51) per kilogram. To produce one kilogramme of pork, 2.6 kilogrammes of feed are needed, which costs VND22,100 ($1.34).

A kilogramme of live pig goes for VND32,000 ($1.94) -34,000 ($2.06) in the south and VND28,000 ($1.70) - 30,000 ($1.82) in the north.
 
Breeders can no longer afford work
According to Lich, with capital used to buy breeding animals and animal feed which comes from loans with 20% interest, breeders cannot afford to continue work.

In addition, blue ear disease and bird flu have also played a role in the current meat shortage.
 
Pork accounts for 80% of the country’s meat consumption, chicken 11%-12%, and beef 3%-4%.
 
Investments to avoid shortages
To avoid meat shortages and encourage pig farming, Lich said, the association plans to invest in production and imports of raw materials for animal feed production.
 
The association requested that banks lower interest rates on loans, the Ministry of Finance to eliminate the value added tax (VAT) for raw produce, the Ministry of Industry and Trade to reorganise distribution systems.
 

[mikey]

Animal Feed & Animal Nutrition News Jamaica sees high feed price increase
// 05 aug 2008

The cost of feeds produced by high-tech feed mills in Jamaica has been increasing dramatically over the last two years due to the sharp rise in cost of the raw materials.


Corn is a major ingredient in feed processing, and more recently ethanol production which is a source of biodegradable fuel. The current high price of oil, as well as its environmental implications, has driven the need for e production of a cheaper and more environmentally friendly source of energy. Ethanol production is seen as a possible solution to this fuel crisis.

These universal factors have inevitably and significantly affected the Jamaican economy with rising inflation. As a result, commercial farmers are complaining about the high price of animal feeds. Poultry producers, among others, have suffered loss of income. One solution could be that Government subsidises the cost of animal feeds for local farmers, thereby ensuring not only food security, but also food safety.

[mikey]

Animal Feed & Animal Nutrition News Aussie aquaculture production must double
// 05 aug 2008

A peak aquaculture group predicts Australia's fish farms are going to have to double their output within seven years to keep up with demand.

 
Craig Foster from the National Aquaculture Council – speaking at the Australasian Aquaculture Conference in Brisbane this week - says fish farms can play an important role in easing the pressure on depleted wild fish stocks worldwide. He adds, and he says farming can be done year-round and provide jobs to regional areas.

Most of Australia's $793 million worth of current production comes from SA and Tasmania but Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia are tipped to be central to the industry doubling production within the next decade. Species such as yellowtail, kingfish, barramundi and Tasmanian salmon will lead the charge.

[mikey]

Monday, August 25, 2008Print This Page
Japan Looks to Broaden Food Recycling Network
TOKYO - Japanese convenience store chain operator Ministop Co. is partnering with Marubeni Corp. to broaden the scope of its food recycling network.



This network already includes pig farmers, who use animal feed derived from food waste recycled from Ministop convenience stores. It will now be expanded to rice farmers, who will use manure from the pig farms as fertilizer to grow their crops.

Both the pork from the pig farmers and the produce from the rice growers are to be used in the lunch boxes and other prepared foods sold at Ministop stores, completing the circle.

Marubeni will help recruit rice farmers to participate in the program. The expanded recycling network is already being tested with some farmers with the aim of shifting into high gear in 2009, using the network for 15 per cent of the roughly 13,000 tons of rice used annually by the Ministop chain.


 

[mikey]

Tuesday, September 09, 2008Print This Page
WMC REPORT - Providing a Sustainable Industry
SOUTH AFRICA - The sustainability of the international meat industry and the need to meet the demands of a growing world population and growing consumption were the major themes to launch the 17th World Meat Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, writes, ThePigSite senior editor Chris Harris.





