(Speech during the Unveiling Ceremony of the Taiwan Technical Mission Demonstration Farm in Tarlac City on 15 December 2023)
On behalf of the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), I am really honored and delighted to welcome you to attend this unveiling ceremony of the Taiwan Technical Mission Demonstration Farm in Tarlac City.
For a big project like this, it takes numerous people's relentless efforts to make it a reality. I would like to take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation to the partners of the Department of Agriculture, MECO (Manila Economic and Cultural Office) Chairman Bello and former Chairman Wilfredo Fernandez, Governor Susan Yap of Tarlac Province, Mayor Maria Angeles of Tarlac City, and many others who are dedicated to this initiative. I would also like to thank those of you who have traveled long distances from outside Tarlac to join us here today. Thank you very much.
I wish to further express our sincerest gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan and TaiwanICDF for their unwavering support in establishing the Taiwan Technical Mission in the Philippines, also known as TTM. The TTM in the Philippines is the third of its kind in Southeast Asian countries, following Indonesia and Thailand, under Taiwan's New Southbound Policy. It marks a significant milestone in the enhancement of bilateral cooperation between Taiwan and the Philippines.
As we all know, food security has become a global concern amidst the worldwide pressures of inflation stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic, continued war between Russia and Ukraine, and accelerating climate change. Therefore, as the closest neighbor of the Philippines, Taiwan has realized the importance of developing a strategic partnership between our two countries on food production and safety.
We remember the first State of the Nation Address of His Excellency President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in July 2022. As the then-DA chief, he identified the significance of modernized technology in increasing agricultural production for Filipino farmers. In addition, the latest report from the World Bank also showed that transforming Philippine agriculture into a dynamic, high-growth sector is critical for the country to speed up recovery, poverty alleviation, and inclusive growth.
In line with this, we launched the Filipino Young Farmers Internship Program in Taiwan in collaboration with MECO and DA. To date, a total of 126 young farmers have been sent to Taiwan to learn about modern agriculture and fisheries technologies such as value chain management, cooperative management, and enhancement of skills, discipline, and values. Two new batches of 150 young farmers are expected to join in 2024.
The objective of TTM is to introduce Taiwan's modern technology to the agricultural policymakers, researchers, farmers, and fishermen in the Philippines. We intend to enhance agricultural practices and lay the groundwork for improved food safety and productivity. Since its official establishment in March 2022, TTM collaborates with the DA to supervise and improve the operation of three agricultural cooperatives in the provinces of Tarlac, Pampanga and Bulacan. Reassuringly, in our field visit to one of our cooperatives yesterday, we learned that the accumulated total sale revenue had reached 860,000 pesos in 6 months by integrating a new agribusiness model and farm management. This helped in cluster consolidation while also improving farmers' well-being and food productivity.
Moving forward, I would like to highlight three TTM missions that we believe are critical components to strengthening our agricultural cooperation:
First, continue to be a reliable partner of the Department of Agriculture in promoting projects to benefit the agricultural sector in the Philippines; second, bring Taiwanese technology and provide solutions to foster the transformation of Philippine agriculture and strengthen food security; and third, we hope that the unveiling of the demonstration farm will start the ball rolling, and more and more smart farming companies in Taiwan would choose to invest here, making the modernization of the Philippine agricultural sector possible and successful.
In closing, I wish to emphasize that global challenges require global solutions, and global solutions necessitate collaboration between countries, particularly closest neighbors. The establishment of the Taiwan Technical Mission showed our two countries' willingness to form a sound partnership, and I am confident that this would further enhance the solid bond between Taiwan and the Philippines through cooperation and development.
Thank you very much!
Maraming Salamat po at Mabuhay and Maligayang Pasko (Merry Christmas)!
(Ambassador Wallace M.G. Chow is Taipei Economic and Cultural Office Representative.)