Last August 4 2006, Alyansa Agrikultura (AA) representatives, from different commodity sectors, held a dialogue with Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Domingo Panganiban to discuss how various issues and problems besetting agriculture can be addressed. The dialogue focused on the following issues: agriculture trade policies, importation and smuggling, BFAR rationalization program, agriculture supply chain, agriculture stakeholders' participation in the monitoring and implementation of agriculture programs. It was the third dialogue of AA with the DA Secretary since October 2005.

 Onion farmer leaders belonging to Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magsisibuyas ng Nueva Ecija (KASAMNE) urged the DA to stop the issuance of onion importation permits.  They also asked the DA to provide safeguard measures that would help compete.  KASAMNE lamented that they cannot compete with cheap and imported onion due to the high cost of local onion production. KASAMNE added that the current trigger price for onion pegged at P40 is not competitive anymore. The trigger price refers to price set by the government on imported goods.  It is a price that triggers the imposition of additional levy to make local products competitive. For his part, Panganiban assured KASAMNE that the DA will stop the issuance of import permits and will validate those that have been issued to avoid over supply and technical smuggling. He also assured the onion growers that the DA will immediately review the trigger price.

Panganiban also agreed with the AA's proposal to create a committee or task force that would pro-actively study and monitor the various bilateral and regional trade agreements being entered into by the government.  The Alyansa Agrikultura expressed dissatisfaction over how the NAFC's Committee on the International Trade is handling the issue on bilateral and regional trade agreements.

Meanwhile, Geogie San Diego of the Union of Broilers and Raiser Association (UBRA) thanked the DA for helping them stop local government units (LGUs) from imposing and collecting fees and taxes on transported hogs and poultry products passing through their respective territorial jurisdictions.  San Diego reported that last June 2006, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) issued a Memorandum Circular that suspended any existing ordinance authorizing the collection of various fees, taxes and charges on inter-province transport goods.  San Diego explained that the taxes forced them to raise  the prices of hogs and poultry goods.