The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) on Tuesday expressed plans to introduce modern technology for rice farming in the Philippines, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA).

In a press conference, TECO Representative Wallace Minn-Gan Chow said the project aims to show Taiwan’s support for the Marcos administration’s food security and affordability targets.

“By introducing modern technology from Taiwan, we aim to strengthen the Philippines’ capability to provide accessible and affordable rice. Ensuring that even in the face of natural calamities, no one goes hungry,” he said.

The TECO official said the collaboration with the DA will include the Taiwan Technical Mission.

“We are going to launch a cooperative project to enhance rice production in the provinces of Isabela and Cagayan in the very near future,” he said.

The DA earlier reported a decline in the projected annual local palay production due to the combined effects of the El Niño phenomenon, weather disturbances, and La Niña.

Palay output for 2024 was projected to drop to 19.41 million metric tons (MT) from the earlier 20.4 million MT target.

Despite this, the DA assured robust rice inventory with the supplementary supply from rice imports, which, as of Oct. 14, has reached around 3.57 million tons.

Rice donation

The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), meanwhile, expressed gratitude to the TECO for its donation of Taiwan rice to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to aid Filipinos affected by the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name Trami).

“We would like to express our appreciation to TECO for facilitating the turnover of 500 metric tons of rice donation. The latest rice shipment, which arrived Oct. 15, is part of the 2,000 MT rice donation which was intended for distribution to mostly needy recipients and victims of calamities,” MECO Director Cheloy Garafil said during the ceremonial turnover of rice donation at the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati City.

Garafil said the remaining 500 MT is expected to arrive in the country in November.

Minn-Gan Chow said the “modest” volume of rice donations aims to show the “heartfelt gesture of Taiwanese people.”

“Taiwan reaffirms its commitment to stand with the Philippines as you endure these challenging times. The 500 (metric) tons of rice donated here today symbolizes Taiwan’s compassion and solidarity with Filipino people,” he said.

For its part, the DSWD said the rice donation will benefit affected families in the Bicol Region, as well as Filipinos in Northern Luzon with the anticipated effects of Typhoon Leon (international name Kong-Rey).

“This is a very important donation from TECO because it increases our capacity to produce more family food packs for typhoon-affected families. This is a good quality rice, a well-milled rice, so iyong makakatanggap nito (those who will receive this) will be very happy,” Special Assistant to the Secretary (SAS) for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) and concurrent officer-in-charge of the National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau (NRLMB) Leo Quintilla told the Philippine News Agency.

He said at least 83,000 families or more than 400,000 individuals may benefit from such rice donation. (PNA)