PH, India to cooperate in boosting food production

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Philippines-India cooperation
Philippine Agriculture Secretary William Dar and India Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar during a briefing in New Delhi, on April 21, 2022. Photo from Department of Agriculture.
  • PH, India to cooperate in boosting food production
  • Indian Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar hosted a bilateral meeting with Agriculture Secretary William Dar and a Philippine delegation in New Delhi on April 21
  • In 2021, India exports to the Philippines reached US$450 million while it only bought US$50 million worth of Filipino goods
  • A joint technical working group will be created to expand the existing partnership and explore new areas of collaboration, particularly in aquaculture, natural and biological farm inputs.

Philippine Agriculture Secretary William Dar and India Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar agreed to renew their countries’ partnership and boost technical cooperation to sustainably increase food production for a more balanced trade in goods.

Tomar hosted a bilateral meeting with Dar and members of the Philippine delegation on April 21 at the Indian Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare in Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi, the Department of Agriculture said in a statement.

Tomar and Dar agreed to renew agricultural cooperation by creating a joint technical working group comprising experts from both countries to expand the existing partnership and explore new areas of collaboration, particularly in aquaculture, natural and biological farm inputs.

The Philippines-India TWG will be formed soonest and schedule a series of meetings in the next two months.

Dar said in a statement the Philippines will benefit greatly from India being the world’s third-ranking rice producer and exporter and a leader in developing and commercializing natural and biological farm inputs.

With skyrocketing prices of chemical fertilizers in the world market, compounded by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Dar said the Philippines is compelled to use a combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers.

He told Tomar the Philippines would promote more quality export products to India to attain a more balanced trade.

Last year, India exported US$450 million worth of products to the Philippines and only bought $50 million worth of Philippine goods.

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