Pictured at the start of the World Meat Congress in Cape Town are (left to right) EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischler Boel, IMS President Paddy Moore and South African Agriculture Minister Lulu Xingwana.The president of the International Meat Secretariat Paddy Moore said the industry is battling against increases in fuel and feed costs and is now seeing companies grow in size and not just becoming large but international.

He said that international trade n meat and meat products is growing and is expected to grow from 22 million tonnes to 30 million tonnes by 2017.

He added that the demand for agricultural products is expected to increase by 50 per cent by 200 with food demand rising by between 10 and 15 per cent annually.

He warned of the threats from diminishing land resources to provide food and the new demands being placed on the industry through the political need to provide biofuels.

He said that to meet the new demands the industry had to improve farming methods, farming technology and genetics.

He added that the industry also had to take action on issues such as animal welfare and also meeting consumer demands.

"The consumer is becoming more and more discerning and the consumer is looking for value for money," he said.

The congress, which runs in Cape Town until Wednesday 10 September, has attracted more than 500 delegates from 38 countries from the meat industry around the world.

[mikey]

Music helps raise quality chickens
// 25 aug 2008

Taiwan's government has introduced methods developed in Australia and New Zealand to allow chickens to listen to music throughout the day, which is said to help locals raise top-quality chickens.


A chicken farmer in Yunlin County, Taiwan, was struggling with the high cost of chicken feed. Earlier this year he received assistance from the government in the form of music piped in to serenade the 40,000 chickens in their coops for 3-4 hours during feeding time.

The farmer stated that he noticed the positive effect the music was having on the chickens in just a short period of time. In the past, he said, it took over 90 days to grow a chicken to a weight of 3 kg. The period shortened to 80 days after they introduced the music, which means savings of over NT$100,000 in feed costs for each batch of chickens.

Additionally, the owner said that not only do both the cocks and hens exhibit even temperaments, but the chickens even produce better meat. Moreover, they are sold out when they hit the market. The birds also received certification for the chickens' being raised with music and sold without pharmaceutical residues. Their popularity has even prompted Singaporean buyers to request them.

The farmer said that on the trip he made to New Zealand and Australia in 2007, he discovered that pigs and cows that had been treated to music there were larger than those that weren't. This is becoming so popular that Universal Music Group was reportedly hired to put together a compilation of tunes, and airing the music at the chicken farms here has been a complete success.

[mikey]

Animal Feed & Animal Nutrition News Young horses fed sweets difficult to train
// 28 aug 2008

Young horses might be easier to train if they temporarily lay off the sweets, according to a Montana State University (MSU) study that tracked behaviour of 2-year-olds in training and compared it to their nutrition program.
 
The extra energy provided by sweet feed during the early stages of training made the horses in MSU's study more disobedient and fearful than horses that only ate hay, said Jan Bowman, an animal nutritionist at MSU.

The study involved 12 closely-related Quarter Horses that came from one Idaho ranch, Bowman said. Wade Black, instructor of the MSU Colt Starting class and one of Bowman's graduate students, trained the horses for three weeks, five days a week at MSU's Miller Livestock Pavilion.

Half the horses ate only hay, which was a mixture of grass and alfalfa. The other horses ate 2.5 kg of sweet grain a day in addition to the hay. Hay and water was supplied ad lib.

Pedometer
Each horse wore a pedometer a combination wristwatch-heart monitor hanging from their saddles. The watch displayed minimum, maximum, and mean heart rates detected by an electrode belt.

Black trained the animals for 30 or 40 minutes a day without knowing which animals had eaten grain and which ones hadn't, Bowman said.

She and Black also recorded heart rates and the number of steps the horses took during training. They assigned scores for behaviours displayed, including obedience, get-up-and-go, and separation anxiety.

"Results suggest that trainers under time constraints could increase their training effectiveness during the early stages of training by not feeding excess dietary energy," Black wrote.

He is still analyzing some of the data to see how the grain affected the horses' adrenaline during training.

The study doesn't mean that trainers should keep grain away from horses forever, Bowman said. They might consider withholding it just during the early weeks of training.

