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Joint on‑site assessment by the City Agriculture Office  and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources yielded no evidence of human‑caused injury or abuse on the whale shark’s body found stranded along the shoreline of Brgy. 35 on Friday, October 30.Minor scrapes seen on the animal’s head and body were only from its desperate attempts to free itself after it became disoriented and trapped upside‑down in shallow waters as the tide receded, the team noted. The whale shark weighed an estimated 3‑4 tons, a statement from the Bacolod City Communications Office said Sunday, Nov. 1.“Most likely, it swam into the shallow area to feed on plankton and small fish before it got stranded. The cause of death is undetermined,” Bacolod City Agriculturist Maricar Quiro said.Some residents,...

Roland de la Cruz, NACUSIP national president* The National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP) on Saturday, Oct. 31, commended Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson “for the highly successful implementation of the recent cloud seeding operations that brought much-needed relief to moisture-stressed agricultural lands across the province.”The labor federation, in a press statement, highlighted the collaboration and partnership between the provincial government, the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), and the Philippine Air Force (PAF). By utilizing military hardware and state weather technicians, the 28-day campaign completed 38 cloud seeding sorties totaling 52 flying hours...

Ronnie Baldonado file photo Sugar producers and labor unions in Negros Occidental renewed their call for fairer farmgate sugar prices on Saturday, Oct.31, pointing out that recent price increases remain insufficient to cover high production costs and sustain small planters.Recent raw sugar bidding results showed gains across major mills in the province, with Hawaiian-Philippine Co. reaching ₱2,888 per 50-kilogram bag (lkg), First Farmers Holding Corp. rising to ₱2,760/lkg, and Universal Robina Corp. (URC) mills alongside Victorias Milling Co. (VMC) posting upticks to ₱2,660/lkg. Molasses prices also improved, offering slight relief to distressed farmers.In a joint statement, the Sugar Council—composed of the Confederation of Sugar Producers’ Associations Inc....

The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is allocating ₱30 million for cloudseeding operations across the Visayas to mitigate the impact of the ongoing super El Niño, Manuel Lamata, president of the United Sugar Producers Federation (UNIFED), said on Friday, October 30.In a press statement, Lamata revealed that he received a letter dated October 26 from SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona, confirming that the agency has set aside funds specifically for cloudseeding operations in Negros Island and Panay.Lamata thanked Azcona for proactively addressing the industry's concerns, adding that he hopes the allocated budget will be sufficient to cushion the sector through the severe drought.He said that the cloudseeding operations are scheduled to begin in November.However, Lamata...