By DERCO ROSAL
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is turning to public-private partnerships (PPPs) to enhance agricultural productivity, which is facing challenges due to climate change.
During the World Bank Group annual meeting in Washington, D.C., Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr. emphasized the importance of infrastructure development, specifically storage facilities, to mitigate the effects of climate change on the agricultural sector.
He highlighted the potential for the agricultural economy to generate significant revenue while also ensuring food security.
However, Tiu-Laurel pointed out that “climate change has always been a very big challenge to the Philippines,” with frequent typhoons and shifting weather patterns such as El Niño and La Niña.
“So to address or limit the problem of climate change, we need to really invest a lot in the infrastructure and the logistics system of our food systems, or our food chain in the Philippines. So that's a very big part—storage of everything,” Tiu-Laurel said.
At the same meeting, the World Bank reported that the agri-economy could generate $5 to $10 trillion annually by producing climate-resilient, low-emission, nutritious food while paying farmers fairly.
However, the challenge seen is that 80 percent of farmers lack access to finance, technology, and markets.
Tiu-Laurel said the government regularly collaborates with the private sector and stakeholders to develop a shared roadmap for achieving food security in the country.
“We're not planning, but we want to have a merging of the minds so that both the private sector and the government have the same goal and will come up with the same roadmap to achieve the ultimate goal of food security,” Tiu-Laurel said.
“Of course, the financial institutions are also involved in this, as also part of the stakeholder in agriculture,” he added.
Tiu-Laurel said that the DA is working with state-run financial institutions, including Land Bank, Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
“And of course, the World Bank would be a big part of the equation. The World Bank would help the agriculture in the Philippines a lot,” the secretary emphasized.
As for the rice sector, Tiu-Laurel explained that increasing farmers' income requires higher yields through technology, improved farming techniques, and adjustments to cropping schedules.
All of which should boost farmers' income and reduce the country's reliance on rice imports.
“So it's a whole bundle of things that we need to do in order for us to be able to increase the income of our farmers, so that they become bankable, and so they would replant every season,” he further explained.