Manila Bulletin – Philippines targets ₱1 billion in farm investments via global forum

The Philippines aims to secure approximately ₱1 billion in private sector investment through an upcoming national investment forum next month, as the country seeks to enhance the competitiveness of its key commodities in the global market.

Hand-in-Hand National Investment Forum

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced Monday, March 16, that the Hand-in-Hand (HIH) National Investment Forum will serve as a platform to recalibrate investment in the country’s agriculture sector.

The government intends to present the sector as a viable and bankable investment opportunity, rather than solely a development challenge, according to Tiu Laurel.

“We hope to achieve a billion at least in investments,” Tiu Laurel told reporters.

The forum is a partnership between the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and will focus on areas with significant, yet underfinanced, growth potential.

While the forum will cover all major sectors, cacao, mango, seaweed, and coffee will be highlighted due to their potential in the international market.

“We want to grab the opportunity to export more, so we need private sector investors,” said Tiu Laurel.

Inspired by the FAO’s Global Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum, the Manila forum aims to bridge the gap between global capital and local stakeholders, addressing a long-standing constraint on the sector’s growth.

The Philippines’ agriculture industry has historically struggled to attract large-scale investments due to fragmented supply chains, climate vulnerability, and infrastructure bottlenecks.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) hopes to attract foreign capital to modernize the sector through projects spanning farm production and processing to logistics and value-chain development.

ADB country director for the Philippines Andrew Jeffries stated the forum will help unlock investments to strengthen the long-term resilience of the agriculture sector.

Jeffries added that the partnership with the DA aligns with the ADB’s vision to strengthen the country’s climate and disaster resilience, modernize value chains and logistics systems, and foster nutrition-sensitive and inclusive approaches across agriculture and natural resources.