Promotions, Marketing! Govt. Must Transform NFA Into An Agri Export Agency

With the ratification by the Philippine Senate of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), in spite of opposition from the agriculture sector, the government must now prepare for the deluge of tariff-free imported goods from the bigger economies by boosting local production and supporting agricultural exports.
There are two agencies of government which could cushion the shock of the RCEP on local agricultural producers and both are under the Deparment of Agriculture, the National Food Authority (NFA) and its corporate arm, the Food Terminal Incorporated (FTI).
The FTI, as earlier suggested, should handle the local consolidation and repositioning of basic food commodities to ensure that farmers are given the fair price and consumers have access to farm fresh goods at prices lower than the imported products.
The NFA, on the other, could be given an additional mandate of promoting and marketing Philippine Agricultural products, especially those being exported now through the efforts of the private sector.
The Philippines is one of the very few agricultural countries in Asia which does not have an agency which supports the promotions and marketing of its products.
Vietnam has an agency which handles the export promotions of its Rice while India also has an agency which markets its Indian Buffalo Meat. In the Philippines, the export of high value products like Cavendish Banana, Pineapple, Marine and Aqua Products, Coconut Products, Mango, Avocado and lately Durian had been initiated by the private sector.
There is very little effort by the Philippine government, even with the presence of the Trade Missions abroad, to promote and find new markets for agricultural products which could compete with those from other countries.
The Philippines, for example, holds the distinction of being the source of the sweetest Pineapple in the world but there is no effort by our government to cash in on this and promote Philippine Pineapple, relying mainly on the Dole and Del Monte brands.
With NFA promoting and finding new markets for our agricultural products, our local agriculture sector could very well compete and help government balance our trade deficit with the bigger economies who are members of the RCEP and other Free Trade Agreements.

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