By NNN-PNA
Manila : Spain has pledged a total of one million euros in financial aid to the Philippines to help strengthen the agro-industrial sectors in Bicol and the Caraga region.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap on Sunday said a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between him and Juan Pablo de Laiglesia, the secretary general of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI), gives flesh to Madrid’s commitment to support the DA’s efforts to improve “the socioeconomic conditions of the small rural producers of the Philippines.”
He said the MOA, which was signed on Dec 4 following the state visit of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to Spain, provides the “protocol of organization” and cites the “specific management mechanisms” needed to achieve the objectives of the project “Strengthening of the Agro-Industrial Sector in the Bicol and Caraga.”
Yap said the DA, through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and AECI will also ink a separate MOU on the implementation of a project on sustainable management of coastal resources in Bicol and Caraga, which, like the agro-industrial project, is also covered by the official development assistance (ODA) from Spain under the 5th Joint Commission for Cooperation for 2006-2008.
The Philippines and Spain earlier forged a landmark bilateral agreement that aims to strengthen agricultural ties between the two countries.
Yap said the event marked a milestone in the field of agricultural cooperation between the two countries, as it was the first time for the DA to sign a MOA on Agriculture and Fisheries with its Spanish counterpart — the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
It was also the first such deal forged between the DA and a major European country.
In 2006, the Philippines exported a total of 24,425 metric tons (MT) of agricultural products to Spain worth US$ 20 million.
Yap said an initial P106.29 million worth of initiatives to boost abaca production and improve the Philippines’ livestock sector will be submitted for consideration under the MOA, while the approval of another P82.52 million worth of projects with Spain is expected to be accelerated with the signing of the agreement.
Among the projects to be undertaken jointly by the governments of Spain and the Philippines under their MOA are a P60-million project to rehabilitate and expand the local abaca industry; a P23.11-million project on swine genetic improvement; and a P43.18-million project to strengthen the meat central and satellite laboratories in the country.
Yap said the MOA will also accelerate the approval of a P57.2-million proposal to conduct a feasibility study on the development of the biofuels feedstock industry in the Philippines; and a P25.42-million project to ensure the sustainable use and management of bluefin tuna resources in the country.
The MOA with Spain, the fifth-largest economy in the European Union, will also provide opportunities for the DA to engage in technical exchange and training for postharvest fisheries inspectors; upgrading of laboratory facilities; and undertaking joint research activities, especially on mariculture parks development, he noted.
In the livestock sector, Spain is the Philippines’ major source of breeder swine.
The Philippines can improve its breeding stock of hogs through Spanish assistance in this area, Yap said.
“Training in animal vaccine production, quality control and residue testing are identified areas of cooperation,” he added.
Yap said Spain can also assist the DA in training for food safety modules such as product traceability, residues testing, Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).
On top of this government-to-government contract, the DA also formalized an agreement with Fundacion Codespa, a Spanish non-government organization (NGO) of which His Royal Highness HRH Prince Felipe of Spain is the Honorary President, to implement agricultural projects on microfinance, training, and technology transfer, and a MOA with Bionor Transformacion, a well-established global multi-feedstock biodiesel leader company in Europe, to promote biofuels investments and identify lands for feedstock development in the Philippines.