Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap resigns;.
Byline: MELODY M. AGUIBA Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap resigned yesterday from the Cabinet "to clear" his name of tax evasion charges against him "as a private citizen," pleading not to be judged before due process is done, and President Arroyo has accepted his resignation. ...

RP, China eye common quality quarantine rules on food items.
The Philippines and China are working on a common quarantine and quality standards on the exports of tropical fruits, heat processed meats, among others to enable small exporters benefit in the zero duty rate following the countryas participation in the Early Harvest Program (EHP) of the ASEAN-China Free Trade...

DA vows to protect farmers; Will use bulk of P19-B fund to support agri producers.
Byline: MARVYN N. BENANING CEBU CITY -- Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap has practically admitted that the country's farmers and fisherfolk are in dire straits and would be unable to withstand the onslaught of cheap subsidized foreign agricultural commodities that have been flooding the local market. ...

LETTERS IN THE EDITOR'S MAILBAG.
Byline: The Register-Guard Organic label standards strict In response to the Nov. 11 editorial `A meaningless label,' let's be clear about U.S. organic standards. No synthetic ingredients are allowed in organic production without the approval of the National Organic Standards Board, a citizens advisory council...

ASEAN-China Early Harvest Program forecast to triple farm exports of RP.
HONG KONG a" The Philippines participation in the ASEAN-China Early Harvest Program starting January next year is expected to triple its agriculture exports by shipping directly to the mainland instead of passing through Hong Kong. Philippine Agriculture attachA[c] to the Peopleas Republic of China (PROC) William S....

NEWS IN BRIEF; P/$ rate closes at P54.55 to $1.
The peso rate closed lower at P54.55 to the US dollar yesterday at the Philippine Dealing System of the Bankers Association of the Philippines from P54.52 the previous day. The weighted average rate depreciated to P54.537 from P54.489. Total volume amounted to $276.14 million. Oil firms lower...

MB okays $38.6-M agri, SME loans.
Byline: LEE C. CHIPONGIAN The Monetary Board, policy-making arm of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas approved two loans worth $38.6 million to the small business and agricultural sector development. BSP Deputy Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said the US governments Commodity Credit Corp. is extending...

Finding the needle in the haystack: using parasitic wasps to kill hidden stored-grain pests.
Using parasitic wasps to kill hidden stored-grain pests Move over Sherlock. USDAARS entomologists have turned detective to solve an agricultural mystery. The case involves parasitic wasps which find and attack insect pests in multi-ton masses of stored grain. The researchers are searching for clues to...

Canada's great grain robbery.
by Don Baron (Don Baron Communications, 1998, $14.95). Available from Don Baron, 14 Wood Cres., Regina, Sask. S4S 6J7. Reviewed by Ivor Williams. There is a bit of religious history and a lot about the development of the Prairie grain industry, particularly its outmoded marketing and related...

A Champion for Food Safety and Quality.
Does the box of Wheaties you just bought from your grocer taste and look the same as the box you bought a month ago? Hopefully it does. It should because of the work people like Floyd E. Dowell do every day. Dowell, 39, is research leader of the Engineering...