SEVERAL nongovernment organizations and multinational corporations (MNCs) belonging to the Coalition for Agricultural Development (Cfad) urged the United States government to help developing countries cope with a global food crisis by setting aside $600 million for the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) agricultural development program for fiscal year (FY) 2009.

In a letter sent to the United States Congress, the Cfad urged that the amount should include at least $300 million for development assistance funding. The amount, the group said, should be on top of the Millennium Challenge Account funds or food-aid programs.

“Seventy-five percent of the world’s poorest people live on farms and in rural towns. They depend on agriculture for food, employment and income. Yet, all OECD donors combined invest less than 4 percent of official development assistance in improving agricultural performance in developing countries,” said the Cfad.

The group expressed alarm over proposals to direct only 2 percent of the foreign-aid budget to agriculture for FY 2009.

The Cfad also noted that the US commitment to agricultural development has declined from $589 million in 2005 to the current level of $283 million in 2008, the lowest level of US agricultural development spending in more than a decade.

“This is occurring at a time when global demand for agricultural output has increased, global stocks of grain are low, and food prices for people in poor countries are rising. Sporadic food riots and increasing political unrest have already occurred in some of the world’s poorest countries,” said the Cfad.

The coalition noted that conditions in developing countries from Latin America to Africa and Asia and for the poor in many of the emerging economies are characterized by subsistence farming, widespread poverty, disease (including HIV/AIDS and malaria) and high infant-mortality rates.  The Cfad warned that these conditions can result in failed or unstable states.

The Philippines is currently implementing a USAID-funded agri project dubbed as Success Alliance 2. It is a three-year program aimed at improving cocoa production in the country through a $2.8- million financing from USAID.

Among the MNCs that signed the Cfad letter are Bayer CropScience, H.J. Heinz Co., Syngenta Corp. and Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc.

IF discussions on the wage hike were not done in May, workers would have benefited more and even would have had a shot at increasing wages to as much as P50 per day.

THE private sector is pushing for the establishment of a “clear-cut” and “coherent” policy on rice hoarding to make it more attractive for companies to import rice into the Philippines.

A government think tank pushed for the crafting of “temporary measures” and the development of the local automotive parts industry to enable the auto industry to cope with the impending full liberalization under the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) by 2010.

DAVAO CITY—A Makati-based Filipino mining company has asked the government to support its move in rescinding the joint venture to mine nickel in southern Davao Oriental, citing alleged lack of interest in its foreign partner to place the project in priority.

SEVERAL nongovernment organizations and multinational corporations (MNCs) belonging to the Coalition for Agricultural Development (Cfad) urged the United States government to help developing countries cope with a global food crisis by setting aside $600 million for the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) agricultural development program for fiscal year (FY) 2009.

THE Philippine air panel was granted two more passenger flight entitlements to Vancouver in Canada, members of the panel said Monday.

TAIWANESE experts urged the Philippine government to start investing more in research so it could exploit the vast potential of its duck industry, both for egg-laying and meat purposes.