AGRI INVESTMENTS. Former agriculture secretary Emmanuel Piñol bares Thursday (Dec. 22, 2022) that Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Foods Philippines is set to pour in PHP1 billion worth of investments in the poultry and livestock sectors in Central Mindanao. The CP agricultural conglomerate currently has a USD$2 billion investment in the Philippines. (PNA file photo)
DAVAO CITY – A giant Thailand agriculture firm is set to pour in additional PHP1 billion worth of investments in the poultry and livestock sectors of Central Mindanao.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, former agriculture secretary Emmanuel Piñol said Thailand's largest agricultural conglomerate, Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP) Foods Philippines, will invest particularly in the agriculture sector.
“When a big corporation invests PHP1 billion in poultry and hogs despite the threat of African swine fever and bird flu, they deserve to be supported, especially since they are sourcing their raw materials from local farmers,” he said.
CP Foods Philippines Senior Vice President Sompong Rojanaadisorn, the head of Livestock Feed Mill based in Polomolok, South Cotabato, said the firm needs several agricultural products for their feed mill processing.
The needed products include corn, which must be clean and dry with 14 percent moisture content; sorghum clean and dry (13 percent moisture content; and cassava in cube cuts (14 percent moisture content).
For corn production, Bayer Philippines was tapped to supply quality seeds.
“While our company, Southseas Agri-Aqua Ventures Inc., is mainly involved in sorghum production, we could only start contributing to this program when we have reached a planted area of 500 hectares per month,” Piñol said.
For the cassava cube cuts requirements, he said cassava production farmers in North Cotabato would supply the needs of CPF Phils. Feed Mill.
Piñol earlier said CP Group pledged to make additional investments in the Philippines in aquaculture, rice, and swine production, following a meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in Bangkok, Thailand.
CP Group officials expressed interest in collaborating with the Philippines in swine, rice, corn, and aquaculture, as well as developing the value chain of those industries to link them to local consumers.
CP Group is Thailand’s largest private company with a USD$2 billion investment in the Philippines. (PNA)
