AsiaDHRRA Online

FarmFriday highlights this is very interesting newsbit from IFAD with its President Kanayo F. Nwanze pushing for more efforts  to linking smallholder farmers to the private sector:

“In Davos, I intend to show business leaders how linking smallholder farmers to the private sector is key to building the economy of developing countries. The private sector is increasingly crucial to drive economic growth in the developing world,” emphasized Nwanze, “IFAD will continue to be the voice of smallholder farmers because they are fundamental to transforming the agricultural system and bringing about economic growth”.

“Agriculture, irrespective of the size of the farm, generates business. And every entrepreneur, whether it is a smallholder farmer or a large commercial farmer, needs or wants to make money. We have the responsibility to transform smallholder agriculture into smallholder businesses,” Nwanze said.

Continue reading here about how Agriculture makes good business sense….

Intelligent and inspired reflections from our friend Tony about the failed Copenhagen Climate Change Conference. Got this from a climate change mailing list

By Tony La Viña
Dean, Ateneo School of Government
Philippines Lead Negotiator, Copenhagen Climate Change Conference

I can never forget what happened in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the early hours of December 19, 2009. I will remember that day as an experience of both despair and hope Together with thousands of government officials, academics, environmental advocates, social activists, and ordinary citizens, I had come to Copenhagen with optimism that the world could come together and finally agree on how to address climate change, the most serious environmental problem we face. But like many others, I was disappointed with what we came up with in Copenhagen. Not only were we not able to bring home to our countries a legally  binding and effective agreement on climate change but the last hours of the Copenhagen talks was a disaster characterized  by  a destructive blame game. A Copenhagen Accord was noted, not adopted, by the Conference, and it remains uncertain if this weak agreement will even be implemented.
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TechTuesday shares this newsbit from IICD about an African NGO using open source mobile apps to monitor healthcare access in Ghana.

SEND will develop an Open Source monitoring tool in cooperation with software developers to be used on handheld mobile devices to collect and share data. Due to the poor communication infrastructure, this will enable SEND to transmit data and share monitoring information with grassroots organisations and others. They are also developing and implementing a monitoring information management system that will help them track and analyze the data.

Continue reading about how Mobile Devices Help Monitor Access to Healthcare in Ghana….

HungerWednesday shares this disturbing news at Asia Sentinel we picked up from Manuel Quezon’s FB updates about the yet another rice crisis looming just up ahead.

“This year, I will not have enough rice to eat for the whole year,” says Kong Chanthorn, a rice farmer in Srayov Kharng Tbong village in Cambodia’s Kompong Thom province. “I am afraid I cannot earn the money to buy rice to support my families because this year its price is too high.”

Chanthorn is not alone. The global price of rice, a staple for half the world’s population, is rising inexorably again, up more than 25 percent in recent months, stoked by Philippine and Indian import demand although not to the stratospheric levels of late 2007 and early 2008. At that time the price rose from about US$300 per metric ton to as much as US$1,100. Prices later fell back to about US$400 as government panic subsided across the region and bans on export were lifted, and as planting pushed up stocks.

Read the whole article about the incoming rice crisis at Asia Sentinel…

TechTuesday brings this very interesting article by John Tierney of the NYTimes about the hive culture and pack behavior running rampant in the interwebz and how it is “fostering nasty group dynamics and mediocre collaborations.”

When does the wisdom of crowds give way to the meanness of mobs?

In the 1990s, Jaron Lanier was one of the digital pioneers hailing the wonderful possibilities that would be realized once the Internet allowed musicians, artists, scientists and engineers around the world to instantly share their work. Now, like a lot of us, he is having second thoughts.

continue reading about the Madness of Crowds and an Internet Delusion here….

An interesting newsbit from the Inquirer.net about IFAD’s new programs in the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines—Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad) plans to allocate some $73 million for three proposed projects on coastal resource management, agribusiness and upland developments in the country.

According to project documents, the amount represented Ifad’s share in the cost of the three proposed programs, which are scheduled for implementation from 2010 to 2014.

Continue reading about IFAD’s $73M allocation for 3 projects in RP…

For your weekend ruminations are two docs about the failed climate change talks.

Oxfam Briefing Note 21 December 2009
Climate Shame: get back to the table -Initial analysis of the Copenhagen climate talks

Copenhagen was a unique opportunity to turn the world’s course away from climate disaster, towards a safe future for all of us on this small planet. Massive global public mobilization demanded it. But leaders of the major powers negotiated for their national interests, instead of safeguarding our shared destiny.

In the closing hours of negotiations, world leaders drew up the Copenhagen Accord. It grabbed headlines, but offered no lifelines – and so may end up on the sidelines. The talks ended with little more than agreement to keep talking, offering just a dim beacon for the way forward.

At a time when the urgency of the climate challenge is blatantly clear, stand-offs between the most powerful countries have left the world heading towards 4oC global warming – a catastrophic prospect, especially for the world’s poorest people. Negotiations must get straight back on track. All countries need to get back round the table and deliver what science – and people worldwide – are demanding: a fair, ambitious and binding deal in 2010.

Earth Negotiations Bulletin Vol. 12 No. 459
Summary Of The Copenhagen Climate Change Conference: 7-19 December 2009

The UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen was, in many ways, an historic event. It marked the culmination of two years of intensive negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Bali Roadmap, which was agreed by the thirteenth Conference of the Parties (COP 13) in December 2007. Millions of people around the world hoped that “Hopenhagen” would be a turning point in the battle against climate change. The high-level segment brought together 115 Heads of State and Government, and was widely reported as one of the largest high-level gathering outside New York.

