IMPROVING VALUE CHAIN. Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban (left) signs discussion amendment for the Market Driven Enhancement of the Vegetable Value Chain in the Philippines (MVC2), withJapan International Cooperation Agency Chief Representative to the Philippines Sakamoto Takema on Friday (Dec. 23, 2022). The leaders hoped the move would help improve the country’s agricultural value chain, beneficial for farmers and consumers. (Photo courtesy: Department of Agriculture)
MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) signed Friday the Minutes of the Meeting to Amend the Records of Discussion for the technical cooperation project with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Both parties signed the modified project, particularly for the Market Driven Enhancement of the Vegetable Value Chain in the Philippines (MVC2), which was started earlier in 2022.
During the meeting, DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban said the move intends to improve the current logistics in the country’s agricultural value chain.
“With the increasing food prices and inefficiencies in the food supply chain due to [the] high cost of logistics and food distribution, we need to find ways by which we can lower the production costs, deliver goods to the markets, and make it more affordable to the consuming public,” he said.
Likewise, JICA Chief Representative to the Philippines Sakamoto Takema hopes the project would help consumers and improve the “lives of Filipino farmers.”
“This technical cooperation is a testament to this move, as JICA considers that this market-oriented approach is also essential to address the issues related to income generation, job creation, and disparity mitigation, among others,” he said.
Under the signed discussion amendments, MVC2 modifications include an update in its project framework and pilot projects for implementation.
The framework update is said to be guided by the planning survey which the DA conducted from August to September.
It initially targets the value chain models in some areas in Metro Manila, Benguet, and Quezon province.
The DA, meanwhile, is hopeful these modifications shall provide “inclusive business models” for vegetable farmers, as well as improve their profit.
