Domingo Panganiban
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is seeking more collaborations with the private sector to ramp up investments in the agriculture sector via the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.
The DA is planning to conduct a public-private partnership forum in the agriculture and fisheries sector scheduled for Nov. 24. It has yet to announce details of this event.
It recently issued a special order forming different working groups to organize the activity, which would serve as an avenue for exchanging ideas to determine potential PPP projects, policy frameworks and other interventions.
Through the investment forum, the agency intends to forge partnerships with private entities “that can bankroll critical projects that will deliver much-needed services to farmers and fisherfolks and/or as technical partners in projects for the agriculture and fisheries sector,” per its previous issuance.
The DA is exploring investment opportunities and pushing for PPPs to alleviate the consequences of rising food inflation, high production costs and the possibility of drought.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said inflation rate accelerated to 6.1 percent in September, fueled by the increase in prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 9.7 percent.
“For agriculture, the Philippine government is interested in promoting public-private partnerships and investments in agricultural inputs and fertilizers, as well as vital infrastructure—such as post-harvest and cold chain facilities, smart agriculture technology, seed technology, and irrigation systems, among others,” Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban told a forum earlier.
Agriculture officials met with US government officials and Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) members to look into possible areas for collaboration.
These include pest and disease control, farm clustering and consolidation, food safety regulations, expanding marketing and trade opportunities, engaging young farmers and agripreneurs, training opportunities, technology transfer, digitalization and modernization.
The open forum and networking lunch form part of the US and BCIU’s agriculture mission, an outcome of the bilateral discussions between President Marcos and US President Joseph Biden Jr. in May.
The US is the country’s top trading partner for agriculture, fisheries and food products, the DA said. Total trade totaled $5.22 billion in the previous year.