It is important to expand the agricultural sector on a vast economic scale, on food lines, through the optimum use of infrastructure and technology in order to increase productivity and minimize imports. President Jokowi stressed that it is no longer possible to grow the agricultural sector in a traditional and routine way, but that it needs breakthrough and creativity. He …

KUALA LUMPUR: The control of the Covid-19 pandemic and the security of the most vulnerable in society, while Malaysia is on the road to economic recovery, must remain the country’s top priorities in the near term. Senior economist Shakira Teh Sharifuddin of the World Bank Group said Malaysia is expected to rise by 6.7 percent in 2021, which could be …

METRO MANILA – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved fresh loan to the Philippines to support the reforms by the government to improved the country’s agri sector that could ultimately lessen poverty in provinces. According to the bank’s vice-president, poverty has remained high because of low productivity and limited crop diversification despite the country’s initative of reducing the nation’s poverty …

A party of about 30 farmers protested in Bangkok calling on the government to amend its ban on paraquat and chlorpyrifos being used in agriculture. The prohibition on the usage of these two organic pesticides comes into effect on June 1 and some farmers reject it, finding certain insect management agents ineffective. Led by the Secretary-General of the Safe Farming …

The government has confirmed the ban on paraquat and chlorpyrifos starting June 1, 2020. Farmers who possess them are advised to return them within 90 days or no later than August 29, 2020. The ban is a result of a thorough study and approvals from several related agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Ministry of Industry, National Hazardous …

Thailand’s billionaire Chearavanont family is considering setting up a shrimp farm in the United States, as President Donald Trump’s administration tries to curb America’s reliance on seafood imports. The agro-industrial arm of the family’s conglomerate, Charoen Pokphand Group, said it’s looking at several potential locations, including Florida, as well as other sites less prone to hurricanes. As much as 95% …

A major Thai coffee brand has vowed to pay about 200 farmers who were forced to take out loans while waiting nearly three years for payments due them, leaving them with spiralling debts. Doi Chaang Coffee, which has more than 50 franchises in Southeast Asia, said it would pay about 7 million baht after the Thomson Reuters Foundation revealed the …

With the level of warning over Taal Volcano lowered from level 3 to level 2, citizens of two cities within the danger zone are now focused on getting back on their feet. Mayor Daniel Reyes of Agoncillo, Batangas said townspeople are beginning to return to their town after the lifting of the lockdown. Reyes said three barangays in the town …