Weed out spoils in Phl veggie chain

A technical cooperation project between the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Department of Agriculture is gaining momentum in introducing several Japanese technologies and business models in Benguet, Quezon and Metro Manila to address challenges along the vegetable value chain.

Price fluctuation, high distribution cost, postharvest losses and high poverty rates for farmers are among the long-standing challenges faced by the agriculture sector in the country.

These challenges pose an even bigger impact on the vegetable industry due to the seasonality and high perishability of vegetables.

This underscores the urgent need for a more efficient and modernized vegetable value chain that can provide higher income for farmers, many of whom are still under poverty line, and promote active participation of the private sector and job creation in this important sector.

Consequently, JICA, DA and local governments are working together for the “Project for Market-Driven Enhancement of Vegetable Value Chain in the Philippines”, which develops inclusive Food Value Chain models that will address issues in different stages of the value chain.

A year since the start of the implementation of the MV2C-TCP, the Joint Coordinating Committee of the project recently convened to discuss the further progress and ways forward of the project.

“JICA continues to highlight agriculture development as a backbone of Philippine economy in terms of its prospective impact to economic growth, poverty alleviation, job creation, promotion of healthy lives of Filipino people, among others,” said Oshima Jiro, senior representative of JICA Philippines.

“Also, in these years, JICA has been advocating and promoting the market-oriented approach to the agriculture development even in other countries. As such, MV2C-TCP remains to be a relevant and important part of JICA’s assistance portfolio in the Philippines.”

The project is in line with the three-year plan announced by DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel earlier this year, where he emphasized his goal to modernize Philippine agriculture to spread benefits across the entire value chain and to make farming viable for investors.