06 June 2023, Manila. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. witnessed the ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cooperative Partnership for Agricultural Machinery between the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative (KAMICO) on Tuesday, June 6, 2023 as the Philippines gears up for improved farm productivity and food security.

Speaking during the signing ceremony in Malacanang, the President highlighted the importance of mechanization to agricultural production, noting it has been the thrust of his government to boost food production particularly rice, the country's major staple.

"We all recognized very clearly the importance of mechanization for our country because we are trying to move the production, we are trying to make sure that at least the local supply for rice is sufficient and, of course, hopefully, also the other crops," Marcos said.

"The key to all of this is mechanization and all of the things that we're trying to do. We have some programs to mechanize. We have... our set program, which is the production, from the tariffs on rice importations and then applied also to mechanization," he added.

Establishing local machinery production is the first step towards agricultural development, Marcos said, expecting it to result in better yield and lower production cost to make Filipino farmers more competitive.

Among the salient features of the MOU include the establishment in the Philippines of a local agricultural machinery manufacturing cluster including assembly production line, research and development of agricultural machinery technology, workforce training on agricultural machinery technology, and a grant of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to further explore potential projects.

President Marcos welcomes KAMICO's proposal for the establishment of a local agricultural machinery manufacturing cluster in the Philippines to be implemented in three phases. KAMICO announced an initial investment of US$30 million would be made in phase 1 of the project and triple that amount in the second phase.

The project is expected to result in food production self-sufficiency; the Philippines becoming a food-exporting country; increased employment and farmers' income; establishment of infrastructure on agricultural mechanization and industrialization; and, technology transfer and production of specialized machinery.

Through the coordination of the Philippine Embassy and Philippine Agriculture Office in Seoul, KAMICO has been collaborating with DA and the Philippine Center for Post-harvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) since 2017 for technical cooperation in the development of localized farm machinery in the Philippines.

Among the DA-PHILMECH technical cooperation projects with KAMICO-member companies are adaptability testing of a self-propelled Mechanical Elevating Work Platform for mango, durian, and other fruit production operations, and technology performance verification and adaptation of a mechanized onion production system; and pilot adoption and pre-commercialization of corn milling machine.

Philippine Ambassador to Korea, Ambassador Maria Theresa B. Dizon De Vega lauds the active engagement of the KAMICO in accelerating agriculture mechanization in the Philippines.

Currently, DA implements various agrimechanization project under Korean ODA including Technology advice and solutions from South Korea (TASK), Agricultural Mechanization Design and Prototyping Center project; and Smart Agriculture projects.

Established in 1962 and recognized by the Korean government, KAMICO has more than 650 members and is a major partner in the mechanization of Korea's agriculture sector.

KAMICO actively works in the global agricultural machinery industry by providing aid to developing countries, dispatching investment research groups to emerging markets overseas, and conducting training for international customers. END