MANILA – The Philippines and Japan’s bid to boost cooperation in agriculture would assist tackle a number of challenges besetting the business, together with points on logistics and meals worth chain, the Department of Agriculture (DA) stated on Saturday.
This, after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s working go to to Japan resulted within the institution of a joint agricultural framework that can present nearer cooperation and collaboration between Tokyo and Manila, DA Undersecretary Zam Ampatuan stated in the course of the Saturday News Forum held at Dapo restaurant in Quezon City,
“This framework of joint cooperation, we can define in much clearer terms what we really needed,” Ampatuan stated.
“So, this framework that has been agreed in this recent visit of President Marcos can possibly address those concerns. Of course, with Japan’s vast experience as it started out as an agricultural economy and then industrialized, we can take a lot of those lessons and the advancement in technology can also be availed [of],” he added.
The challenge on meals worth chain, Ampatuan stated, is at present a “key concern” when it comes to addressing meals manufacturing and meals losses.
He added that logistical challenges have to be addressed to pool meals manufacturing towards the market.
“The efficiency of our food value chain is important because that is where we really are lacking. And the only really challenge is how do we organize our farmers, how does government really put together small farm holding, how do we consolidate marketing,” he stated. “Japan probably can invest on those. The government has to put in the structure for how this value chain system would work. There is a need.”
Ampatuan stated the federal government must be extra aggressive in investing in agriculture, on condition that members of the personal sector are “not as ready” to take a position extra within the business as they don’t seem to be “willing to take the risk.”
Key interventions, particularly on the enterprise methods and mechanization, are wanted to assist small farmers thrive, Ampatuan stated.
“So, this is where we probably can address the issue on how we can put together small farms into large farms. We can probably adopt consolidation, we can probably adopt synchronized production,” he stated.
“On our part we should be able to also as well offer a more sustainable system, enterprise system for farmers,” Ampatuan added.
Ampatuan appears to be like ahead to “more concrete steps” to enhance the nation’s agriculture sector.
For now, he stated the nation is drafting a “master plan” for agricultural logistics which is predicted to be launched by September this 12 months.
On Thursday, Japan and the Philippines signed seven bilateral agreements that cowl cooperation in varied fields, together with agriculture. (PNA)