Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary William Dar has encouraged the government to review and adjust foreign investments policies that are deemed "unsuited" to the present needs of the agriculture sector in the country.
Speaking during the virtual 9th session of the Economic Fora on Sept. 17, Dar suggested that the government has to review and adjust policies to create an environment that would attract the most favorable foreign investments.
“Foreign investments are an integral part of an open and effective global economic system, and a major catalyst for modernization and development,” the DA chief said.
“Here is where decisive and immediate action is needed. Many of the laws and policies that currently govern FDI (foreign direct investments) into this country’s agriculture no longer serve the sector’s present needs – unsuited as they are to the requisites of economic growth in a time of national crisis,” he added.
He further said that there is also a need to craft a new and more conducive national policy framework to stimulate the flow of resources, and improve government support for the provision of fiscal, financial, technical, or technological investments.
Dar also stated that the department "will continue to craft and implement needed policies to create and raise capital for the agriculture sector," noting that foreign direct investments are vital to this process.
"There should be a strong effort to build and improve the physical infrastructure and digital connectivity that will make investments in remote and vulnerable areas of the country more viable," the DA chief said.
“We must do these imperatives to extend and expand the benefits of foreign investments to local farmers and fishers,” he added.