The 2nd Stakeholders Forum for the Market-Driven Enhancement of Vegetable Value Chain in the Philippines (MV2C) held last January 24 in Manila, brought together over 200 representatives from various sectors, including the private sector both from the Philippines and Japan, to explore innovative solutions and foster business partnerships aimed at strengthening the vegetable industry in the Philippines.
The MV2C, or Ka-Gulay, is a six-year technical cooperation project (TCP) of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) – Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS), started in 2022. It seeks to modernize the Philippine vegetable industry by analyzing the whole value chain and addressing key challenges such as price fluctuations, high distribution cost, postharvest losses, and low vegetable consumption, ultimately improving the quality of life of Filipinos, such as farmers and consumers. The MV2C adopts a market-driven and holistic approach that is responsive to the respective needs of the growers, processors, and marketing entrepreneurs in the vegetable value chain, thereby enabling equitable growth.
The forum attracted a wide range of participants, including farmers’ associations and cooperatives, suppliers, service providers, and retailers, among others. The stakeholders benefited from the business forum as it presented practical technical solutions and innovations in production, post-harvest logistics, and market linkages designed to create an efficient, sustainable, and inclusive food value chain (IFVC).
In particular, the presentations featured four approaches for the IFVC model, namely, shipment adjustment through programmed farming, pre-cooled shipments in plastic crates to maintain quality, agro-processing through merchandising, and sales promotion of vegetables through life skills and health support.
In the networking and business matching sessions, participants were engaged in productive discussions that will pave the way for synergies and a more cohesive industry. Newcomers also capitalized on the opportunity to consult with industry experts who willingly shared their experience and insights.
JICA Philippines Chief Representative SAKAMOTO Takema emphasized that “there is an acute need to streamline, improve and modernize every stage or node of the value chain from agricultural production, logistics to marketing to consumers, even to ensure better food supply at an affordable price to consumers.” SAKAMOTO added that “there is no doubt that agriculture is the backbone of the country, and I recall DA’s slogan, ‘Masaganang Agrikultura, Maunlad na Ekonomiya’, ‘Prosperous Agriculture, Progressive Economy’.”
JICA conveyed their continued support to the Philippine’s agricultural reforms through the MV2C-TCP, as well as other ongoing initiatives such as the Project for the Development of Novel Disease Management Systems for Banana and Cacao (BaCaDM) and human capacity development cooperation.
