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Gov't,
business move to enhance competitiveness of agri products
Philippine
Daily Inquirer
16-Oct-2002
In line with
efforts to enhance the competitiveness of locally grown agricultural
products, particularly corn, the Office of the Million Jobs Program
headed by Presidential Adviser for Jobs Creation Luis P. Lorenzo Jr.
recently brought together industry stakeholders for a series of
caucuses to define the problems affecting the corn sector.
The
multi-sector meet aimed to address the various problems - from
production to processing, logistics to marketing and distribution -
that hinder the growth and affect the competitiveness of the corn
sector, particularly in Mindanao. It also sought to identify the
interventions needed by the sector.
The meetings
were in response to President Macapagal-Arroyo's challenge to the
private sector to help make locally produced corn more competitive in
the global arena. Producers, processors, traders and cargo handlers
in General Santos and Cagayan de Oro, shipping companies and
government financial institutions participated in the meetings. A
workshop on corn productivity was also held to consolidate the ideas
and suggestions of the stakeholders in the corn supply chain.
The shipping
industry, which for a long time bore the brunt of accusation that the
high cost of prime commodities was a result of high shipping cost,
actively took part in the corn workshop - highlighting the sector's
commitment to help find ways to reduce the cost of transporting
locally produced agriculture products.
The corn
productivity workshop, which involved players in the supply chain, is
an offshoot of the holistic approach that the Philippine Interisland
Shipping Association (PISA) is advocating through its president,
Doris Magsaysay Ho, to address the problem of competitiveness of
Philippine products.
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