ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (PNA) – The National Food Authority (NFA) is pushing for the consumption by the public of Iron-fortified rice (I-Rice) in this city.

NFA provincial manager Gaudencio Nuega said the agency planned to go on a school-to-school information drive to intensify the promotion on the advantages and nutritional benefits derived from I-Rice compared to other rice varieties.

Nuega said that regular intake of I-Rice, which contains iron, prevents anemia, improves mental and physical development.

The I-Rice also helps maintain alertness and endurance, improves productivity and resistance to infections, among others, Nuega said.

Job hiring

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (PNA) – A total of 122 applicants were hired on-the-spot during the recent Zamboanga Hermosa Festival 2011 Jobs Fair, making it the highest number of on-the-spot hiring in less than eight hours.

Public Employment Service Office chief Francisco Barredo said that over 800 job seekers trooped to the Plaza del Pilar, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., to take advantage of the 3,500 local and international job vacancies, where 122 applicants were hired on-the-spot to various positions by the 27 local establishments.

Barredo said that aside from the hired applicants, many were qualified for the initial evaluation for overseas appointments.

Cropping season

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Two rice cropping seasons have been rendered virtual fruitless by floods that swept twice most farms in majority of the 36 towns of Maguindanao – the rice granary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The upsurge of floods last June and September triggered an “inevitable rice shortage in ARMM, particularly in the province of Maguindanao,” ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo said.

The bleak situation was gleaned from initial reports submitted by the ARMM’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, prompting acting Governor An-sarudin Alonto Adiong to order the conduct again of damage assessment and needs analysis on the havocs of floods in Maguindanao, Sinarimbo said. (Ali Macabalang)

R-9 flooding

PAGADIAN CITY, Philippines (PNA) – At least 10 houses in two coastal villages in Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Oriental were destroyed by flash floods spawned by torrential rains on Friday and Saturday, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported.

At about 7 p.m. Friday, floods hit the village of Dicoyong, Sindangan in Zamboanga del Norte, destroying two houses and forcing the occupants to evacuate.

In Bobuntugan, Jasaan, Misamis Oriental, flash floods occurred at about 6 p.m. Saturday due to heavy rains, affecting 37 families with eight houses partially or totally damaged. No casualty was reported in both incidents.

Agri equipment

KORONADAL CITY, Philippines (PIA) – An array of farm machineries and equipment were presented to farmers, irrigators, local government officials, and agriculture personnel during the 1st Mindanao Agricultural Farm Machinery and Equipment Roadshow in General Santos City recently.

The two-day event featured four-wheel tractors, hand tractors, rice threshers, rice harvesters, hermetic co-coon storage, and many others. Participants came from all regions in Mindanao.