AN Iranian firm is seeking to establish a 50-meter assembly line in the country that would produce farm machinery, such as tractors, to help improve the agriculture sector’s mechanization level, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
In a recent meeting, Special Trade Adviser to the Embassy of the Philippines in Tehran, Iran, Nader Saeedi discussed with Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol possible investments in the local farm sector, such as the construction of a 50-meter tractor assembly line.
“As part of his proposal, Saeedi said his company intends to establish a 50-meter tractor assembly line in the Philippines to help Filipino farmers by providing readily available, tailor-fit farm implements and tractors, and technical trainings on their operation and maintenance,” the DA said in a press release on Tuesday.
Quoting Saeedi, the DA added the assembly line could initially provide “50 to 100 units of tractors for farmers even at the barangay level.”
Piñol said Saeedi’s proposal “complements the government’s farm mechanization program,” which is implemented by the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) by providing loans to farmer cooperatives.
“We can provide the tractors first in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur. The good thing about this project is we provide long-term credit for farmers. We will also help you find suitable local partners” Piñol said.
The agriculture chief expressed Manila’s intentions to export tropical fruits, such as bananas and pineapples, as well as processed and canned halal foods to Iran.
“We can start exporting organically grown rice from Mindanao which is already exported to some parts of Dubai,” Piñol said.
Saeedi said the DA can consider Iran as a strategic point to penetrate the markets of the Commonwealth Independent States (CIS) for the country’s agricultural exports.
“Strategically, we are connecting [in a way] bigger and wider markets,” he said.
CIS is composed of 10 former Soviet Republics: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukrain and Uzbekistan.