Bowman noted that all of the horses in MSU's study gained weight during the study. It didn't matter if they ate hay alone or hay with grain.

Their paper will be submitted to the Journal of Animal Science.

[mikey]

Calamity, Food Security, Poverty
Let us look at the positive side of our present economic crisis.

These past weeks brought the worst sea tragedy. With the sinking of Princess of the Stars, a wake-up call to a wide sector of society suddenly looms in the horizon. Fare hikes, weekly increases of pump prices of oil and the corresponding effect on the cost of food and everything else continue to send nightmares. One can only pray for the best.

The unbelievable damage to agriculture whose estimates grow day by day continues to haunt us. The floods in Iloilo and the destruction of its water systems, the floods in Aklan especially Kalibo, the effect in Boracay which is just a stone’s throw away from San Fernando, Romblon where the MV Princess of the Stars lie with a part of its hull visible to all.
Amid all these trials, it is healthy to look at the other side of things. Let us look at the positive side of our present economic crisis. Price of rice is P35.00 to P45.00 Translated to palay prices, this means P17.50 to P22.50 per kilo. Our support price in the past is P70.00 per kilo of palay. We have always been saying our farmers plant rice not to make money. Because of high input costs, it is impossible to make money. But no, farmers producing 100 cavans of palay can easily make P83,500 gross income or P50,000 net in one hectare. At two harvests per year, this means P100,000.00. This means NFA does not have to subsidize farmers. The market will take care of it. Maybe our GNP will also rise and be at par or a little lower than other Asean countries.

The food crisis is a global phenomenon. An ordinary housewife buying her family needs usually spends P500.00 per day. Now it is P600.00.

Tighter budget. More poverty in the countryside. But no, with the bonanza for the palay farmer, the 3 million hectares can produce a purchasing power that can rev up industries. Actually our economy has always been consumer-oriented. It should actually be producer-oriented. Because our producers, our farmers produce the nation’s food. But they are always at the bottom beneficiary of government programs.

The dynamics of producing our rice requirements and imports will continue to dominate our work programs. The Department of Agriculture will play a more important role during these times. But at the rate the dollar is going up, we will be forced to rely on local food supply.

Maybe this wake up call can be the answer to our prayers. The other day, I heard that PAGASA’s radar which would have helped avoid the disaster last January 22 have been funded since 2005.

But due to the high standards set, no bidder qualified. It is now three years later that we wait in anguish about the fate of the 800 passengers of the ill-fated Sulpicio ship and the devastation in the Visayas. We now realize that we need flexibility and a sense of urgency in bidding procedures. It is no wonder that DBM used to say, the money is there but the absorptive capacity of government is not enough to use it.

We must have an NGO led with GO to study the kind of governance especially the bidding process taking the PAGASA experience as an example. And to think that lately, another P100 million has been allocated again. It really drives me crazy on the layers and layers of red tape that is going on and the indifference of officials who no longer use their common sense. Are we already hardened by the lack of our political will?

Are we afraid of making the right decisions? I can only commiserate with the President on what is going on.

We truly need a study of our culture and a realization that we can make things better.

As they used to say, “What lies before us and what lies behind us is nothing compared to what lies within us!”

Because of these tragedies, our people now start to economize on their gas for travel, stringent measures to make both ends meet. No more “payabangan” or living with the Joneses.

But it is in this exercise that we realize, we can stretch the value of our time, money and resources. Crisis truly creates opportunities for growth.
Zero waste comes to fore. Quality of life becomes a promise of living life to the fullest given the limited resources.

Environment concerns also make us realize the effects of illegal logging among other things.

Let this wake up call remind us that change, adopting to changing times, flexibility but most of all, developing the right attitude can save the day for all of us. Calamity, food security and poverty are challenges that will bring out the best in us. We cope with and live through these very challenging times.

