Both seminars were received support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and the provincial government units of Hubei and Sichuan Provinces.

In both seminars, Florante “Nonoy” Villas, AsiaDHRRA’s LSFM regional program manager shared AsiaDHRRA’s experience in anchoring ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community’s participatory process in drafting the 2011-2015 Framework  Action Plan for Rural Development and Poverty Eradication and AsiaDHRRA’s strategies, models and experiences in implementing the Linking Small Farmers to Markets.

IPRCC is an international anti-poverty organization established jointly by the Chinese Government and the United Nations Development Program and other international organizations in June 2005. IPRCC has committed to make contributions to poverty reduction in the world through the promotion of policy research, experience-sharing, knowledge exchange and South-South Cooperation in the field of poverty reduction and development.

IPRCC was established by the Chinese Government to provide a platform for various professionals and development practitioners from different developing countries to share theoretic studies and policy analysis and explore effective approaches for agricultural growth and rural development. It is one of the 5 new measures to assume China’s international responsibilities announced by China’s president Hu Jintao at the High-Level Meeting on Financing for Development, on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations. On June 22, 2004, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao delivered a keynote speech titled Promote Asian Cooperation in New Century at the Third Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue held in Qingdao in which he pointed out that strengthening regional cooperation is not only an important part of China’s new-era foreign policy but also the need of its own development.

LSFM is in exploratory talks with several partners for the continuation of the next phase.

Visit the websites of two commodities supported by the LSFM project.

The organic rice website can be accessed at http://www.berasalami.com

The kalamansi (Philippine lemon) website is viewable now at http://www.pinoykalamansi.org/

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)….

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….

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….

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….

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.

Vietnam
Representatives from Vietnam reported the following issues and concerns with regard to their product, tea: limited farmers’ access to knowledge and information about food safety and product quality; poor processing techniques and equipments; limited quality management and limited access to product quality certificates; and difficulties in trade market development.

Indonesia
Mr. Haryono, explained that their organization consists of 60 cooperative groups of farmers in the forests of Sumatra that have 30 member-households each. The cooperatives help in the marketing of ten tons of organic rice per month by ensuring that market demands are met and by lending to farmers in need. Since they process rice manually, the main obstacle is in drying seeds especially during the wet seasons. As small farmers, they face obstacles in marketing and product quality, and would like to have some information on the practices in food safety and product quality in other countries. They also have 50 farmer-members who are into honey production. This could be expanded to include a greater number but the organization’s capacity to organize them is limited at the moment. They are now starting to market the honey to Binadesa outlets even as the product quality is not yet fully developed.

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, there is the producer and the buyer. Goods are transferred from one to the other and it is through information and communication that a decision to buy/pay for a product is made. In reality, however, things are not as simple because of intermediaries in between. Products pass through these intermediaries and value is added to the chain where products take on a different form, e.g. from raw coconut to desiccated coconut or copra. The more intermediaries or participants there are in the chain, the greater chances for problems or distortions to happen. Farmers can also decide to add value (join the chain) if they determine that this will be more profitable for them. Otherwise, because of lack of the right information, they will be unable to benefit from the agricultural chain.
Continue reading Understanding Agricultural Chains towards Enhanced Market Access….

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, and certification activities; guidance to industry, consumers, government and other players in the food supply; and a general view of requirements for international trade in food. He explained the meaning of Codex Alimentarius, and introduced the founder and members of the CODEX Alimentarius Commission. Mr. Hoejskov further related its objectives, strategic goals, and strategic plan for CCAASIA.

He discussed the Commission’s structure and management, subsidiary bodies, organizational chart, standards, food safety areas of concern and the CODEX process for standards development. He listed the Commission’s achievement so far, and explained Codex in relation with WTO agreements. Finally, he discussed about international food safety regulations and standards, CODEX trust fund and FAO capacity-building programs, private food quality and safety standards in relation to CODEX, and the general challenges of private food safety standards. In conclusion, he stated that all countries have an interest in ensuring that CODEX standards protect human health and achieve this without hindering trade and economic development. External assistance by organizations and an internal commitment by countries to provide the needs for effective participation in CODES are both essential to achieve this, he added.

continue reading about the Codex Alimentarius: A Briefing On The International Food Safety Body And Its Dynamics here…