Enhancing Phl-US bilateral relations in agriculture

The appointment of William Dar as new Agriculture Secretary is expected to modernize the agriculture industry and bring the Philippines closer to its goal of achieving food security. Dar, who is a former director general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, has proposed a strategy of “new thinking” that would empower farmers and fisherfolk as well as the private sector to “increase agricultural productivity and profitability, taking into account sustainability and resilience.”

The new agriculture chief’s strategy includes modernization and industrialization of agriculture, promotion of exports, farm consolidation, infrastructure development higher budget and investments as well as legislative support for the sector, among others. Dar’s emphasis is also on “agripreneurship,” saying that farming and fisheries should be treated as business undertakings or industries.

Dr. Darren Jarboe and Dr. Jinhee Kim.

Many people are hailing the appointment of Dar — who has been dubbed as a “global farmer” — and one of them is Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez, who cited the former’s education qualifications as well as the requisite domestic and international experience in the area of agriculture.

Our team at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC has also been working hard to promote the country’s agriculture sector and enhance Philippines-US bilateral relations in agriculture. Agriculture Attaché Dr. Josyline Javelosa had the opportunity to meet with new US Agricultural Counselor to the Philippines Morgan Haas, who recently assumed his post in Manila. Joining them were US Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service colleagues Dr. Jadon Marianetti who is lead desk officer for South and Southeast Asia, and Benjamin Tsui, desk officer for the Philippines, with discussions centering on Philippine agriculture interests in the US. Haas, whose previous assignments covered Morocco, Tunisia and China, expressed his appreciation for the meeting and is looking forward to enhancing the US-Philippines bilateral relationship in agriculture.

(From left) US Department of Agriculture’s Dr. Jadon Marianetti, lead desk officer for South and Southeast Asia; US Agricultural Counselor to the Philippines Morgan Haas, Josyline Javelosa and desk officer for the Philippines Benjamin Tsui.

The Philippines and the US partner in various agricultural cooperation areas such as agbiotechnology, food safety, animal and plant health, development of commodities such as coffee, cacao and coconut, and in sustainable fisheries management. The Philippines is the US’ 11th largest agricultural export market in 2018, while the US is the Philippines’ top single country of destination for its food and agricultural exports.

The Office of the Agriculture Attaché has also been busy collaborating with colleges and universities to raise awareness about Philippine agriculture and promote our many agricultural exports that are readily available in the US such as coconut products. Students from Kansas Corn Collegiate Academy visited the Philippine Embassy to learn about the importance of the Philippines as a trading partner of US agriculture, while officials of the University of Maryland, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources explored possible collaborative projects between the university and Philippine institutions in the field of agriculture and fisheries.

Rubie Mize and College of Agriculture and Natural Resources dean Dr. Craig Beyrouty.

No less than President Duterte himself said that “agriculture is the backbone of the economy,” which is why the government is doing all it can to provide assistance to farmers and those engaged in the agriculture industry. Under the Agri-Infrastructure Support Program, a total of P21.39 billion was released from 2016 to 2018 for the construction or improvement of 2,140 kilometers of farm-to-market roads, with 1,096 kilometers completed as of May 31.

Josilyne Javelosa hosted her agriculture counterparts with a simple Filipino lunch to introduce Agricultural Counselor Morgan Haas to Filipino cuisine and food products such as the milkfish (bangus), spring rolls (lumpiang Shanghai), mungbean soup, pork barbecue and a special dish of buco pancit. With them in photo is Dr. Jadon Marianetti.