News Archive

Green mussel (Perna viridis) is one of the emerging aquatic commodities that is poised to contribute to the economic output of the fisheries sector in the country. Aside from using mussel as food, a project has recently used food grade mussel glycogen extracts in the development of cosmetic products. 

Indigenous vegetables are part of Filipino cuisine. But as time passed by, more and more Filipinos stopped consuming it. 

With many different options like fast food, processed food, and the influx of imported vegetables, many Filipinos have changed their taste preferences to the point of ignoring traditional dishes including those that use indigenous vegetables as ingredients. 

Indigenous vegetables then became underutilized.

Among the perennial problems of high-value crops in the Philippines, such as rubber, is the proliferation of pests and diseases. This has constrained rubber farmers, about 90% of which are smallholders, due to lower rubber latex yield, death of trees, increased production costs, and ultimately loss in income.  

While chemical pesticides have been developed for some rubber diseases, it can also pose impact to the environment and human health. This paved the way to develop more sustainable

An optimized vacuum fryer that was improved and refined for mechanized and zero-waste processing system; as well as new products, such as the vacuum-fried SP-35 orange sweetpotato; wine, grates, flour, and powder made from sweetpotato trimmings and tubers were part of the accomplishments of a recently concluded government project. The project team, led by Dr. Daniel Leslie Tan, presented the project’s achievements.

A program assisting the establishment of agroforestry model farms continue to support more farms in the country, such as the fruit tree-based agroforestry farm in Magallanes, Cavite.

The said farm belongs to the Ramirez Upland Farmers’ Association, Incorporated (RUFAI) located in Barangay Ramirez, Magallanes, Cavite. It is part of the Agroforestry Support Program for Enhancing Resiliency of Community-Based Forest Management Areas (ASPIRE-CBFM), funded and monitored by the Philippine Council for

LB Veggie Move, an online fruit-and-vegetable-selling platform, provides livelihood and farm productivity for Los Baños (LB) farmers; food access and safety for residents amid COVID-19 threats.

This is the product of the R&D initiative, “Development of Inclusive and Resilient S&T-based Vegetable Supply Chains for the New Normal,” under the leadership of Ms. Cherryl T. Lavina-Gonzales from the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist of the Local Government Unit of Los Banos, Laguna (LGU-LB) with

Two webinars were conducted by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) in celebration of the National Women’s Month. The "Safe Spaces Act" was featured on March 21, while the "Harmonized Gender and Development Guidelines (HGDG) and Enhanced Gender Mainstreaming Evaluation Framework (GMEF)'' was highlighted on March 28.

The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Region IV-A continue their research and development efforts on generating the draft genome of the coconut scale insect (CSI) and in producing hybrids through two coconut hybridization schemes, respectively.

The two projects are being funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) as part of

The milkfish (Chanos chanos) has been farmed for centuries in the Philippines, Indonesia, and in Taiwan. As an important species produced through aquaculture, much is known about its biology and aquaculture. However, many challenges have remained such as late maturity and fry insufficiency leading to importation. Researchers from the University of the Philippines Diliman (UP Diliman) are currently addressing some of these challenges to increase the Philippine milkfish production efficiency

Edible gardening helped 90 households in Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan (MIMAROPA) obtain a readily available source of food during the height of COVID-19 pandemic.

This was through the recently completed project, "Edible Gardening for Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis," funded and monitored by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD).

Strategies to control the sineguelas leaf beetle (SLB), an emerging pest of sineguelas in Batangas, are currently being developed through a project funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD).

The project, “Integrated Management of Sineguelas Leaf Beetle (Podontia quatuordecimpunctata L.) (Chrysomelidae: Alticinae) an Introduced and Emerging Pest of Sineguelas (Spondias

Researchers from the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman and Los Baños will take a deep dive into the West Philippine Sea to explore and assess the marine and coastal resources and establish its economic value as part of the country’s natural capital accounting. This is through the program, “Resource Inventory, Valuation, and Policy in Ecosystem Services under Threat (REINVEST): The Case of the West Philippine Sea,” which is supported by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and

Climate change threatens forests all over the world. El Niño, as a result of climate change, exacerbates high risk of forest fire occurrences and its inevitable environmental consequences. Forest fireshaveendangered the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the watershed cradle of northern Luzon. 

The native pine forests in the region are fire-prone due to the frequent fires recorded in the past. Uncontrolled fires result in enormous flames for weeks due to the rough hilly terrain and lack of

New varieties of Philippine native hoya and gumamela are currently being developed by the Institute of Plant Breeding of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (IPB-UPLB) through the two ongoing projects under the Industry Strategic S&T Program (ISP) for Ornamental Plants. The projects are supported by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD).

The initiatives aim to improve the

A technology to reduce water temperature in tilapia ponds is set to help more tilapia growers in Luzon.

Called aquashade technology, this involves installation of netting materials on top of the pond during summer months. It is proven to reduce water temperature by more than 3°C during the hottest period of the day. The favorable conditions for breeding that is provided by the technology is expected to increase spawning rate and seed or fry production by more than 100 precent (%) in both