A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative (KAMICO) for the establishment of the first agricultural machinery industry complex in the Philippines, a DA official disclosed on Wednesday.

Under the new partnership signed on Monday, the Korea Agri Machinery Industry Complex (KAMIC) will be established on a 20-hectare land in Cabanatuan City.

In an interview, DA Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa said this may serve as the “assembly and manufacturing” of agricultural machinery like tractors and seeders.

“This will be the first sana na industry complex na agricultural machinery sa ating bansa (hopefully the first industry complex of agricultural machinery in our country). If you look at Thailand, they have the Kubota na sa kanila ina-assemble, may na-manufacture for distribution sa (where the assembling and manufacturing are done for distribution in) Southeast Asia,” he said.

“We’re expecting within this year, magka-groundbreaking na (there will be a groundbreaking for the establishment).”

De Mesa said the partnership aims to bring down the cost of agricultural machinery in the country, considering that these will now be locally manufactured.

“Kunwari, magagawa tayo, magma-manufacture tayo ng agri-machinery na suited sa ating environment, sa ating (For instance, we will create, manufacture agri-machinery that is suited for our environment, or our) geographical conditions,” he said.

Besides bringing down the cost of agricultural machinery, the establishment of the KAMIC is also expected to create more jobs for Filipinos.

De Mesa said the project is expected to span 10 years, with four phases of implementation including the establishment of locators of 20 to 30 companies; the addition of more companies for assembling; manufacturing; and research and development (R&D).

The said partnership stemmed from an earlier agreement with the government of South Korea in June 2023.

DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., meanwhile, is set to visit South Korea to finalize other agreements on the matter in the first week of November.

KAMICO, established in 1962 and recognized by the Korean government, has more than 650 members and is a major player in the mechanization of Korea’s agriculture sector.

KAMICO actively works in the global agricultural machinery industry by providing aid to developing countries, dispatching investment research groups to emerging markets overseas and conducting training for international customers. (PNA)