- KOICA holds ceremony for the installment of new processing facilities for four farm cooperatives in the Philippines growing calamansi, coconut, banana, seaweed on Oct. 12-13

- KOICA’s project seeks to improve climate change response capacities and create a farm value chain comprising production-processing-distribution-sales in Philippines’ agricultural sector

Amid losses due to more frequent natural disasters in Southeast Asia brought on by climate change, KOICA is seeking to support small-scale farms in the Philippines through a $5 million project to strengthen climate resilience in the country’s rural areas.

As part of this project, KOICA held a ceremony for the installment and expansion of processing facilities in four farming associations that grow calamansi, coconut, banana, and seaweed in the province of Oriental Mindoro of the Mimaropa region in the Philippines on Oct. 12-13.

Through the processing facilities, KOICA expects small farming businesses to secure more stable and higher annual incomes. The banana processing facilities, for example, are expected to contribute significantly to consumer satisfaction and production increase, comprising of washing, drying, grinding, and packaging equipment, and having been certified by HACCP and the FDA. The installations are set to be completed in June, 2023.

As a result of KOICA’s project, some 4,100 farmers are expected to benefit from the new and expanded facilities. The operation of the facilities is expected to create $15 million for five years and create 300 new jobs.

Despite agriculture taking up a significant portion of the GDP, the Philippines had faced difficulties in creating added value in the agricultural sector. In the Oriental Mindoro province in particular, 62 percent of residents work in the agriculture sector, mainly producing calamansi, banana, and coconut. The producers are mostly small farms that lack information, negotiation power in the market, and capacities for processing, and thus sell a part of their produce in their original form at low prices.

Due to the climate crisis, typhoons accompanied by floods and landslides have increased damage to crops and disrupted the supply chain of agricultural products, causing an excess of produce and prices to fall. Throughout 2013-2018, some 400 thousand famers experiences losses of $76 million due to the collapse of production facilities or bruising of produce caused by climate change.

In response, KOICA has been implementing a $5 million project since 2019 together with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in Oriental Mindoro, Philippines to strengthen the agricultural value chain, enhance the climate adaptation capacity of rural agricultural areas, and promote sustainable development.

Specifically, the project includes the strengthening of local government policies responding to climate vulnerability in the agricultural sector, fostering small and medium agricultural businesses, and capacity strengthening of climate adaptation and farming businesses.      

The ceremony was attended by Country Director Kim Eun-seob of the KOICA Philippines Office, Country Representative of GGGI Philippines Kim Juhern, and others.

Prescilla Tierra, a member of the calamansi farming association, said, “Currently, our association is facing difficulties in creating profits, having been unable to gain accreditation from the government due to antiquated facilities and equipment. We hope that KOICA’s project will offer new stimulus for our association.”

According to Country Director Kim Eun-seob of the KOICA Philippines Office, “This project does not aim to only provide farming facilities but also infuse rural farming communities with entrepreneurship, allowing them to transform their businesses into small-to-medium enterprises with resilience to climate change.” He added, “We seek innovations in the entire value chain to produce multi-faceted impact including an increase in farm income, local economic development, and strengthening of residents’ capacities, through close cooperation with GGGI.”

Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, who has long championed agricultural development and is also currently heading the Department of Agriculture, has previously announced plans that focus on strengthening the agriculture sector.

Photo 1. Members of the calamansi farming association hold bottles of calamansi juice based on a business plan provided as part of KOICA’s project with GGGI to strengthen climate resilience in the rural areas in the Mimaropa region of the Philippines.  

Photo 2. Members of the calamansi farming association make calamansi juice based on a business plan provided as part of KOICA’s project with GGGI to strengthen climate resilience in the rural areas in the Mimaropa region of the Philippines.  

Photo 3. Participants attend a ceremony on Oct. 13 to install agricultural production facilities as a part of KOICA and GGGI’s project to strengthen climate resilience in the Philippines Mimaropa region. 

(From third from left) Country Representative of GGGI Philippines Kim Juhern, Provincial Administrator of Oriental Mindoro Hubbert Christopher A. Dolor, Country Director Kim Eun-seob of the KOICA Philippines Office