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Household food security and dietary intake of Yulo farmers amid farm commercialization in Hacienda Yulo, Calamba, Laguna
No full textCalamba, Cabuyao, and Sta. Rosa. Farmers who struggle with farm commercialization are usually affected by food insecurity and experienced harassment related to access to healthcare systems and food security. This study determines the relationship between household food security and dietary intake of Yulo farmers and its relationship to farm commercialization in Hacienda Yulo in Sitio Buntog, Canlubang, Calamba, Laguna, Philippines. The variables are measured using dietary assessment and demographic and socioeconomic questionnaires. A total of 53 farming households completed the survey. Results showed that the farmers are nutritionally at-risk of nutrient inadequacy with a prevalence of 7-15% and macronutrient inadequacy with a prevalence of 90.3%. The data also shows an average family in Sitio Buntog only spends 41.37 pesos a day in order to survive and meet their daily food requirements, including their personal care. In conclusion, the farmers are food insecure and belong to lower-income households. It is highly recommended that further research be conducted to determine new interventions that may help the farmers in the Philippines, especially in Hacienda Yulo
Perceptions on the use of commercially produced complementary food among caregivers of children with ages 6–36 months in Barangay 596, Sta. Mesa, Manila
No full textWith the increasing availability and use of commercially produced complementary foods (CPCF), there is a growing concern that consumption of these food items among infants and young children may lead to poor nutritional outcomes. This study identified the available CPCF in supermarket chains in Sta. Mesa, Manila, Philippines and examined the frequency of use and reasons for the use of CPCF among caregivers of children with ages 6–36 months. The research is a mixed-methods study and consists of two sub-studies. The research was able to identify 30 commercially produced complementary foods, comprised of dry, powdered and instant cereal starchy food (50.0%), soft-wet spoonable ready-to-eat foods (33.3%), and dry, finger foods and snacks (16.7%). More than half of the identified CPCF (56.7%) met the three general nutritional thresholds set by the World Health Organization Nutrition Profile Model. All the products include nutrition and composition claims, whereas 66.7% did not contain health claims. A total of 30 caregivers participated in the interview where 96.7% were female and 3.3% were male. Only 3 (10.0%) caregivers were aware of complementary feeding and its importance. Majority of the caregivers (83.3%) prefer using local home-prepared foods over CPCF. Findings also showed that the CPCF category commonly consumed was dry, powdered and instant cereal/starchy food. Additionally, the use of CPCF was due to varying reasons including perceived child preference, healthiness, cost, and convenience
Comprehensive analysis of corn and maize plant disease detection and control using various machine learning algorithms and Internet of things
No full textIn today\u27s world, Internet of Things (IoT) technology has revolutionized various fields – including agriculture – by offering smart solutions that enhance crop yield and quality. One crucial aspect of smart farming is the application of IoT for disease detection and prevention. Crop diseases caused by bacteria and viruses can have devastating effects, leading to significant financial losses for farmers. Early detection plays a crucial role in managing these diseases, and IoT technology provides reliable and efficient methods to achieve this goal. To aid in the research on disease recognition in corn or maize plants, a large-scale dataset comprising 4188 images across four disease categories – namely, healthy, common rust, gray-leaf spot, and blight – is utilized. This dataset is used to train various machine learning algorithms such as K-nearest neighbor (KNN), support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), decision tree (DT), convolutional neural network (CNN), naïve Bayes (NB), gradient boosting trees (GBT), long short-term memory (LSTM), and the algorithms from recent literature such as genetic algorithm-based ensemble classifier, XGBoost, AdaBoost and XGBoost + KNN to accurately identify disease patterns in plants and is loaded into the Raspberry Pi. By interfacing a camera with a Raspberry Pi, leaf diseases can be detected, and the farm’s status can be sent to the farmer’s webpage using a WiFi server. This information empowers farmers to take immediate action to control the disease such as activating sprinklers or applying pesticides. Through manually controllable on/off mechanisms, farmers can remotely manage these actions, ensuring the health and disease-free state of their crops. Among the selected algorithms, the XGBoost + KNN algorithm demonstrates the highest accuracy, reaching an impressive 98.77%
Description of a new species of Neocollyris W. Horn, 1901 (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) with a detailed description of the larval development observed In Situ on a native non-endemic Premna odorata Blanco (Lamiaceae) in the Philippines
No full textThis paper presents Neocollyris (Neocollyris) anichtchenkoisp. nov., a new species of Neocollyris W. Horn, 1901 (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) from Luzon Island, Philippines. Larval development was documented in situ in Premna odorata Blanco (Lamiaceae). Scanning electron micrograph images of the larvae are also provided. This is the first record of a new species with notes on the larval development of a Philippine endemic Neocollyris
