The Philippines and Japan are joining hands to implement a five-year project that aims to enhance the vegetable value chain in the country.
Dubbed Market-Driven Enhancement of Vegetable Value Chain in the Philippines (MV2C), the project will be implemented by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
This followed the order of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who is also the Agriculture Secretary, to attain food security in the country.
"The MV2C is a technical cooperation project that aims to improve the Philippine vegetable value chain, therefore encouraging higher yield and income for farmers and achieving food security, availability, accessibility, and affordability to every Filipino," the DA said.
Under the project, a vegetable value chain roadmap is expected to be developed.
According to DA, the roadmap will be necessary in identifying challenges and solutions in the value chain, as well as in determining the roles of every stakeholder.
The MV2C pilot projects are expected to be implemented in vegetable-producing provinces like Benguet and Quezon, where a value chain survey has been conducted.
The projects shall include innovative solutions to promote efficiency along the vegetable value chain.
A series of workshops were also conducted this month to validate the survey results and to present the drafted roadmap.
The workshops were attended by vegetable farmers, government agencies, members of the academe, and the private sector, who all expressed support and commitment towards the action plans and projects under the MV2C.
Marcos' first order as the Agriculture chief is to ensure that there is sufficient and affordable food in the country.
During his recent meeting with Agriculture executives, Marcos has also ordered the thorough assessment of the existing programs of the department to see which ones actually work and need further consultation with the stakeholders.