He welcomed a bill in Congress that seeks to institutionalize corporate farming but must not make it mandatory to corporations. It should be made more flexible so that corporations may enter into joint venture or contract growing schemes with groups of farmers.
What should be done right away is for the government not only to allow the use of parts of the P1 billion export promotions fund but bolster it with the Agriculture Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) to aggressively promote Philippine products in Japan, India, China which are new free trade partners of the country but also in the Middle East and other emerging economies. -- Abe P. Belena, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
2. Exporters pleased over order to release P1B export fund
Organized exporters have expressed relief and joy over the order made by President Arroyo to release in May the P1 billion grant for projects of the embattled export sector, just the right time to save a growing number of export enterprises from going under.
President Arroyo announced on the last day of the National Conference of Employers the other day that she has ordered the trade, finance, budget bosses and her own staff to work together in speeding up the release of what she has baptized as Export Support Fund or ESF.
The fund, she explained, would form part of the P300 billion stimulus package that her administration earlier announced.
The grant, which replenishes the exhausted P280 million Export Promotions Fund (EPF), will broaden its coverage to other developmental projects that did not meet the criteria of plain export promotions.
A check with the Export Development Council (EDC) showed that project proposals which it has been soliciting since February from organized export groups has reached P1.7 billion in cost.
Of these, exactly P787 million have passed the pre-screening stage. This means that the proposed projects have passed the basic criteria for eligibility.
The PNF source from EDC, the government-private sector body overseeing export development, said that it is now putting together a review body that will look into the detailed programs covered by the proposals to fast track the processing and release of the funds for each approved project. -- Abe P. Belena, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
3. Use ACEF to help tap new export markets
Food processors and exporters are proposing for expansion of the use of the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) for infrastructure upgrade and other support to tap new markets.
In a presentation before the delegates of the recently concluded 30th National Conference of Employers, PHILEXPORT Food Trustee Roberto Amores said the agri-food and other export sectors should penetrate emerging markets to ride out the global financial crisis. “The sector must study the key markets more. We must intensify efforts to develop emerging markets such as China, India and the Middle East,” he said.
Amores also proposed the creation of a think tank for advanced strategic thinking on global competitiveness and trends.
“We need to invest in Strategic and Tactical Market Intelligence,” he noted. “For example, China is investing in infrastructure and logistics to connect coastal cities to inland cities. How can we capitalize on this?”
To make their prices competitive, Amores cited the need for industry players to learn more on cost reducing technologies and ways to raise production.
He said the ACEF fund should be easily accessible to upgrade processing plants. The ACEF, enacted in 1996, provides credit to small farmers and fisherfolk and agriculture entrepreneurs; and support projects to make selected agricultural products and services competitive and sustainable.
A bill extending the utilization of the P6.6-billion fund was approved by the Senate in 2007 which is also geared to finance more agricultural researches, study grants and scholarships and advanced post-harvest equipment.
Amores, also the Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Inc. president and the food trustee of the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc., said exporters should have access to cheap raw and packaging materials.
To help facilitate this, he pushed for the creation of a network of wholesale markets which are directly linked to farmers and producers group meant to improve the agriculture marketing infrastructure.
Likewise, Amores said there is a need to establish crop production zones/clusters to reduce the cost of raw materials as well as set up a common post harvest/processing facility in farm areas which can be worked under Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) registration to avail of lower costs and incentives.
To generate export sales despite the uncertain global market, he said, the country should intensify production of export winner crops. “One of the reasons for the dismal performance of the agri-food export sector is that there were no significant product breakthroughs in the export market over the past six years,” Amores said, citing a study.
The country’s export winners are still mango, banana, pineapple, tuna, seaweeds, carrageenan and some coconut products. -- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
4. RP taps more donors for agricultural programs
An integrated business development service provider is tapping donor funds of more than P200 million earmarked for agricultural programs. Restie Male, program manager of the Philippine Development Assistance Programme, Inc. (PDAP), bared this move in the light of the completion of their Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)-funded Promoting Rural Industries and Market Enhancement Program (PRIME) next year.
“There are many donors who are willing to fund agriculture projects. They are looking at providing significant amounts, even bigger than the CIDA funds (for PRIME) of aboutfive million Canadian dollars,” he said.
Male said there are available financing windows from the European Union, the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme, among others.
“We hope we can tap them. We are taking steps. We hope to pass their requirements,” he said. “It is part of our sustainability plans.” Male said such financing could help boost the growth of the agriculture sector.
He cited the five-year CIDA-funded PRIME which has significantly increased the income especially of households.
The program supports the development of organic and natural products to become rural industries such as organic sugar, organic rice and seaweeds.
PRIME provides rural enterprising communities with the necessary financing, technology, entrepreneurial capability and other capacity development interventions so that they can actively participate in the fast-growing organic and natural products market, domestically and internationally.
Male said with new donor funds for the sector, they hope to provide services similar to those provided by PRIME program to other commodities.
“Coffee for example is one bright prospect for us. It’s a big industry. There are organizations working on coffee,” he noted. Apart from donor funds, Male said, the Department of Agriculture also has various financing programs for the sector.
“There are a lot of programs that we can collaborate with government agencies and we’re trying to explore those windows that they offer,” he said. “We can help government implement these projects.” -- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
5. Gov’t support and incentives for organic farming sought
Organic producers are seeking government support and incentives for the development of organic farming in the country.
Pablito Villegas, board of trustees of Organic Producers and Trade Association (OPTA), said a subsidy may be extended similar to those given to chemical agriculture, like input subsidy and preferential tariff.
Otherwise, the government should remove such funding support to level the playing field, he said.
Villegas said in lieu of subsidy, it could provide incentive to industry players through reduced cost of doing organic business. He cited the case of municipality of Baras, the organic farming capital of Rizal, giving as much as 25 percent discount on the cost of registering an organic enterprise.
Villegas said organic businesses could be also given tax breaks just like registering under the Barangay Micro Business Enterprise Act because these utilize 100 percent basic raw material.
“We also want the government to patronize the organic fertilizer industry products in the country or make a strong effort to enable the farmers to be able to produce their own organic fertilizers,” he added.
Villegas, an organic farmer, is likewise batting for the adoption of the ‘polluters pay principle’. “Polluters must be charged and these tax proceeds can be used to subsidize/support organic agriculture.”
He also pushed for the creation of marketing infrastructure such as organic wholesale exchange market which could serve requirements of both the local and export markets.
“This (organic) is a global market of more than $50 billion, we must be able to participate. We are only producing less than $10 million worth organic products domestically,” he noted.
Villegas said costly certification requirements and other regulations should not be used to strangle the growth of the industry.
Baras councilor Ramon Matignac Jr., for his part, said the local government units and the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) have the capabilities to provide certification services.-- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
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