DA, JICA partner for 5-year improved vegetable value chain project
(FILE) PACKED AND READY Workers at La Trinidad Vegetable Trading post in La Trinidad, Benguet, prepare bags of potatoes, radish, cabbage and carrots for shipment to buyers, many of them will sell these fresh produce in markets in Metro Manila and other provinces. —EV ESPIRITU
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are partnering for the implementation of an improved vegetable value chain project.
The DA on Sunday said it is complying with the order of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who also sits as Agriculture chief, to achieve food security.
In a statement, the DA said it is now partnering with JICA on the Market-Driven Enhancement of Vegetable Value Chain (MV2C) in the Philippines.
The technical cooperation project is pushing for “higher yield and income for farmers and achieving food security, availability, accessibility, and affordability to every Filipino.”
Within the five-year period, a vegetable value chain roadmap, which will identify challenges and solutions in the value chain, will be developed.
The project kicked off with a value chain survey in some vegetable-producing provinces such as Benguet and Quezon, where M2VC pilot programs are anticipated to be implemented.
Innovative solutions to promote efficiency in the vegetable value chain will be included in the projects.
Vegetable farmers, government agencies, members of the academe, and the private sector attended workshops held this month to “validate the survey results and to present the drafted roadmap.”
