The Philippines has
secured a number of trade commitments and agreements with South Korean
businesses that could help boost income and livelihood opportunities in the
local agro-fishery industries, including one partnership on corn and other
animal feedstock, Secretary Alcala announced on Monday.
At a media briefing, the
Agriculture chief said the Department of Agriculture and its counterpart
agencies in South Korea also agreed to expand technical cooperation on food
safety and sustainable food production systems.
Calling his five-day
visit last week to South Korea a success, Alcala said the country can now
look forward to additional exports of corn silage and other animal
feedstock with the signing of a memorandum of understanding
for “better business efficiency and friendly relations” between
Hapchon Livestock Cooperative Union and Filipino groups Benacorn Corporation
and Ploughshares Inc.
Hapchon is the Korean
firm that bought the Philippines’ first-ever exports of corn silage between May
and December last year.
Several South
Korea-based firms also expressed strong interest in importing “Peking duck”
meat and fishery products from the Philippines, Alcala said. These companies,
whose officers the Secretary met on separate occasions, include Japan Food
Corp., TC Foods and Dawon Corp.
“We will link them with
local producers now that the Philippines has an advantage for such
commodities,” he said. “For Peking duck, for instance, the country can boast of
its avian influenza-free status as a guarantee.”
Alcala also met with his
South Korean counterpart, Agriculture Minister Lee Dong-Phil, to thank him for
South Korea’s approval six months ago of the country’s exports of poultry
products through Bulacan-based Bounty Fresh Inc.
Data from the Bureau of
Animal Industry shows that the country shipped some 1,000 metric tons of
poultry products valued at US$37,800 to South Korea from January to February
2014.
A memorandum of
agreement will also be prepared with the Korea Food Research Institute (KFRI)
on traceability and food safety management, following Secretary Alcala’s
meeting with KFRI chief Inkwoo Choi.
The MOA will focus on
the adoption of an alert system and capacity building on risk assessment, as
part of DA’s efforts to enhance local food safety standards and boost the
attractiveness of Filipino agro-fishery exports in international markets.
A traceability system
will allow the government and businesses to determine the source of a product
or its ingredients affected by food safety issues, minimizing disruption to
trade and any potential public health risks.
Other agreements or
commitments secured by DA:
· Approval by the Korean Rural Development Administration of DA’s
request for technical assistance in the development and dissemination of
sustainable food production techniques, notably low-input, labor saving
cropping technologies.
· Partnership with the Rural Research Institute to expand the
coverage of an existing memorandum of understanding for the establishment of
so-called Multi-Industry Clusters (MICs) to include local government units. DA
proposed the development a “nucleus estate” where land will be leased and
managed by a South Korean company, and with a contract growing arrangement with
the farmers outside of the nucleus. LGUs, along with DA, will help facilitate
the creation of clusters and farmers’ groups, among others.
Alcala was accompanied
by other senior DA officials, including Assistant Secretary and concurrent
national program coordinator for rice and corn Edilberto De Luna, and
OIC-Assistant Secretary and concurrent Agricultural Marketing Assistance Service
Director Leandro Gazmin.
Apart from meeting with
senior officials and potential investors, the DA secretary and his delegation
led an agribusiness investment roadshow in the city of Daegu to encourage
overseas Filipino workers based in the city to put their stake in food and
agriculture-related ventures back home.
“It’s really good to
look at how Korea was able to make farming profitable, with its sustained
agricultural productivity and technology innovation,” he said. “‘Di naman po
pala tayo nagkamali na prayoridad ng Pangulong Aquino at ng DA ang pagtuon ng
pansin sa mechanization ng ating production at post-harvest facilities, bilang
tugon sa pangangailangan ng pagtatas ng production cost ng pagtatanim sa ating
bansa.” (Mac Garcia, DA OSEC)
Reference:
ATTY. DENNIS M. GUERRERO
Chief of Staff
Office of the Secretary
Tel.No. (02) 920.2223
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