BIZ BUZZ: High-level agri meeting

The government is anticipating a bountiful harvest from the 47th Asean Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (Amaf) Meeting in Pasay this week.

Ahead of the meeting, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. laid out what the government wants from high-level discussions or bilateral talks.

For one, the government will do everything possible to promote Philippine agricultural products in global markets.

In recent days, Tiu Laurel has been very busy meeting representatives from neighboring countries, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the US-Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Business Council.

On a wider scale, the Asean meeting hopes to boost agri production and trade across the region. The bloc aspires to become one of the world’s largest food producers by 2045.

Led by Tiu Laurel, the Philippines will chair the Amaf meeting for a year, succeeding Myanmar. One of the highlights this year is the mechanization forum scheduled in November.

The agriculture chief may be dealing with a lot of challenges—from declining palay (unmilled rice) prices and “ghost” farm-to-market road projects to severe weather conditions that ravaged some of the country’s farm lands.

Still, let’s hope the Philippines will reap the benefits of its efforts in this Asean meeting.