The Philippines continues to deepen its ties with Japan in agriculture, trade, and food security following a productive ministerial visit by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. to meet new Agriculture Minister and the Senior Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Norikazu Suzuki, in Japan from Jan. 26 to 29.

According to a Department of Agriculture (DA) news release on Wednesday, Tiu Laurel secured a grant for a Rice Processing System (RPS) in the National Food Authority (NFA) warehouse in Cauayan City, Isabela, with the grant agreement set to be signed within February.

The facility, which is scheduled for immediate implementation, will help reduce post-harvest losses, enhance the quality of local rice, and strengthen the country’s national rice buffer stock.

The RPS will be equipped with four 30-metric-ton grain dryers, a 10-ton-per-hour rice mill, and four 1,000-ton silos.

Tiu Laurel also sought JICA’s support in other priority projects, including integrated Food Logistics Hubs, a nationwide basic commodity distribution study, the modernization of small-scale fisheries, Magat Dam rehabilitation, and the Market-Driven Vegetable Value Chain project expansion.

For trade, Tiu Laurel also requested new market access for pomelos, expedited entry of Japanese grapes, and enhanced protocols for mango, papaya, and poultry from avian flu-free regions.

He likewise reiterated the country’s request to lower the Japanese government’s tariffs on Philippine bananas as the Philippines prepares for accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Japan welcomed the DA’s proposal to include fisheries in the expansion of the Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) and will host the second PH-Japan Joint Committee on Agriculture meeting in June 2026, according to the DA.

The Philippines expressed hope that the amended MOC will be signed this year, marking 70 years of Philippines-Japan diplomatic normalization. (PNA)