AsiaDHRRA Online

The CSO event statement highlights the adverse impact of the “loss of forest and agricultural land to monoculture plantations” to the  biodiversity, food security and human rights in the region and proposes to the ASEAN members states several measures to mitigate these effects. The agriculture and environment CSO stakeholders recommend that ASEAN and/or its member [...]

AsiaDHRRA joined two Seminars organized by the International Poverty Reduction Center of China (IPRCC). The first seminar on “Policies and Practices of Rural Poverty Reduction in China and ASEAN countries” was held in Wuhan City, Hubei Province last October 12-18, 2011. Twenty five (25) participants from 9 ASEAN countries and China. The second seminar on  [...]

AsiaDHRRA is currently finalizing the program evaluation of the Linking Small Farmers to Market program conducted by external consultants Dr. Nerlie Manalili and Mr. Jing Pacturan. The evaluation has generated several promising insights and possibilities that will ensure the continued success of the commodity marketing initiatives undertaken by the partners. LSFM is in exploratory talks [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

By Dr. Nellie Manalili, Regional Adviser for Asia on Market Access, Vredeseilanden (VECO) Much of the problems in the agricultural sector exist because we do not understand what is going on. That is why we need to understand what are agricultural chains and how these are linked to the market. In a simple marketing system, [...]

A presentation by By Mr. Peter Sousa Hoejskov, Food Quality and Safety Officer, FAO Regional Office in Asia Pacific, during the 2nd LSFM RTW. Mr. Peter Hoejskov started his presentation with a discussion on the importance of food safety and standards. He cited that food safety and control systems provide: the basis for inspection, testing, [...]

Excerpts from the presentation by farmer partners during the 2nd LSFM RTW. 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. [...]

By Mr. David Hitchcock, Agribusiness and Infrastructure Officer, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Mr. Hitchcock’s presentation focused on the macro-side or larger picture of agribusiness, which is an important aspect to understand about agriculture. There are real differences between small holders (small farmers) and the agri-businessmen and recent sector trends and impacts [...]

Agri-Marketing in Asia: Agri-business Perspectives presented by Mr. Senen Bacani, CEO, Ultrex Management & Investment Corporation (former Secretary, Department of Agriculture, GRP) during the First LSFM RTW. Mr. Bacani explained that while he was here to offer an agri-business perspective from the side of the private sector, he has also worked extensively with government, cooperatives [...]

Enhancing the Competitiveness of Small Farmers was presented by Mr. Jing Pacturan, Executive Director Philippines Development Assistance Program during the 3rd LSFM RTW. He started the session with a competitive game which simulated the dynamics of market in the real world. Based on the experience of the game, he drew the participants’ insights about entrepreneurship, [...]