Promoting sustainable farming and increasing the yield of Filipino farmers through the application of modern technologies is Israel’s top priority in the Philippines.

In an Agritech Innovation Forum on Thursday, Israel’s Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss reiterated Israel’s keenness on boosting the Philippine agriculture sector’s performance.

Fluss said Israel is known for practicing sustainable agriculture through smart farming and the use of technologies such as drip irrigation, robotics, water recycling, biopesticides and biofertilizers.

Representatives from 11 Israeli agri companies visited the Philippines this week to present various farming innovations.

“As an embassy, we put agriculture at the top of our priority, especially after meeting President Marcos a few times, and he has asked me specifically to bring more Israeli agriculture technologies, innovations, and practices to the Philippines since he had been to Israel before,” Fluss said.

He said that Mr. Marcos is “aware of and very familiar with the leadership position of Israeli agriculture technologies.”

The embassy has been promoting opportunities in the Philippines for more assistance from Israeli companies, citing challenges in the former’s agri-sector mainly in rice production, high-value crops, and small productivity, Fluss added.

Challenges

“I see challenges as opportunities, and through implementing innovative technologies, productivity can grow. Agriculture can be, again, a sector that will bring profits to the farmers,” Fluss explained.

Among the technologies offered by the 11 Israeli agri-tech companies are agronomic planning tools, real-time field data, novel fertilizers, irrigation systems and water use efficiency.

Some of the Israeli companies are looking to identify local partners as distributors.

“Some are here to implement projects to identify business partners. So really different kinds. And some are here just to sell a specific technology,” Fluss said.

“Some are here to work or to sell a service, which means a long-term presence here in the country. [There] are very different kinds of partnerships that they are looking for,” he added.

Meanwhile, the head of the Israel Economic Mission to the Philippines, Tomer Heyvi, expressed optimism about the Philippine-Israeli collaboration, saying agriculture is considered one of the key pillars of its bilateral relations.

“From smart irrigation, fertilizers and greenhouse technologies to advanced dairy farming, animal health devices, and intensive fish farming, Israel continues to share its best practices and technologies aimed at enhancing farm output with its partners worldwide as well as here in the Philippines,” he said.