Manila is targeting to ease rising food prices via a technical cooperation project it is underaking with Tokyo which will enable the Philippines to craft food value chain models.
Under the project which kicked off recently, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) will develop vegetable value chain models “to revolutionize” the Philippine agriculture sector.
Jica noted that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had called rising food prices as an “emergency situation,” stressing the importance of a robust agriculture sector among his various priorities.
“To provide a holistic solution, our project envisions to cooperate not only with farmers, relevant government institutions and LGUs [local government units], but also with private sector and consumers. Jica recognizes the importance in addressing development needs in every node of the value chain, especially in the post-harvest and marketing sides,” said Sakamoto Takema, Chief Representative of Jica Philippines Office.
The Jica-DA Project for Market-Driven Enhancement of Vegetable Value Chain in the Philippines (MV2C) is aligned with the Philippine Vegetable Industry Roadmap 2021-2025. The Japanese agency said the latter involves more stakeholders in the agriculture value chain and tackles approaches to level up the vegetable sector and achieve food security.
“The MV2C is expected to serve as an input to realize the strategies of the said roadmap by piloting activities in Benguet, Quezon, and Metro Manila. These activities include capacity building of farmers to diversify harvest time and stabilize vegetable supply. The others include improving the distribution, processing, and consumption of vegetables in the Philippines.”
Japanese experts are being dispatched in the Philippines to provide technical guidance and share their experiences and knowhow in developing Food Value Chain models. The project expects that farmers and other agriculture stakeholders will learn from the innovations and best practices of Japan in the sector.
Citing the latest surveys from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Jica noted that poverty incidence among the Philippine population rose to 18.1 percent in 2021. Moreover, the subsistence incidence, which is defined as the “proportion of Filipinos whose income is not enough to meet even just the basic food needs” also increased to 5.9 percent in the same year.
“Thus, a sharp increase in food prices have serious impact, while also affecting 30 percent of the country’s agriculture workers in the poverty line.”
Once completed, the vegetable value chain models will be disseminated
nationwide.
Image credits: BusinessMirror file photo.