More agricultural partnerships with Japan and Indonesia are being eyed after a meeting with their representatives last month, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The DA said representatives of the Embassy of Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, headed by Economic Minister Nihei Daisuke and First Secretary and Agriculture Attache Tachikawa Jumpei, paid a courtesy call last November 22 to identify key areas of agricultural cooperation between the Philippines and Japan.
Domingo Panganiban, DA senior undersecretary, mentioned during the meeting the government’s interest to seek financial assistance from Japan, either through soft loans or the Japan Food Security Project for Underprivileged Farmers.
Meanwhile, the Japanese representatives said the government of Japan is currently conducting an assistance program for procuring chemical fertilizers and facilitating fertilizer management in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The delegation also mentioned Japan’s satellite technology that can be used for the surveillance and detection of banana diseases in the Philippines.
At present, the bilateral cooperation between the Philippines and Japan is expected to benefit agricultural projects in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao by helping provide farm-to-market roads, communal irrigation systems, among other initiatives.
The DA said a more intensive discussion on areas of agricultural cooperation between the two countries is set to take place next year during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s visit to Japan next year.
Panganiban also met with Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Gina Jamoralin to discuss potential areas of agricultural cooperation between the Philippines and Indonesia.
Panganiban noted the possibility of Indonesia supplying urea fertilizer to the country through government-to-government approach.
The DA said a memorandum of understanding on fisheries cooperation is set to be signed with Indonesia which will mainly focus on combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing practices; sustainable aquaculture development; post-harvest and fish processing development; education and training; coastal management and development; and trade and investment.
Panganiban also hopes to raise the country’s market access request to Indonesia for the export of corned beef products following the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture’s Regulation No. 34/2016, which requires that beef products from the Philippines be free from Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and foot-and-mouth disease without undergoing vaccination
