By MADELAINE B. MIRAFLOR
After Agriculture Secretary William Dar shelved and tweaked some of his predecessor’s proposals, plans and strategy, including the lifting of the export ban on mature coconuts, there is one thing under his watch the current Department of Agriculture (DA) Chief is keeping – an agricultural cooperation signed with France’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
A statement showed that the DA will continue to implement the Administrative Arrangement on Agricultural Cooperation signed with France, particularly in terms of capacity building for cooperatives, dairy, food safety, and intellectual property.
This was discussed during Dar’s recent meeting with Ambassador of France to the Philippines Nicolas Galey.
It was in 2017 when France and the Philippines signed a cooperation agreement on the agricultural sector which seeks to intensify bilateral commercial exchanges and implement technical assistance between two countries.
This agreement seeks to consolidate institutional relations between the DA and France’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food by strengthening agricultural and technical cooperation in specific sectors and areas of common interest.
The first aspect of the deal will promote sustainable agricultural practices and the development of the livestock and animal health sector, while the second aspect will strengthen the capacity for the implementation of public policies related to food hygiene and phytosanitary issues, the modernization of the value chain, and the development of laboratories and Chambers of Agriculture.
The deal was particularly signed by Piñol and French Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Laurent Legodec in September of the same year.
“I really would like to see the DA strongly a part of the activity,” Dar said during his meeting with Galey.
This, according to him, is in support of the project to improve agricultural infrastructure, particularly the establishment of food terminals in the country.
He said that for instance, the development of the Clark-Rungis Wholesale Food Market is “a big help in many ways” as it will attract various sectors to invest in agriculture.
It was in 2017 when the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has partnered with French firm SEMMARIS, and the Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) for the conduct of a feasibility study on the development of the Clark-Rungis Wholesale Food Market in New Clark City, Tarlac.
The wholesale International Food Market will serve as a facility that will connect buyers and sellers of food/agri-products both locally and in the Asian region.