00:00 Sir, you were at the ASEAN Summits, the Investment and Business Investment Summit and the other
00:08 summits. What are some of the key takeaways, sir, in the meetings that you attended that
00:14 is relevant to our agriculture sector?
00:17 Okay, number one, as an ASEAN community, I believe that countries must elevate our engagement
00:28 in terms of ensuring food security for the whole ASEAN region. And while there is now
00:34 an existing mechanism of having to be part of the solutions, like those who are producing,
00:42 say, rice, can be part of, say, having part of their buffer stock good for, say, natural
00:51 calamities.
00:52 I see.
00:53 And that happens to a number of countries, so we should contribute from time to time.
00:59 That I believe we should increase the volume, not only from present level.
01:04 Okay.
01:05 Number two, we should hasten and harmonize the trade regulations so that, you know, we
01:14 are already one regional community.
01:17 Yeah, APTA.
01:18 So, again, looking at every opportunity that the balance of trade can be pursued as well,
01:28 in most cases, tayo na didihado pa rin hanggang ngayon eh.
01:32 Okay.
01:33 So we need to up our game in terms of our export orientation. You know, that's where
01:40 most of the ASEAN countries now are ahead of us because they have eyed on the export
01:47 potentials for their respective country.
01:50 Now, more than ever, we should not only look out for what we require here in the country,
01:56 but regionally, globally, export orientation is a must.
02:03 Then less trade restrictions, you know.
02:07 Even with APTA?
02:08 Even with all those existing agreements, there are still regulations.
02:15 I see.
02:16 That have to be harmonized. Harmonization is the name of the game.
02:21 Okay.
02:22 And the power of technology is one key thing that we have to be utilized in all respect.
02:32 All things about, again, harmonization for one and requirements, for example, on trade.
02:42 So I believe that this twin approach, you have the ASEAN government, that's the public
02:52 road, while there is the road for the Business Advisory Council.
02:57 I see.
02:58 This is a good twin model that has to interact regularly, which they are doing.
03:06 So in agriculture, like what we have signed, Malaysia for one, we said we are interested
03:16 in terms of palm oil, rubber, and they are also interested maybe in poultry because we
03:31 are almost there.
03:32 We are almost sufficient in poultry.
03:35 Okay.
03:36 We can export poultry to Malaysia.
03:38 So elevating the game again.
03:41 In terms of rubber and palm oil, we need to request newer varieties of this plantation
03:48 crops so that we can be competitive with the rest of the world.
03:52 Again, the word there is, Clink, is competitiveness.
03:58 Okay.
03:59 We need every step of the way now to be globally competitive.
04:02 Otherwise, we will be left behind.
04:05 So every opportunity in terms of elevating our productivity, even to the extent of, of
04:14 course, profitability will always be there.
04:17 So you need to lower your cost of production.
04:20 And sustainability concerns, the impacts of climate change.
04:25 We need now to decarbonize our agriculture because agriculture is one of the source of
04:34 the greenhouse emission.
04:36 Sir, one of the things I heard during the meetings was the need for more complementarity.
04:42 And you've been talking about that.
04:43 There should be more trade among the ASEAN members.
04:46 But one of the practical issues that I've heard from Filipinos is that we make many
04:52 of the same things that our neighbors make.
04:55 But do you see opportunities where complementarity can happen?
05:01 And where would those be, Nano, do you think?
05:04 Okay.
05:05 For example, I was talking already about the need of Malaysia or other countries where
05:14 the dominant population is Muslim.
05:17 So they eat chicken.
05:18 So they need halal products.
05:20 So this should be the demand of the Philippines to produce more of halal products and export
05:27 it to these countries dominated by Muslims.
05:31 So ganoon din saten, rice for one, initially, meanwhile.
05:36 So we have to develop more relations in terms of rice agriculture with Vietnam, with Thailand.
05:45 Although, of course, they came here and learned the trade, so to speak, early days.
05:52 But we are lacking in implementation in terms of the very requirements to make our rice
05:58 production sustainable.
05:59 Yeah.
06:00 Do you think, sir, RCEP will also help the agri-sector?
06:06 That's fully in place now.
06:07 There was that excitement about maybe exporting durian.
06:12 Are we ready?
06:13 I mean...
06:14 I think, again, the name of the game for RCEP is competitiveness.
06:19 Yes.
06:20 And, of course, competitiveness in terms of leveling up your productivity.
06:26 And being globally competitive, you reduce your cost of production.
06:32 And you have to have volume.
06:34 Okay.
06:35 You have to have quality.
06:36 Okay.
06:37 Consistently over time.
06:40 Otherwise, one thing you may say, "I will supply you, but next time around, you don't
06:49 have the volume.
06:50 You don't have the quality."
06:51 Sure.
06:52 But these are the long-term insights that you need to cultivate from now and then.
06:57 Yeah.
06:58 And seeing to it that the support system must be there for private sector, the farmers,
07:05 to really level up.
07:07 Yeah.
07:08 It's all elevating of our game in agriculture and agribusiness.
07:15 Do you think that the government should take a much more active approach?
07:19 Because some of the critics say that if you look at, say, pineapples, if you look at bananas,
07:27 these crops have really prospered.
07:31 And they prospered because government did not intervene.
07:33 Okay.
07:34 Is there an argument there?
07:35 Good.
07:36 You mentioned that.
07:37 Where the private sector leads, then you only have to have the nurturing support system.
07:45 Okay.
07:46 Where rice takes the case of rice, where government is investing so much, then there
07:52 is still subsistence rice farming.
07:55 So the more you engage with the private sector, the better.
08:01 The more you partner the private sector with the small farmers, the better.
08:06 But you need to go to clustering, consolidation, so you can have economy scale.
08:11 Yeah.
08:12 Sir, are there any particular crops that excite you?
08:16 Say, there's a lot of talk about coffee, cacao, for instance.
08:21 Are the opportunities there really worth looking into?
08:23 Very much so for cacao, coffee.
08:26 We only produce very little of our requirement.
08:29 Much of that still is imported.
08:31 Right.
08:32 Coconut, there's so much importance of coconut in terms of value-added products.
08:39 Okay.
08:40 So, andame.
08:41 Yeah.
08:42 What else?
08:43 Poultry.
08:44 Yeah.
08:45 Halal.
08:46 Yes.
08:47 Many of these products.
08:48 Sir, your predecessor, in my opinion, was talking about sorghum.
08:52 Is that possible?
08:53 Have you had a chance to look at it when you were in office?
08:59 It's an interesting crop.
09:00 Not many Filipinos know.
09:01 I had to look it up myself.
09:03 But apparently, it's gaining popularity in other countries.
09:07 You know, sorghum, we need a lot of that.
09:10 In terms of the feed industry.
09:13 Okay.
09:14 We need a lot of it.
09:15 Yes.
09:16 Now, I hope with that move of former Secretary Pinoy that he can succeed in reintroducing
09:25 because there's a lot of introductions of soybeans.
09:28 Right.
09:29 It didn't fail.
09:30 Here in North Luzon, this has been properly introduced.
09:35 But it never, you know, have been developed properly.
09:41 Again, what I'd like to derive there, Clint, is if the private sector leads, even in its
09:50 introduction and piloting until it is commercialized, you can see more success story than when the
09:58 government starts.
10:00 Ironically.
10:01 Yeah.
10:02 Yeah.
10:03 So, are there any particular crops that you think we should be looking at, maybe whether
10:08 it's the private sector, the government, you mentioned cacao, coffee, sorghum.
10:13 Is there anything else we should be looking at?
10:15 Or maybe are there things that maybe we're not paying attention to?
10:19 The high value crops in general.
10:20 Okay.
10:21 You know, vegetables and the annual fruits.
10:24 Okay.
10:25 This would be, I would consider them as the low hanging fruits.
10:30 Okay.
10:31 We should be investing more.
10:32 We should be diversifying the rice production areas into these high value commodities.
10:39 Because you can get more income per unit area than when you compare the income coming from
10:46 rice and corn.
10:47 Right.
10:48 So, again, the name of the game is diversification into high value agriculture.
10:53 Right.
10:54 So, what do you think about, say, cassava?
10:55 Because, you know, we were in Indonesia.
10:57 I hear that country uses cassava to make flour, noodles.
11:03 It's needed very much by the livestock industry.
11:06 Yes.
11:07 And I heard some of your Filipino friends who were with you, they were saying that there's
11:10 even technology to make noodles from pumpkins.
11:14 From...
11:15 Yeah.
11:16 Yeah.
11:17 Except we don't have the volume.
11:19 I see.
11:20 Again, it's all backyard.
11:21 It's all the small land holdings.
11:24 Okay.
11:25 So, that's why we can promote as many of these promising commodities if you have the scale.
11:32 Okay.
11:33 So, the farm clustering will be a key strategy to enticing, again, the private sector to
11:40 come forward.
11:41 They don't want additional lands.
11:43 They only want to have economies of scale.
11:46 I see.
11:47 By way of partnering with the small farmers.
11:50 Or if you have, for example, the lands in the ancestral domain, they want to partner
11:55 with the people in those areas.
11:58 Right.
11:59 So, just the government must see to it that the supporting mechanisms to make it possible
12:08 for this partnership to happen must be there.
12:11 Otherwise, ang hirap ng privadong sektor kung masyadong restrictive yung regulations
12:18 mo dun.
12:19 Right.
12:20 So, it's not a governmental orientation.
12:21 Right.
12:22 And, there should be a one-stop shop even in every department that will assist the private
12:28 sector now in a big way partnering with the small farmers and those in the ancestral domain
12:34 areas.
12:35 Interesting.
12:36 Wow, that's a lot of opportunity.
12:36 I'm excited.
12:37 Thank you.
12:45 (bell chimes)
12:47 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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