THE Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) are gearing up to pilot food value chain (FVC) models in Benguet, Quezon City, and Metro Manila.
JICA and the DA inked documents for technical cooperation on the “Project for Market-Driven Enhancement of Vegetable Value Chain (MV2C),” an initiative that entered the planning phase earlier this year.
The MV2C is intended to address food price fluctuations due to oversupply, undersupply, inefficient distribution system and high post-harvest losses. It is also intended to provide better economic opportunities and income to farmers and members of the agricultural sector.
Under the initiative, experts from Japan will be dispatched to the Philippines to provide technical expertise and know-how for modernized FVCs. Initial FVC projects under the initiative included skills training for establishing diversified harvest and farm plans, with other projects aimed at boosting the distribution and processing of crops.
If successful, the JICA is poised to replicate the three pilot FVC projects as models for more FVCs across the country.
“This market-oriented approach is also essential to address the issues related to income generation, job creation, and disparity mitigation among others,” JICA chief representative Sakamoto Takema said.
