Iloilo gov eyes agriculture value chain strengthening

ILOILO City—provincial Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. has set his sights on establishing a robust value chain for agricultural products within the city, urging private sector involvement to enhance tourist offerings.

This initiative aligns with the Visit Iloilo Campaign, further solidified through the signing on the commitment wall at the Iloilo Convention Center in Mandurriao on Monday, April 15, 2024.

“We need our private sector to think about that and do that. So we can offer more,” Defensor told the Businessmirror.

He said that the province is driven by motivation, highlighting existing programs tailored for small and medium enterprises. However, the primary emphasis remains on improving offerings within the business sector, which he cited as a tangible goal sought after by the provincial government.

“We are together with the private sector. Capital will come from initiative and the business will come from the private sector,” he said.

Defensor said that due to the nature of governance and business in the Philippines, around 90 percent of interventions in businesses are handled by the private sector, while the government provides essential groundwork.

As for the interventions of the provincial government of Iloilo, the governor outlined three main aspects: motivation, aimed at encouraging stakeholders and partners to transform agricultural products; provision of training and education; and facilitating access to capital.

“Breaking the value chain, so that we can have more products and we want the food industry to be the center of our business, but that pertains to the private sectors, because we are a traditional government innovation business,” he said.

“We’re trying to develop our agricultural services, we want to train people. We want more destinations for you [tourists],” Defensor concluded.