QUEZON CITY (PIA) -- Few days into his trip to the United States, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. already began to take on efforts to maximize the visit and gain beneficial results for the Philippines. 

As the concurrent head of the Department of Agriculture, it was expected that the Chief Executive will prioritize securing PH-US programs and projects related to the sector which he considers at the forefront of reviving the post-pandemic Philippine economy. 

President Marcos and US Department of Agriculture officials led by Secretary Thomas Vilsack have agreed on the creation of a ministerial team on agricultural cooperation to focus on the concerns on food security and efficiency. 

During the meeting, the President discussed the challenges to the food supply in the country, especially during the height of the pandemic. He considered it as one of the “weaknesses” that they discovered and that needs to be addressed. 

After the meeting, the USDA mentioned that continued cooperation and strengthened knowledge transfer can be expected from the discussion. The foreign agricultural body announces that they look forward to welcoming Filipino professors to the US and exposing them to their system so they can be the catalyst of what they have learned in the Philippines. 

In the coming days, Marcos will continue to reinforce ties with representatives from the US. On May 5, he is expected to attend the Food Security Dialogue that will center on cooperation boosting and agricultural research and development improvement. 

Speaker Martin Romualdez, for his part, mentioned that the agricultural systems of the US will be immensely valuable for the Philippines and can also assist the country in battling climate change. 

Joining also the President at this meeting were Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, Special Assistant to the President Secretary Antonio Lagdameo Jr., Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil, and Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez. (MVMV, PIA-CPSD)