BY JASPER Y. ARCALAS
MARCH 7, 2022
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar urged members of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham) to invest in the local agriculture sector, saying that Manila’s “friendly policy environment” rewards agri-entrepreneurship.
Speaking before AmCham members, Dar said the agriculture sector, which accounts for about 10 percent of the country’s GDP, is “ready for big leagues entrepreneurship.”
“Our creativity led us to the transformations of Philippine agriculture we are quite proud of now, and we hope to kindle vibrant entrepreneurship through it. We want you there with us at this new turn,” he said during his meeting with the business group recently.
He said the country’s “young, dynamic and tech-savvy skilled” human resources, “abundant” natural resources, and a growing middle class are the reasons why it is “best to invest in Philippine agriculture.”
“The national government has finally recognized that the country must play to its strengths by supporting its agriculture sector,” Dar said, adding that key economic policies and reforms have been implemented by the Duterte administration, including the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act.
“There is a suite of deductions and other incentives, such as duty exemptions and VAT exemptions on importation, to ease the load off the costs of entrepreneurship.”
Dar said agricultural activities are also eligible for investment incentives under the Department of Trade and Industry’s Strategic Investment Priority Plan or SIPP.
“Our investors, then, can expect a friendly policy environment incentivizing agri-entrepreneurship.”
Dar presented to AmCham members several areas for investment, particularly the commodity industries with huge export potential including coconuts, mangoes, seaweed, and shrimps. He also encouraged AmCham members to invest in sustainable water technologies, drone technologies and smart farms, greenhouse technologies, biosecurity measures, and aquaculture and fish farming technologies.
“To complement our Reform Agenda and transformative goals, we need financing heft in technology, research, and science-backed farming methods.”
The agriculture chief also presented to the business group its project—the agro-industrial business corridors (ABCs) that “prominently feature in the Department of Agriculture’s blueprints for industrialization.”
“The ABCs will link up even the remote production or farm areas with postharvest and processing centers where new agribusinesses could be incubated,” Dar said.
“Such infrastructure will be the emblems of true agricultural industrialization. Succeeding that will erase doubts about the Philippines’s status as an agro-industrialized economy.”
Source: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/03/07/phl-to-us-investors-place-bet-on-agri-sector/