Agriculture Business Week

This new modified hydroponics system is user-friendly, cheap and assures farmers of complete nutrients for the plants.

You only need styrofoam boxes and cups, vegetable seeds, coco coir or saw dust, water and a liquid complete fertilizer and voila!-you can have your own vegetable garden in your own houses. This is the idea behind SNAP-an acronym for Simple Nutrient Addition Program, the latest hydroponics system developed at the University of the Philippines at Los Banos’ (UPLB) Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB). SNAP also connotes the literal meaning of the word-easy job, breeze, smooth-sailing, cinch, quick.

In 1999, scientists Primitivo Jose Santos and Eureka Teresa Ocampo, both university researchers, started to develop a low-cost hydroponics system. “That was our objective,” Santos explained. “If we use the imported hydroponics system, farmers really cannot afford it. A small greenhouse can cost you around Php1.4 million. So we tried to explore other possibilities and we were lucky because the DABAR funded this project.”

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Posted on August 3rd, 2008 under Agri Tips, Technology, Vegetables. Tags: Veggies. Comments: 1

The recent hog cholera outbreak in the country rocked the agribusiness world. How serious was the damage? Has the issue been put to rest?

On July 27, 2007, the national dailies reported the spread of the hog cholera outbreak and other diseases that have hit some pig farms in the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga. From backyard farms in three towns, news papers reported that the outbreak, also known as the classical swine fever, expanded to 43 barangays in 12 municipalities in Bulacan. Provincial veterinarian Felipe Bartolome said the outbreak only affected about 3,000 to 5,000 sows.

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Posted on August 3rd, 2008 under Livestock. Tags: Disease, Pigs/Hogs. Comments: None

Your favorite hearty breakfast staple can be made at home in very simple steps.

Bacon, as the Wikepedia free encyclopedia defines it, refers to any certain cuts of meat taken from the sides, belly or back of a pig that may be cured and/or smoked. Meat from other animals may also be cured or otherwise prepared to resemble bacon, such as chicken, goat, or turkey bacon. In continental Europe, it is used primarily in cubes (lardons) as a cooking ingredients valued both as a source of fat and for its flavour. In Italy, besides being used in cooking, bacon (pancetta) is also served uncooked and thinly sliced as part of an antipasto.

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Posted on August 3rd, 2008 under Income Booster. Tags: Bacon, Meat, Recipes. Comments: None