• The Philippines, the world’s top importer of rice, plans to spend 93 billion pesos ($1.7 billion) to build more storage and other facilities to boost food production and cut prices.
• The government will build facilities that will minimize post-harvest losses and lessen dependence on imports, the Department of Agriculture said in a statement on Tuesday. It aims to increase rice and corn inventory by 23 days.
• The Southeast Asian nation aims to modernize farm and fisheries production and develop its logistics system, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said. Around 30% of farm production is lost due to poor logistics, and eliminating such losses will lower the cost of high-value crops and vegetables by as much as 15%, Tiu said in a briefing.