President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday expressed his willingness to pursue government-to-government (G2G) talks to address the increasing prices of fertilizers.

Marcos, who concurrently heads the Department of Agriculture (DA), said the government could avail of cheaper fertilizers through the G2G deals.

“Gusto tayong tulungan, gusto tayong lapitan, eh ‘di take advantage naman tayo, ‘di ba. Sige bigyan niyo kami ng fertilizer na medyo maganda-ganda ang presyo. That’s the whole point of G2G,” he told agriculture officials during a meeting at the Bureau of Soils and Water Management Convention Hall in Quezon City.

The Chief Executive is looking into communicating with China, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and Russia for the country’s procurement of fertilizers.

“I’m thinking would it be useful for us if sulatan ko silang lahat… and I’ll say that we are in the market to buy this volume of fertilizer,” he said.

The President asked agriculture officials to provide data on the source of and price of fertilizers, as well as on the department’s distribution plan during the planting season.

The chief executive decided to temporarily head DA, citing the need to urgently address the looming food crisis.

Marcos said the most pressing issues that need to be addressed in the agricultural sector include increasing rice production and reorganizing the DA and its attached agencies. (PNA)