The Department of Agriculture (DA) is enhancing agricultural cooperation with South Korea through securing investments to realize the government’s goal of modernizing the local agricultural practices of the Philippines. 

During Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.'s recent visit to South Korea, he laid out to the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative (KAMICO) the advantages of the Korea Agriculture Machinery Complex (KAMIC) establishment in the Philippines, citing that this project is expected to revolutionize the country's farming practices.

Thus, Laurel said that agricultural commodities imported under the KAMIC project will benefit from ‘favorable’ tariff arrangements under the CREATE Law, further boosting the initiative's economic viability.  In addition, local taxes and business permits for a specified period will be exempt, along with duty exemptions on imports of capital equipment, raw materials, and spare parts as outlined in the Strategic Investment Priority Plan of 2022. 

Discussions between DA and KAMICO also focused on plans for the development of solar-powered dryers with a capacity of up to 630,000 metric tons (MT) of palay annually per machine. 

NFA officer-in-charge administrator Larry Lacson recently said that the country currently has a drying capacity of only 31,000 MT, far below its target of 495,000 MT. The initiative is seen to increase NFA’s drying capacity to 180,000 metric tons.

In a statement on Tuesday, DA affirmed its commitment to coordinate with national and local agencies to finalize the site for KAMIC, with potential locations in Nueva Ecija or Quezon Province. 

An agriculture machinery institute in the Philippines is also expected following a strategic cooperation between the Korea International Cooperation Agency and the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, which is seen to be upgrading the manufacturing capabilities of the former.