BoI offers agri-business roadmap

The Trade Department will present Thursday a roadmap on agricultural business focusing on condiments, confectionery, seaweeds, processed foods and shrimps. Corazon Dichosa, executive director of the Board of Investments industry policy group, said the Trade and Investments Updates would highlight the opportunities and growth areas in agribusiness, where stakeholders could maximize prospects with research and technology. "Like any other roadmap, the agribusiness roadmap is important as guidance to agribusiness entrepreneurs on where they should put their capital. Agribusiness is a very enterprising business with lots of growth areas,” she said. Rolando Dy, executive director for food and agribusiness at the University of Asia and the Pacific, and Roehlano Briones, a research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, will present the roadmap. Dy will speak on the scope and opportunities presented in the roadmap, while Briones will explain the supply chain gap, constraints and policy response to the plan. Agriculture Undersecretary Segfredo Serrano, meanwhile, will discuss initial findings on different sub-topics under the agribusiness roadmap. The roadmaps for bamboo, coco coir and the automotive sector are expected to be finalized within the year, while those for medical travel, mineral processing, processed foods, including fruits, processed meat and marine products, shipbuilding, garments, printing and home appliance will be completed by end of this year. Industry roadmaps on manufacturing, automotive, automotive parts, biodiesel, cement, ceramic tiles, chemicals, copper and copper products, electric vehicles, electronics, furniture, iron and steel, IT-BPM, mass housing, metal casting, motorcycle, petrochemicals, plastics, pulp and paper, rubber products, tool and die and natural health products have been submitted to the BoI. The board’s industry development initiatives have received the support of international partners, through technical assistance projects such as the European Union—Trade-Related Technical Assistance and the United States Agency for International Development—Advancing Competitiveness Project. The Japan International Cooperation Agency is also working with the BoI on several projects related to industry development.//