Philippines, Malaysia partner in agriculture technology, agri-preneurship

KUALA LUMPUR – Filipino companies have partnered with Malaysian entities on agriculture technology and “agri-preneurship” to spur trade and investment opportunities in the sector in the Philippines and Malaysia.

President Marcos underscored the importance given by his administration to agriculture, which was among the sectors hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

“Agriculture, again, is of primary importance to the Philippines, and we are happy that we have partners who will help us with the biotech,” Marcos told Malaysian and Filipino businessmen during a roundtable meeting at the EQ Hotel here on Thursday.

During the meeting, Trade Secretary Alfred Pascual reported to Marcos about the memorandum of understanding entered into by Philippine companies with their Malaysian counterparts in the area of agriculture.

ASEAN Business Advisory Council (BAC) Malaysia’s Tan Sri Nazir Razak and ASEAN BAC Philippines’ Joey Concepcion were present at the meeting.

Razak and Concepcion said they will be jointly conducting studies and mentorship channels for potential agriculture, agriculture technology and food security in the Philippines.

They will also conduct studies on agri-preneurship business models and value chain development among small, medium and large farmers, enterprises and government entities.

The joint venture is also interested in identifying the business requirements to develop trade and investment opportunities in palm oil, rubber, fruits, poultry, agri-tech and other agricultural products and services of Malaysia and the Philippines.

Marcos stressed the cooperation in the agricultural sectors of the two countries is a significant boost to his administration’s efforts to address the problems of the country’s farmers with regard to various diseases such as swine flu and the avian flu.