Korean agricultural machinery manufacturers belonging to the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative (KAMICO) want to assist the Philippines by sharing technology and innovations for cultivating mango and strawberries, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
KAMICO officials led by its chairman, Shin Gil Kim, made the offer during their recent visit to the DA office in Quezon City where they held discussions on the proposed establishment of a 20-hectare farm machine and equipment assembly plant in the Philippines.
Apart from farm machines, KAMICO said they can share with local farmers their technology for cultivating fruits as well as their Korean orchard farming method.
KAMICO is a federation of Korean agricultural machinery manufacturers. The DA said they have about 700 companies as members.
Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban said the proposed facility will be one of the flagship projects of the DA.
During President Ferdinand R. Marcos’ visit at the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) in April, he announced his intention to strengthen and expand the local agri-fishery manufacturing industry, to reduce the country’s reliance on imported machinery and equipment.
PhilMech, an agency attached to the DA, entered into an agreement with KAMICO in November 2016. The agreement seeks to “enhance the skills of Filipino agriculture engineers and upgrade the capabilities of PHilMech in developing farm machinery.”
Through its standardization and quality programs in the manufacture of farm machinery, PhilMech said KAMICO has performed a big role in the development of South Korea’s agriculture equipment industry.
KAMICO, a special status non-profit corporation of agricultural machinery manufacturers, also spearheads the export efforts for South Korean-made farm equipment.