President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has sought the cooperation of the private sector to provide support to Filipino farmers.
He met with members of the Private Sector Advisory Council on Thursday to discuss ways to aid the agriculture sector, even sharing photos of the meeting at Malacañang in a Facebook post.
Marcos, who concurrently serves as the Agriculture Secretary, said he was “excited” to partner with the private sector in improving the agricultural sector.
“I thank the members of the Private Sector Advisory Council for joining us in a meeting to discuss and exchange ideas about scaling up our agricultural sector,” he said.
“It is refreshing to hear ideas from them, and I’m excited to establish programs with the cooperation of the private sector to help our farmers.”
Marcos, however, did not elaborate on the specific programs that he intends to implement to boost the agriculture industry.
In a press briefing on July 5, Marcos vowed to look for long-term solutions to address the problems plaguing the country’s agriculture sector.
He made the commitment as he stressed that having “robust” agriculture is key to building a stronger economy.
Marcos also emphasized the need to boost the production of staples such as rice and corn, as well as livestock and fisheries.
He said one of the short-term solutions is to increase food production for the rest of 2022.
The President also vowed to look for ways to address the food price crisis.
“We still have to feed our people and so, we still have to find strategies to make sure that those who are in need are supported by the government as best as we can do,” Marcos said.
Joey Concepcion, a council member, said Marcos “really wants to be attuned to the problems of businesses.”
“I am part of the Private Sector Advisory Council. I’m the lead for jobs. That council is a big help because the President really wants to be attuned to the problems of businesses, especially in agriculture,” said Concepcion, who was the presidential adviser for entrepreneurship during the Duterte administration.
“We want to make sure that the economy will continue to move, to accelerate. Our growth rates cannot stall and for us to be able to do this, there cannot be lockdowns anymore,” he said at the Laging Handa briefing on Friday.