Manila, March 24 -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) regional office here has partnered with the prefectural government of Hiroshima, Japan, to improve banana production in Eastern Visayas.

Rodel Macapanas, DA regional field operations division chief, said on Monday that 13 parliamentarians of Hiroshima Prefecture met with them to benchmark the banana production in the region on March 19 in this city.

Japanese officials are upbeat that the visit will lead to the development of international exchange between Hiroshima and the Philippines, Macapanas said.

"As a strategic move to further upscale the banana industry in the region, the DA regional office sees an opportunity to team up with the Japanese government as they offer to extend ...