The Philippines is eyeing around ₱1 billion in investment deals from the private sector through its hosting of an investment forum next month as the country works to boost the competitiveness of key commodities abroad.

During a ceremonial signing on Monday, March 16, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the upcoming Hand-in-Hand (HIH) National Investment Forum will serve as a platform to recalibrate the country’s investment landscape in agriculture.

He said the government wants to pitch the sector not as a development challenge but as a viable and bankable investment option.

“We hope to achieve a billion at least in investments,” Tiu Laurel told reporters.

In partnership with the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the forum aims to focus on areas that “hold significant but underfinanced growth potential.”

While the forum will cover all major sectors, Tiu Laurel said the highlights will be cacao, mango, seaweed, and coffee.

“We want to grab the opportunity to export more, so we need private sector investors,” said Tiu Laurel, noting that these commodities have huge potential in the international market.

Next month’s forum is inspired by the Global Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum hosted by the FAO, where the Philippines has been able to capture the attention of foreign investors to local commodities during previous editions in recent years.

Tiu Laurel said bringing the forum to Manila would bridge the gap between global capital and local stakeholders, which has long constrained the growth of the sector.

Unlike other sectors, the country’s agriculture industry has struggled to attract large-scale investments largely due to fragmented supply chains, climate vulnerability, and persistent infrastructure bottlenecks.

By encouraging the entry of foreign capital, the DA aims to make the sector more competitive through projects aimed at modernization.

To help elevate the status of the four key commodities, the forum will promote opportunities for investors to fund initiatives spanning farm production and processing to logistics and value-chain development, among others.

ADB country director for the Philippines Andrew Jeffries said the forum will also help the country unlock investments that could strengthen the long-term resilience of the agriculture sector.

For the ADB, partnering with the DA is aligned with the multilateral bank’s vision to strengthen the country’s climate and disaster resilience, modernize value chains and logistics systems, and foster nutrition-sensitive and inclusive approaches across agriculture and natural resources, Jeffries said.