Survival, reproduction, and life history traits evaluation of heterocephalobellus sp. and cephalobus sp. from an artisanal and small-scale gold mine site, Davao de Oro, Philippines as bioindicators of heavy metal contamination
No full textMining is notorious for contaminating the environment with heavy metals, disrupting the activities of soil fauna such as nematodes, and causing changes in the functions of organisms in the soil ecosystem. This study investigated the survival, reproduction, and typical life history traits (LHTs) of free-living nematodes collected from an artisanal and small-scale gold mine (ASGM) site, including how heavy metals influenced these parameters. Morphological and molecular analyses identified Heterocephalobellus sp. and Cephalobus sp. (Rhabditida: Cephalobidae) from the soil, which were cultured in a bacteriological agar to assess their LHT using the hanging drop technique. These cultured nematodes were then exposed to different temperatures (20, 25, and 30 °C) to determine the optimum conditions for their survival and reproduction. Cultured nematodes were also exposed to copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) to elucidate the effects of these heavy metals on the nematode’s survival, reproduction, and LHT. Our results suggest that the ideal temperature for survival with a high reproduction rate for both species was at 25 °C. Exposure to heavy metals led to decreased survival and reproduction at 25 and 30 °C in both nematodes. In contrast, these nematodes survived longer at 20 °C with delayed reproductive maturity. At 25 °C, the LHT of Heterocephalobellus sp. showed a shorter population generation time with a decreased number of offspring. Although a shorter population generation time was also observed in Cephalobus sp., more offspring were produced when exposed to heavy metals. Altogether, these results suggest that when exposed to heavy metals, Heterocephalobellus sp. and Cephalobus sp. led to changes in their survival and reproduction. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report evaluating the survival, reproduction, and LHTs of Heterocephalobellus sp. and Cephalobus sp. in the Philippines and how these parameters are affected by heavy metals ubiquitous in mine sites
An Analysis of Philippine Commercial Animal Feed Mills: the Case of ABC Feed Mill
No full textThe feed milling industry is crucial to the livestock industry. Its compound annual growth rate is approximately 5.5% to 6%. In the Philippines, there are currently 604 registered feed mills, 48% of which are small feed mills, 25% are medium feed mills, and 26% are commercial feed mills. Despite this, the Philippine feed milling industry is still dominated by commercial feed mills. There are numerous challenges faced by Philippine commercial feed mills, such as the high and volatile feed ingredient prices, low quantity and quality of domestic crop production, and issues in logistics and transportation.
This study analyzed the business operations of ABC Feed Mill. The specific objectives of the study were: (a) to present the macroenvironment and microenvironment of ABC Feed Mill; (b) to describe the profile and business functions of ABC Feed Mill; (c) to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of ABC Feed Mill; and (d) to formulate recommendations that could solve such issues and challenges and improve the business operations of ABC Feed Mill. A descriptive research design was employed in the study. Primary data was collected by sending questionnaires to the employees of ABC Feed Mill. A key informant interview (KII) was also conducted to gain additional information regarding the external environment of ABC Feed Mill. Other secondary data were collected from credible sources. Generally, the case study analysis and integrated analysis were used to formulate the conclusions and recommendations of the study.
For the macroenvironment, the study found that the primary political-legal factors affecting ABC Feed Mill were geopolitical events (particularly the Russia-Ukraine war), tariff and tax regulations, and the licenses and certifications that the company has to acquire. The primary economic factors that it was concerned with were the supply, demand, and prices of meat and poultry products, as well as the required feed ingredients. For socio-cultural factors, the consumption of Filipinos and the increased usage of e- commerce platforms by Filipinos were identified. For environmental factors, the seasonality of commodities affects their production and prices. Livestock and poultry diseases were also affecting the demand for animal feed products. For the microenvironment, suppliers have a significant role as animal feed production is dependent on the procurement of the required feed ingredients. ABC Feed Mill prefers engaging with global suppliers as they offer lower commodity prices. Furthermore, animal feed customers and buyers are price sensitive. ABC Feed Mill also only engages with domestic customers and buyers. As for competitors, the feed milling industry is a highly competitive industry with many players. Most of the feed mills in the Philippines are located in Visayas and Mindanao. Further, industry players who are vertically integrated in both the supply and value chains have a significant advantage.
