Philippines gets China grant to boost rice production
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government on Tuesday secured a RMB27.52 million (approximately P226.93 million or $4.36 million) Chinese grant that aims to modernize the Philippines’ hybrid rice center.
In a statement released on Friday, the Department of Finance said the agreement will boost the country’s palay production.
The deal will be implemented by the Department of Agriculture and will cover Phase III of the Technical Cooperation Project for the Philippines’ Agricultural Technology Center.
This aims “to contribute in boosting the rice production capacity of the Philippines towards rice sufficiency by upgrading the Philippine Sino Center for Agricultural Technology’s hybrid rice technology research and demonstration center into a Modern Hybrid Rice Breeding Station and Technology Demonstration Center,” the DOF said.
The agreement is one of the three accords with China that were signed during the recent visit of President Rodrigo Duterte to attend the annual Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan, China.
The Philippines also on Tuesday signed a loan agreement with China to help fund the construction of the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project in Northern Luzon, and a separate accord on economic and technical cooperation.
Despite Duterte's warm relations with China, the Philippines has a long history of mistrust of it as the two countries continue to spar over the South China Sea.
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