DA, Pure Foods to forge PPP tie up

In line with the Aquino administration’s policy of public-private partnerships (PPPs), the Department of Agriculture (DA) has unveiled plans to forge a partnership with a unit of Cojuangco-led conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC). The tie-up, disclosed by Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala in a forum in Pasig City, aims to improve the country’s agriculture industry and ensure food security for Filipinos. Francisco Alejo, president of San Miguel Pure Foods Company Inc., said that the company is willing to work with the DA, not just in sustaining existing programs but in creating more strategic and innovative ways of further developing and advancing the country’s agriculture sector. “We really want to drive the [Aquino] administration’s key strategy of advancing the country’s growth to public-private sector partnership and we want to deliver results," Alejo said Pure Foods is a unit of SMC, the diversifying food and beverage conglomerate chaired by CEO Eduardo “Danding" Cojuangco, Jr. The company can be a great help in supplying feeds to the mariculture project of the government — a growing industry that now accounts for around 50 percent of the country’s fish produciton, Alcala said. Moreover, the DA is looking into the possibilities of collaborating with Pure Foods in exporting livestock products, especially now that there is a good market for sheep export in Indonesia, he said. Export opportunities Alcala commended the food company for its exports of yakitori or grilled chicken to Japan, noting that the Philippines has exported a total of six million kilograms of the produce in 2009. He urged SMC to explore further export opportunities, possibly in the prawn industry, saying that Japan has high demand for prawns, and could be a possible market for country. “The Japan Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries minister told me in our discussion that they never banned the Philippines from exporting prawns to them," Alcala said. The DA secretary also said that he was able to convince a few exporters and buyers — including South Korea and Singapore — to buy livestock and poultry produce from the Philippines, adding that the department is now working on getting the necessary permits and authorization. “Our job is to look for available opportunities in the international market and match the right companies to take care of the exportation," Alcala added. He noted that he feels at ease backing up companies such as SMC because there is assured capitalization. — With Larissa Mae Suarez/JE/VS, GMANews.TV