ABC Feed Mill was founded on June 26, 1958. They were initially engaged in flour milling. It was only in 2004 that they established a feed mill in Lapu-Lapu, Cebu. Despite this, the company has risen to become one of the leading feed mills in the Philippines. The two feed mills have an aggregate milling capacity of 1,200 MT per 8-hour shift. Thus, the company has a high animal feed production capacity. The procurement department is responsible for purchasing the feed ingredients required for its animal feed production However, an issue in the procurement department is that they only have four employees, not including those employed in the procurement support team under the finance department. ABC Feed Mill has 29 animal feed products. For the distribution of their animal feed products, they has a subsidiary company that is responsible for this.
The primary strengths of ABC Feed Mill were its ownership of two wharves and two feed milling plants and its forward integration in the supply chain. Its primary weakness is its significant decrease in profitability. The company’s primary opportunities were the high consumption and production of fish in the Philippines, its lack of backward integration in the supply chain, and the price sensitivity of customers. Further, its primary threats were livestock and poultry diseases, high and volatile commodity prices, and low quantity and quality of domestic crop production. From all of these, there were seven alternatives that were created and the recommended alternative was the third alternative which was to employ the product development strategy and the contingency plan was the sixth alternative which was to employ the concentric diversification strategy. The recommended alternative was projected to have a Php 5,821,575,000 income over the course of five years
Agricultural extension services and household food security of women rice farmers in the Ayeyarwady region of Myanmar
Get PDFThe study aimed to analyze women\u27s households\u27 farming practices towards household food security, particularly in six villages of the Ayeyarwady region. Data were collected from 126 randomized respondents. Findings show that the respondents are respondents who had a mean age of 45 years, married, natives of the study sites, and have attended primary education with an average of four family members. The government is the primary agency that provides training programs, mostly in rice production. They have access to extension worker visitation in which the most common topic discussed is pest management. Less than a fourth of the respondents are members of farmer organizations. Most respondents keep only 1 to 2 kinds of food, boiled their food, had poor dietary adequacy level and suffer from moderate to severe hunger at one point in time. Non-parametric Spearman\u27s rank correlation coefficient was used to determine the degree of association for extension services and household food security. Non-farm income is significantly associated with food access and vegetable training program is significantly associated with all food security dimensions while livestock raising, and rice production are significantly associated with three food security dimensions. Membership in farmer organizations is significantly associated with all dimensions of food security. The extension system can focus its investments on vegetable training programs, livestock raising and rice production, strengthening farm organizations and diversifying non-farm income sources
Outlook for the Organic Swine Industry in the Philippines
Get PDFhttps://www.ukdr.uplb.edu.ph/cspps_policy_brief/1007/thumbnail.jp
Corn Cob and Corn Husk Biochars Enhance the Growth of Corn (Zea mays L.) in Fertilized Clay Loam Soil
Get PDFBiochar is a carbon (C) rich material that improves soil quality, increases crop yield, and is produced from biomass pyrolysis under a limited oxygen environment. An experiment laid out in a split-plot, a completely randomized design (CRD) and was conducted to investigate the growth responses of corn-to-corn cob biochar (CCB) (15 t ha-1), and corn husk biochar (CHB) (15 t ha-1) in a Lipa clay loam soil (Typic Eutrudepts) applied with organic fertilizer (OF) (10 t ha-1) and inorganic fertilizer [recommended rate (RR):120 N;60 P2O5-60; K2O per ha]. The results showed that CCB and CHB are rich in macro- and micro-essential elements. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis showed the high average surface area, high pore radius, and pore volume of biochars. The field emission-transmission electron microscopy (FE-TEM) and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) showed a very high concentration of C (88 – 90%) and other elements (Cu, Na, K, Cl, S, Si, P, Ca, O) for the biochar. The CCB and CHB applied with organic and inorganic fertilizers improved the pH, EC, and nutrient status of the clay loam soil. This was evident in the enhanced growth of the plants (corn ear biomass, root biomass, and plant height) and increased leaf chlorophyll concentration. The CCB and CHB with organic and inorganic fertilizer applications are recommended for clay loam soil as they improve both the soil health and the plant growth