With our Lord watching over us, we will survive!

[mikey]

Opportunities Amidst The Chaos
Our agri-products are moving from its doldrum state to a vibrant vista.

The big leaps in the of price of commodities worldwide have opened new opportunities for Philippine agriculture. The old adage that new problems bring new opportunities can be seen in the supply and demand of commodities like rice, corn, sugar, coconut oil, among other food items that we abundantly produce locally.

Brought about by improving economic life styles, and the continuing multi-use of products away from basic food lines to new (and substantial) demand for bio-fuel affecting corn, sugar, and coconut, our agri-products are moving from its doldrum state to a vibrant vista.

Many other countries are cashing in on this worldwide phenomenon. Canada is no longer in a position to export corn today. Demand for domestic corn usage in America had surged that a dramatic increase in its export volume is doubtful. And demand for corn and other food commodities has steadily increased over the years, fuelled by demand from China and other countries, whose consumption of meat and other food items had more than doubled.

And we are in position to take advantage of this phenomenon as it is within our ability to produce more corn, be it yellow or white, or other commodities wherever we can be competitive. Our production limitation is self-imposed or self-inflicted via policy directions and haphazard plans and not by natural occurrence as in having winter or long periods of non-farm production.

The spike in the price of corn in the world market (greatly attributed for the increased demand and use of cornsourced bio fuel) is making our local corn production highly competitive. Conditions in the market are so unique at this time that one can come into an “economic shock” when comparing present markets of five or six years ago.

Whereas, local pundits before would dismiss our corn industry as “meager and uncompetitive” and not at par with those of the other countries, they are now taking a second look at where the corn industry is heading.

It is true that we have not achieved that level of, the so called “sophistication” of corn production as to the adoption of farm machineries, our farmers have shown their mettle by increasing their productivity given the right market motivation. Many tobacco areas were converted into corn fields in North Luzon and proved to be a profitable decision.

And while cost of production is still a major consideration farm operations, there is now a growing attention given to moving (transportation) cost, making farms that are closer to demand (consumption) centers at a great cost advantage.

The almost doubling of fossil fuel cost within so short a time has shown the relevance of the small farm make-up of the agri-sector. It is them that are saving the day for our rural and urban consumers by making agri-produce available within short distance from the farm. While our American trained bureaucrats bewail the smallness of our farms when compared with what is in the United States, our small farms are able to provide a variety of produce to be sold in the local public market.

An American economist computed that, on the average, it takes 1,600 miles for a food item to reach consumption table or place (thus total cost is increased). The presence of our small multi-product farms, would definitely incur much less transport cost.

There has been a major shift in cost and price definitions in our own domestic and the world market as well, and we should take it as an opportunity to meet new challenges. A redefinition of our competitiveness must be brought to fore in view of the new price and cost levels linked to emerging market demands.

And for all we know, we can be competitive in all corn- based food lines like poultry and livestock if we can hurdle self-imposed or self-inflicted limitations, by giving the proper motivation for our corn farmers to produce more.

The regime of low transport cost is gone, and whoever has the distance advantage would be in a better position to serve nearby markets.

And who is near to us but China with its billion people, now gaining momentum of economic progress, and our very own “near-to-farm” domestic market.

We can be very competitive compared to farmers of other countries given the correct policy support in terms of direction and investments coupled with our year-round capacity to produce, and small farm make-up.

[mikey]

Visiting The World Vegetable Center
Taiwan houses the world’s largest repository of vegetable germplasm.

Did you know that all vegetable seeds in the world are in a safe place? A place where you can access them at anytime. In case the great flood of Noah’s fame happens again, we are secured. We still have the seeds in a gene bank at the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC), now the World Vegetable Center in Tainan, Taiwan.

Recently, I had the chance to visit the facility. They have the world’s largest collection of vegetable germplasm.


