President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has sought the United States’ help in improving the country’s research and innovation in agriculture.

During his meeting with US State Secretary Antony Blinken in Malacañang on Saturday, Aug. 6, the President expressed his intention to cooperate with American scientists and institutions to further the country’s agriculture research and development under his watch.

“We have very good scientific researchers who have been working on this, but we have to organize them better. And I think any exchanges with your researchers and scientists and institutions would certainly be welcomed,” Marcos told Blinken.

Blinken said the United States is ready to work with the Philippines in this area.

“We are happy to work with you on this in any way what you see appropriate, and certainly we make sure that what expertise we have, we can share,” Blinken said.

The two officials vowed to strengthen both countries’ partnership in the agriculture sector as Blinken cited Marcos’ move to lead the Department of Agriculture.

“I was also struck by something which is your decision — despite the fact that you have a full-time job, you also took the agriculture portfolio. And I wanted to tell you that this is an area of intense focus for us, food security,” the US official said.

“In your position in agriculture, you are getting a further understanding of the Philippines’ needs and where you can help,” he added.

Marcos said the Covid-19 pandemic fueled the need to improve agricultural sustainability, address food supply concerns and bolster the country’s response to future crises.

“One of the painful lessons of the pandemic was when food shipments were stopped, we suddenly realized we cannot feed ourselves, which is an immediate weakness in everything that we will do,” Marcos said.

The chief executive said this is why there is a need for a more robust food production and distribution system. “That immediately became a priority. And it is something that we now are slowly working on,” he said.

During Blinken’s courtesy call on Marcos, the two officials talked about a wide range of issues, including the US government’s commitment to continue the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty.