Marcos seeks private sector cooperation to help farmers

MEETING. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. shakes hands with a member of the Private Sector Advisory Council at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Thursday (July 7, 2022). Marcos, who concurrently serves as the agriculture czar, said he was “excited” to partner with the private sector in improving the agricultural sector. (Photo from PBBM’s official Facebook page)

To help provide strong support for farmers, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has sought the cooperation of the private sector.

Marcos, who concurrently serves as Agriculture Secretary, said he is “excited” to partner with the private sector in improving the agricultural sector. He recently met with members of the Private Sector Advisory Council at Malacañan.

 “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. 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,” he said in a Facebook post.

The President, however, did not elaborate on the programs he  intends to pursue to boost agriculture. Last July 5, in a press briefing, he vowed to look for long-term solutions to address the problems plaguing the country’s agriculture sector, stressing that having a “robust” agriculture is key to building a stronger economy.

Marcos also stressed the need to boost the production of rice and corn, as well as livestock and fisheries in the last two quarters of this year as “one short-term solution” to the projected food shortage.