More than 40,000 people applied for accreditation for the Conference, far exceeding the 15,000 capacity of the Conference venue. Large, and at times violent, demonstrations took place in Copenhagen during the Conference as people urged the world’s leaders to reach a meaningful agreement.

There is little doubt that the Copenhagen Conference left its mark in history – never before has climate change featured so prominently on the international agenda. However, feelings about the outcome are, at best, mixed and some even consider the Conference to be a failure.

Ms. Chu Thi Mai Anh, Agricultural & Rural Enterprise Development Project Officer, Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

The CRS has partnered with the Province of Nghe An to promote a territory approach to agro-enterprise development. This means that the project needs to 1) be implemented through the Government administration structure; 2) improve the skills and knowledge of government staff in promoting market oriented production; 3) promote ownership and sustainability; and 4) aim for policy improvement for poverty alleviation through agro-enterprise development.

Following the 5 processes/steps for agro-enterprise development, the project has strengthened the ability of government agencies in promoting agro-enterprise development and project management. It has also contributed to more diversified agricultural products and improved the lives of target communities (through more jobs, value-added, increase incomes and reduced environmental and health issues)
Continue reading the CRS Experience – Support to Agro-Enterprise Development in Nghe An Province (Vietnam)….

By Rene Guarin
Executive Director, Upland Marketing Program

Mr. Guarin introduced the Upland Marketing Program and related about its nearly twelve years of experience in selling directly to supermarkets. He said that direct selling to supermarkets is inevitable given the worldwide trend of increasing rate of grocery sales due to various factors, such as the modernization of procurement, increasing incomes, and the growing preference of buyers for safety and convenience which the supermarkets can offer. He explained about the three waves of supermarket diffusion and noted that increasingly, supermarkets are adding more and more carts of fresh produce , fully allowing retail purchases for such just as the public markets would. More and more have flocked to the supermarkets instead of the usual public wet markets, as the latter has stricter standards for food safety and product quality.
Continue reading the Mechanisms for Product Quality and Food Safety: Tips for Entry into the Supermarket….

By Mr. Jesus Vicente Garganera, National Coordinator, PhilDHRRA

A market research scanning on calamansi that was done revealed important statistics and information for any farmer or group of farmers interested in producing and marketing. It was found that the production of calamansi in the country has been increasing, with major supplies coming from Central Philippines (although it can only be produced there 4-6 months in a year because of typhoons) and less but more consistent (all-year round) supplies coming from Southern Mindanao. A minimum of half a hectare is required to make calamansi production successful and it costs around 4 Philippine Pesos (Php) or 9 US cents to produce one kilo of calamansi. Potential returns are estimated to be about US$2000/year for one farmer.

The value chain actors are comprised of the farmer, the assembler or distributor (who brings the calamansi to the capital of Manila), the retailer (markets that make the calamansi accessible) and the consumer. The price increase from farmer to consumer is almost 1000%!
Continue reading the Value Chain Analysis of Calamansi….

Towards The Celebration Of The International Year Of Family Farming-IYFF. A dream nearer each day

José María Zeberio-Executive Secretary of the World Rural Forum-WRF

REPORT ON THE IYFF

Before the end of 2009 we wish to update our report on the IYFF.

In the world today there are 3,000 million people who live in the countryside. The greater part of these women and men, some 2,500 million, are farmers. More than 1,500 million work 404 million plots which are less than five acres in size, the majority are less than two and a half acres. The rural population involved in industrial agriculture is less than 20 million people.

Of the more that 1,020 million people who suffer hunger in the world, a great number are peasant families, with little land, few resources and no public support. Neither do they have infrastructures, nor technical assistance, nor access to credit, nor markets close at hand, nor educational or sanitary installations, etc.
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Overview of Challenges Experienced by Small Farmers in Engaging with Markets, by Mr. Nonoy Villas, presented the rationale behind supporting small farmers’ commodity-based associations. He started with the definition of terms to illustrate that the small farmers have the weakest link in both the supply and the value chains.

He added that small farmers are much weaker now than 15 years ago due to many changes such as changes in the global agricultural market, changes in national government, increasing urbanization, emergence of new market segments, and the ever-increasing challenges of economies of scale. He enumerated the various types of small-farmer commodity organizations, their roles and functions, and some of the specific challenges (for instance, the investment requirements governing cooperatives) that each of them might soon have to address.

Continue reading the Overview of Challenges Experienced by Small Farmers in Engaging with Markets….

thanks to Jose Osaba of WRF for sharing this…

Country Presentations from Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia

Philippines
Mr. Luis Caballero Jr., Vice Chairperson of Zamboanga Sibugay High Value Marketing Crop, presented their community’s experience in maintaining food safety and quality standards for calamansi. In terms of maintaining product quality, this involved the processes before planting, the maintenance requirements during planting season, as well as the safeguards during picking, sorting, and storage. Mr. Caballero enumerated the following issues and challenges: (1) Some farmers / pickers do not follow the guidelines in size and maturity of calamansi during picking; (2) Branches dry out due to excess water and fungi; (3) Regular monitoring of an accredited agriculturist is needed; (4) An official monitor is needed during sorting; (5) Some farmers, especially those who live far from farm-to-market roads, tend to go back to old farming practices.

Cambodia
Mr. Noun, chicken producer from FNN, presented Cambodia’s experience in marketing dressed chicken. He related that chicken feed during the dry season are not sufficient. They also experience difficulty in transporting the product given the great distances of markets from the farms. Because of these, the traders are able to really push down the price. They buy live chickens and slaughter them after three days. This situation has led to questionable claims about hygiene and safety that affects the credibility of dressed chicken as a product.
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