Study tags measures to ease doing business in agri sector

REDUCING permits and increasing online interactions with the government are needed to help improve ease of doing business in the Philippines’ agriculture and fishery sector, a government study has found.

According to the study commissioned by the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries and conducted by the Development Academy of the Philippines, businesses had to duplicate requirements in securing licenses and permits and endure other “unnecessary regulatory burdens.”

To address this, the “Review of Laws and Regulations to Enhance the Policy Environment toward Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization” study suggested that the Department of Agriculture should “cut the number of compulsory permits, and make more use of information technology, so that businesses can interact with [the] government online.”

Creating “a ‘client- friendly’ regulatory environment can try to simplify dealings with businesses and other entities,” the study said, adding that modifying protocols “could mean greater discretion [for] food businesses to manage [the] traceability of [their] produce.”

“This will facilitate the tracking of production, processing, and distribution stages, including importation and at retail,” it said.

The study also suggested using processes “that effectively design rules, institute fair governance structures, empower institutional capacity, and employ scientific regulatory tools and consistent good regulatory practice.”

It also recommended “well-articulated cross-functional and cross-product coordination processes, with active participation from all major sectoral and functional areas.”