Italian businessmen eye investments in PH agri sector

MANILA  -Italy signified its interest in forging more collaborations with the Philippines as the latter extended its invitation to invest in modernizing the agriculture sector, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

Italian Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Francesco Lollobrigida said the European nation is looking forward to further strengthening agricultural relations with the Philippines, the DA said in a statement.

Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban provided Lollobrigida with updates on the bilateral technical cooperation in the sector, particularly in mechanization.

“The Italian agriculture machinery industries have played a crucial role in modernizing Italian agriculture, achieving high levels of agricultural productivity,” the DA said.

“In the Philippines, there is significant potential for agricultural mechanization to support agro-industrialization in the country,” he added.

In the same meeting, Panganiban invited Italian businesses to invest in the Philippines during a recent meeting with the Italian minister.

Panganiban said Italian firms can venture into smart agriculture technologies, scaled-up mechanization, commercial scale-oriented technologies, smart irrigation and water impounding or retention systems.

Both countries can also venture into mainstreaming climate resiliency in the sector, which involves the deployment of sustainable, climate- and disaster-resilient technologies and adopting climate information services.

Panganiban and Lollobrigida met on the sidelines of the the World Food Forum Flagship Event of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, held in Rome, Italy.

The event, carrying this year’s theme, “Agrifood systems transformation accelerates climate action,” aims to foster dialogue on shaping agrifood systems to achieve sustainable development goals and a better food future for all.Prior to this, Italy held a trade mission to the Philippines in March, this year to bolster trade relations.

Italian enterprises with expertise in aqueducts, hydraulic engineering, water cycle management, irrigation systems and water treatment facilities participated in the mission.

Agrifood trade between the Philippines and Italy amounted to about $272 million in 2022, an increment of 10 percent in 2021 and 50 percent in 2020, according to the DA, citing government data.

Crude coconut oil, tunas, mucilages, and thickeners derived from vegetable products, pineapples in airtight containers and banana chips are the leading food products being exported to Italy last year.

On the other hand, Italian agricultural export products include flour, meals, pellets of meat or meat offal, greaves, dog or cat food, sweet biscuits, waffles and wafers, tomatoes and dried egg powder.