MANILA-The Philippine government’s Department of Agriculture [DA] and the French government’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, along with the Bureau of Exportation and International Partnership, days ago organised the 2nd Philippines-France Agriculture Forum. The forum aimed to discuss important topics such as cooperative and clustering systems and the integration of small-hold farmers and fishers in the global value chain.
The event opened with words by DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban and French Ambassador to the Philippines, Michele Boccoz, under the theme “Improving the integration of small-hold farmers and fisherfolks in the global value chain for agricultural commodities through cooperatives, clustering, and consolidation.”
DA Senior Undersecretary Panganiban expressed admiration for the French leadership of Europe’s common agricultural policy.
He also expressed interest in exploring ways to broaden technical cooperation between the two nations in areas such as sustainable development, equitable access to economic opportunities, technology, innovation, human capital development, infrastructure, and rural economic policy.
He emphasised that the history of the Philippines-France relationship is characterised by mutual trust, goodwill, and respect that have been repeatedly tested and proven over time.
“Today, we reaffirm our centuries-old ties by exploring new ways to enrich cooperation between our countries in this respect,” Panganiban said.
French Ambassador to the Philippines, Michele Boccoz, highlighted the importance of cooperation between the two countries to ensure food security amidst the challenges brought about by the pandemic and the current global situation. She emphasised that food security is a priority for everyone around the world. Boccoz also expressed interest in developing cooperatives in the Philippines as a means to achieve this goal.
“Food security is a priority for all of us around the world. The development of cooperatives in the Philippines could be a new contribution to this goal. And this is indeed what we like to focus upon today,” she said.
Ambassador Boccoz added that in France, cooperatives had played a key role in the development of agriculture, allowing farmers to access markets, purchase inputs and sell commodities at better prices, and gain access to agricultural equipment that they could not afford on their own.
Melanie Pressans, a French official emphasised the significance of cooperatives in France as they contribute to the local economy by creating economic activities and job opportunities through sustainable territorial anchoring.
Pressans added: “In France, there are 2100 cooperatives, and 3 out of 4 farmers are active members of at least one cooperative. Even though 93 percent of cooperative members are SMEs or micro-enterprises, one out of three cooperatives exports its production, and in the market, one food brand out of three is produced by cooperatives.”
Emmalyn Guinto, who deals with cooperatives in the Philippines summarised the importance of forming cooperatives and clusters to make Philippine products more competitive, inspired by the success of French cooperatives.
Guinto provided some actionable insights to explore future collaborative projects between the Philippines and France to promote inclusive value chains. “These include effective cooperative clustering structures, innovative cooperative investment strategies, market-driven production strategies, and group certification mechanisms.”
She also suggested considering activities such as mentorship programmes and cooperative business or investment between the two countries.
“All of the things that we heard today in terms of what a cooperative should be in order for it to be successful here in the Philippines, we need to consider that ultimately this should lead to farmer members maximising their membership to the cooperative by getting benefits and advantages to their farms for adaptation, preparation, sustainability for production through security, fixed remuneration guarantee that products are sold in the markets and of course for their image on food creation of local jobs and environment,” she said.
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