SARIAYA, Quezon—President Arroyo provided a cold-storage facility to a vegetable trading center in barangay Sampaloc 2 here to help vegetable farmers keep their produce fresh and saleable.

The President Wednesday attended the unveiling of the Sentrong Pamilihan ng Produktong Agrikultura ng Quezon (SPPAQ), whose trading activities amounts to 30 tons of agricultural produce daily.

The President witnessed the jampacked event which signals the start of the full-blast operation of the SPPAQ, established through the effort of 2nd District Rep. Proceso Alcala to provide reliable supply of safe and quality fresh produce and help boost the income of farmers through stable farm-gate pricing. About 10,000 people, composed mostly of farmers, came to the unveiling ceremonies, which was also attended by Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, Environment Secretary Lito Atienza, Gov.  Raffy Nantes, Rep. Alcala and Rep. Mark Enverga, board member Vicente Alcala, Mayor Boyet Masilang, municipal and barangay officials and representatives of nongovernment and people’s organizations.

 Alcala assured President Arroyo of the support of the SPPAQ and the 3,000 members of the Kapatiran ng Nagkakaisang Magsasaka ng Quezon in attaining food security in the country.  “We will be your weapon to solve poverty, Mrs. President, and we will produce enough so prices of food will not rise,” Alcala said. 

Yap assured the vegetable farmer-planters in Quezon’s second district of ready market of their produce with the establishment of 17 bagsakan centers in Metro Manila.

PHILIPPINE businesses are the most guarded in the world against corporate fraud.

According to a survey of global accountancy firm Grant Thornton International, the Philippines has the most number of privately held businesses (PHBs) that employ specialists particularly functioning to detect and prevent frauds.

THE price of regular rice in the domestic market should be lower following the claims of the Department of Agriculture (DA) that the tight supply of rice has softened as reflected by the decline in the price of the produce in the international market, according to a nongovernment organization involved in the rice sector.

THE Philippines, the world’s biggest rice importer, wants to encourage private companies to grow the staple and has identified thousands of hectares in Mindanao to produce extra food, an official said.

PRESUMING they are always at the losing end, farmers are worried that the staggering increases in the price of oil in the global market will also pull the cost of fertilizer up in the next planting season.

SARIAYA, Quezon—President Arroyo provided a cold-storage facility to a vegetable trading center in barangay Sampaloc 2 here to help vegetable farmers keep their produce fresh and saleable.

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will soon implement cost-cutting measures and will promote the extensive use and application of renewable energy in line with the government’s energy-conservation campaign.