“The Center conducts research for development on vegetables, from breeding and production, to their consumption and socio-economic impacts on communities. In addition to germplasm conservation and varietal development, other core activities includes genetic enhancement using molecular technologies, studies on nutritional security and human health, safe and sustainable production systems and crop protection, postharvest management, market opportunities and income-generation.”

Our Soroptimist group Lenn Berroya, Anna Lagman, Gladys Tiongco, Fe Amor Ilagan and myself took the bullet train from Taipei to Tainan. MECO, the Philipine post in Taiwan kindly sent Christie Tan to be our guide and interpreter. As you know, Taiwan is a Chinese-speaking country. It was an unusually comfortable ride which took only one hour and a half. We were met by Dr. George Luther, our IPM partner and host for the visit.

We were welcomed in their main office and ushered to their conference room where Oliver Hanschke, Information and Media Associate and Deputy Head, Communications, briefed us on what AVRDC is, its organization and functions.
We learned that the globally important crops are soy bean, pepper, tomato, mungbean, eggplant, brassica and allium (onions). They maintain as of June 30, 2008 56,136- vegetable germplasm, 42,826 are globally important crops and 13,310 are regionally important crops.

After the briefing we visited the gene bank where all vegetables germplasm are kept. Dr. Liwayway Engle of UPLB is head. She will soon retire after 17 years at AVRDC. It is an impressive laboratory under controlled temperature where seeds are kept in good condition.

They receive funding from many governments including Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States. They also receive assistance from institutions, foundations and the private sector including the Asian Development Bank, Rockefeller Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Asia and Pacific Seeds Association, Farm Africa and the Organic Center for Education and Promotion.

AVRDC research focuses on health (producing safe vegetables and promoting the nutritional value of vegetables) wealth (more jobs and higher incomes by improving crops yield and marketing opportunities) and diversity (building on genetic diversity to improve the production of high quality vegetables).

Their development activities are done through capacity building (providing long-term and short-term training in vegetable production), collaboration (actively contributing to development partnerships and networks) and communications (providing extensive on line and hard copy information resources).

Then on to the Indigenous Vegetables (IV) a 6,300 sq. meter garden established in 2001. It was an interesting exercise as we relate to our IC gardens in the Philippines. From the IV garden, we had a sumptuous dinner at the shrimp house.

If my memory serves me right, the “ulang” shrimp from the Philippines is the main fare. They were able to breed, improve the grow-out “ulang” through aerators. We do not even have an “ulang” house in the Philippines. It is sad to realize that our “ulang” industry (lid not prosper here where it came from.

During dinner we met all the Filipino scientists in AVRDC. Edwin L. Javier, International Variety Development Coordinator; Robert dela Pena, Head, Molecular Breeding and Biotechnology; Manuel Palada, Vegetable Production/ Ecosystem Specialist, Head, Crops and Ecosystem Management Unit, they are all doctors by the way. We also met Dr. Paul A. Gniffke, plant breeder (pepper/allium) with whom I discussed the onion export of NOGROCOMA to Japan. He told me Taiwan is still exporting alliums or onions to Japan. Again our dream of exporting onions to Japan comes to mind. We also met the beautiful wife of George Luther. It was a scientific meeting in an atmosphere of informality and good dinner. It was a very fruitful visit for us.

It made me realize how our Filipino scientists, all doctors and graduates of UP Los Banos, help in maintaining the world vegetable center.

It was a short visit of four hours to AVRDC. But we were all impressed by what it does and its contribution to food security of the world. We had many ideas on what projects we can do together. Already MECO is showing interest on some projects. But that is another time and place. Do you know that “a single improved tomato can provide all your daily Vitamin A needs?”

TASK FORCE WAAR
Due to the collapse of the WTO talks, work will be continued by the International Trade Committee of NAFC.

Going to bilateral agreements and others, it has been a hectic but fulfilling month because somehow the crisis produced new hopes for farmers. There is good price for palay and farmers are now allowed to import.