Philippines to collaborate with China on agriculture

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will collaborate with China for various developments in the agriculture sector.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol recently met with Hunan province Governor Xu Dazhe at the DA central office for possible areas for cooperation in the farm sector between the province and the DA.

“Governor Dazhe expressed interest for cooperation in food processing, agri-fishery and developing new hybrid rice varieties,” Piñol said.

Hunan’s economy remains mostly agricultural and ranks first among China’s provinces in rice output, exporting a large surplus to other provinces.

Most of Hunan’s arable land is farmed using modern techniques, including mechanized irrigation and chemical fertilization.

Hunan’s other major food crops include sweet potatoes, corn, barley, sorghum, buckwheat, garden peas, millet, and horsebeans.

The DA is set to form a team of experts and farmer groups to oversee the assessment of future joint projects.

The Chinese governor visited the country to establish communication and cooperation between Hunan and the province of Oriental Mindoro.

A few months ago, several Chinese businessmen met with the government to seek cooperation and opportunities in the country particularly in the fields of aerospace and aviation, agriculture, energy, hotels, tourism and other areas.

Apart from China, Piñol also inked a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan Ambassador to the Philippines Aman Rashid to further strengthen the economic relations in the field of agriculture between the two countries.

Last March, the Philippines and Pakistan had reactivated the Pakistan-Philippines Joint Business Forum and Council to discuss ways of enhancing bilateral economic cooperation especially in the areas of trade, investment, energy, agriculture, tourism, health, industries and other matters of mutual interest.