Agri department calls for stronger private sector support

MANILA, Philippines  -The Department of Agriculture (DA) is appealing for more support from the private sector to fast-track the modernization of the agriculture sector and scale up local production.

“The collaboration of government and the private sector is crucial. We highlight the efforts and dedication of our partners in building sustainable set of option for the future of agriculture and fisheries,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Laurel Jr. said.

“Prompting people participation and ensuring sustainable development through sound policy recommendations are key factors that we can embrace to maintain a functional and holistic approach in dealing with the sector’s challenges,” he said.

READ: Marcos: Gov’t aiming to modernize PH agri-fisheries sector

The DA had expressed hope to attract more investments through the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme to ensure sufficient food supply nationwide although it recognized the challenges of investing in the agriculture sector due to its vulnerabilities, especially with climate change.

READ: DA to try PPP route in fight vs inflation

Still, Agriculture Undersecretary Mercedita Sombilla said the DA sees the need to pursue more PPP projects to move further towards industrialization.

The agency already established a PPP unit and asked all its regional offices to make a conscious effort to look for projects that can be implemented together with the private sector.

“I hope that as we continue to have fora like this in the future, we can develop more and more PPP projects that would really push the agricultural sector further than what we really target,” Sombilla said.

“PPP really is the way we need to go. It is important to conduct PPP forums like this because I think this is the way to go to help the government,” she added.

READ: PH agriculture output shrinks for second quarter in a row

The DA was expecting the farm sector to rebound in the fourth quarter of this year despite posting a laggard output in the last two quarters.

Citing initial data, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa earlier said domestic output might improve in the October to December period as there are no major calamities and not too many typhoons hit the country this year.

“Our crop production is good. We expect the continuous growth of livestock and poultry subsectors and hopefully, fisheries will bounce back because this subsector sustained a decline in the third quarter,” he said.

The agriculture sector contracted for the second consecutive quarter this year, decreasing by 0.3 percent in the July to September period and 1.2 percent in the April to June period, data showed.