Quezon City, Philippines – The Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISMA), in  partnership with Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), and with support from Collectif Strategies Alimentaires (CSA) and AsiaDHRRA, organized an “International Knowledge Sharing and Learning Workshop on Institutional Purchases” on 24 November 2015 at La Breza Hotel, Quezon City.
It was participated by representatives from national and international farmers’ organizations (FOs); regional and national NGOs working with rural communities; development institutions such as Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Program (WFP), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); and government agencies such as the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Office of Congresswoman Leni Robredo.
The workshop aims to share and learn from experiences and initiatives on good practices of FOs’ involvement in government’s/public institutional food purchase program in Europe, Africa, and, Asia. The workshop also provided venue for understanding existing programs and policies in Philippines related to institutional food purchase and food security.

Mr. Ernie Lim, Jr., AsiaDHRRA’s Consultant, presented a paper on expanding market access for family farmers and their organizations. As part of continuing International Year of Family Farming (IYFF)+10 campaign, the paper was commissioned by AsiaDHRRA in an attempt to contribute in the enhancement of the on-going advocacy initiatives of PAKISAMA and other partners for the creation of “structured demand” or institutional procurement for Filipino family farmers/smallholder farmers and their organizations. Specifically, the paper looks into some initiatives/models (i.e. from Brazil, US, Japan, and, PH) on structured demand involving family farmers and/or their organizations so to identify key challenges, learnings and innovations that may be considered to enhance current local advocacy initiatives.  The paper also presents cross comparison of the main features of Brazil’s Zero Hunger Program, HB No. 5618 and HB 6062 (Robredo Bill). Lastly, the paper recommends specific agenda for policy advocacy, and, other campaign tracks for family farmers.
After the sharing sessions, the participant were then grouped for sub-workshops to identify challenges, opportunities, and action points and/or mechanisms on how FOs can effectively engage in the government’s food purchase program.
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To request a copy of AsiaDHRRA’s policy paper, please e-mail: asiadhrra@asiadhrra.org.