Department of Agriculture (DA) Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban, Assistant Secretary for Operations Arnel De Mesa, and DA-National Dairy Authority (NDA) Administrator Gabriel Lagamayo met with Israel Ambassador to the Philippines H.E. Ilan Fluss on July 31, 2023 to discuss collaborative projects in agriculture.
The officials talked about the status of the proposed Philippines and Israel Cooperative Learning and Linkages in Agriculture through Bilateral Agreement (PH-IL CoLLAB) to be implemented with the DA-Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
The PH-IL CoLLAB is aligned with the two countries’ goal of strengthening its cooperation and improving agricultural partnerships through training, internship, professional exchange, and monitoring and evaluation.
The officials also discussed the market access of Philippine fresh pineapples and mangoes, the importation of Hass avocado planting materials, technical cooperation on enhancing local laboratories, and the development of a large-scale dairy farm using Israeli technology. In addition, it was agreed that an integrated annual work plan for the DA and the Israel government will be prepared for better coordination on the countries’ priority projects.
Ambassador Fluss also invited Undersecretary Panganiban and other DA officials to join the Agritech 2023, which is the largest agricultural technology event in Israel. The event, which will be held in October 2023, will showcase the latest agricultural, water, and food technologies and solutions from leading companies in the world.
Moreover, the Embassy expressed its intention to organize a Learning Exchange on Agricultural Research seminar on August 30, 2023 during the visit to the Philippines of Prof. Uri Yermiyahu from the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO).### (text by Gumamela Celes Bejarin/photos by Alan Jay Jacalan, DA-AFID)
