FOOD giant Nestle and Tesco have both moved from using wholesalers to contract farming to control quality.

Nestle manager for agricultural services, Yong Lee Keng, said that contract farming provided farmers with a steady income while allowing companies like Nestle to control practices right from the farm level.

"This allows us to look at food safety and monitor the food ‘from the farm to the fork'. Yong said Nestle was the first to start contract farming in 1985 when they decided to stop buying chillies for their famous Maggi Chilli Sauce from wholesalers.

Another company that supports contract farming is Tesco.

By determining the standard of fruits, vegetables and meat, it controls quality and food safety - something consumers will appreciate. It even rents baskets and trays for collection to the farmers so that the produce are only handled minimally.

Tesco used to source their fresh produce from wholesalers, but when it realised product quality could not be controlled, it got farmers to plant according to its specifications.

Now, 20 to 25 per cent of fresh produce including poultry, fruits, vegetables and meat, are contract farmed.

By Delmar Cariño
Inquirer
Last updated 03:06am (Mla time) 07/20/2007

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet-The Department of Agriculture and the province's traders have agreed to establish a data bank on the actual volume of highland vegetables shipped daily to Metro Manila and other provinces.

By Jun P. Tagalog
Cebu Daily News
Last updated 02:05pm (Mla time) 07/13/2007

CEBU, Philippines-The Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas (DA-7) will build another cold storage facility at the North Reclamation Area in Cebu City within the year.

A Policy and Institutional Mapping Workshop was held at the University of the Philippines, Diliman Quezon City last May 23-25, 2007 to bring together producers, government, non-government organizations, academe, civil society and participants from the modern food markets such as supermarkets, fastfood outlets and food processors to discuss issues relevant to enhance participation of small scale producers in restructuring food markets.

A workshop on "Emerging Links between Retail Transformation and Agrifood Trade in Asia" will be held in association with the meetings of the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium (IATRC) in Beijing from July 8-9 2007.  The Regoverning Markets program partners from SE Asia will present findings. The Workshop keynote on the "Asia Supermarket Revolution and Potential Trade Implications" will be delivered by Thomas Reardon. There are also speakers from Carrefour, Metro, focusing on fresh productsand Lanbo, a leading supplier of mushrooms to supermarkets in China.

By Delmar Cariño
Northern Luzon Bureau
Last updated 04:28pm (Mla time) 06/28/2007

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- The transport of vegetables from the Cordillera's biggest trading post here to major markets in Metro Manila and Southern Luzon has helped sustain the government's food-security program, industry leaders said here Thursday.

By Amy R. Remo
Inquirer
Last updated 07:13am (Mla time) 06/20/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said he had ordered a full inspection of all plant imports -- whether fruits or vegetables -- to protect the local onion industry from smuggling.

By Amy R. Remo
Inquirer
Last updated 04:20am (Mla time) 06/15/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Wrong policies, not structure, are the root of the problems of the cash-strapped the National Food Authority (NFA) that have resulted in accumulating losses over the past years, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said.

By Delmar Carino
Northern Luzon Bureau
Last updated 09:42pm (Mla time) 06/14/2007

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, Philippines -- This town's vegetable trading post hosts millions of pesos in trade transactions a month but it also churns out 30 tons (the weight of about 30 cars) of vegetable waste daily that is giving local officials a headache on garbage disposal.

By Jennifer A. Ng (www.sme.com.ph)

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is now seriously considering the possibility of removing the trade function of its attached agency, the National Food Authority (NFA), and retaining its function of building up buffer stocks that would ensure the country has enough rice supply during emergencies.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap told reporters that his department is seriously considering possible amendments to existing laws governing the operation and functions of the NFA.