President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday said he was open to government-to-government (G2G) deals for fertilizers as their prices continue to increase due to high energy costs.
Marcos Jr., who also heads the Department of Agriculture (DA), said the government could possibly avail of cheaper fertilizers through G2G deals.
“Gusto tayong tulungan, gusto tayong lapitan, eh ‘di take advantage naman tayo, ‘di ba. Sige bigyan niyo kami ng fertilizer na medyo maganda-ganda ang presyo. That’s the whole point of G2G,” he told agriculture officials during a meeting at the Bureau of Soils and Water Management Convention Hall in Quezon City.
Possible G2G partners for the Philippines on such deals include China, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Russia, a Palace media release said.
“I’m thinking would it be useful for us if sulatan ko silang lahat… and I’ll say that we are in the market to buy this volume of fertilizer,” he said.
Marcos earlier said the DA had to be restructured for it to be “more responsive to the global situation.”
He also floated his plan to “rebuild the value chain of agriculture” as the DA earlier warned of a possible food shortage in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The country’s food supply has been affected by the Ukraine-Russia crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. John Ezekiel J. Hirro