The Philippines and France have signed an administrative arrangement that aims to promote bilateral trade and cooperation in agricultural, fishery and food products, a move that subsequently called for the creation of a Joint Agricultural Steering Committee (JASC).
JASC would implement the administrative arrangement and facilitate linkages between the relevant organizations, companies and key stakeholders of the two countries in each of the areas of cooperation.
The signing of this bilateral agreement coincided with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and the Philippines this year.
To contribute further to this event, the DA and the Embassy of France to the Philippines, together with the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the Department of Science and Technology Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARD), the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), have co-organized the Philippines-France Forum on Agriculture preceding the signing ceremony.
Multi-sectoral groups and researchers from France and the Philippines have also come together to share scientific, socially, and environmentally efficient strategies in addressing the problems faced by stakeholders on the effects of climate change on food security.
