The Philippines and Brunei are exploring collaboration in agriculture following a meeting last Wednesday between Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban and Brunei ambassador Megawati Manan.
In particular, the Philippines is eyeing opportunities to export local Jasmine and sticky rice variants to Brunei, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said in a statement yesterday.
DA said the parties are also looking at scholarship opportunities and collaborative hybrid rice research at the Universiti Teknologi Brunei — Center for Research on AgriFood Science and Technology, which is the sole research center for agriculture, food science and nutrition in Brunei.
DA said during the meeting, Manan laid out possibilities of exporting Halal beef, lamb and other meat products to the Philippines as well as opening Brunei to Filipino industries as a production hub of Halal products.
In turn, Panganiban proposed the export and promotion of Philippine coconut peat, coconut oil, sweet corn, cacao, pineapples, mangos, avocados, durian, fishery products and poultry products to Brunei markets, especially through the Brunei Darussalam—Indonesia—Malaysia—Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).
The countries also explored the possibility of renewing the memorandum of understanding on food security and cultural cooperation which was signed in 2011 and had expired in 2016 which manifested a collaboration towards the realization of the food basket initiatives of the BIMP-EAGA as well as the development of the agriculture, fisheries, food processing and Halal industries between the parties.
