AsiaDHRRA with funding support from ASEAN Foundation is gearing up for the full launch of the 2 year regional project “Linking Small Farmers to Market” (LSFM) in the three pilot countries namely, Philippines,Cambodia and Vietnam.  Mr. Nonoy Villas, filipino and a veteran manager of several national and regional NGO projects will serve as the project coordinator of LSFM.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
The fast pace of agricultural trade liberalization and the opening up of various market offers both threat and opportunity for small farmers in Asia.In the liberalized market, small farmers and agricultural producers are unable to maximize the benefits of their production efforts.The income derived from farming is low because they are unable to benefit from the price differential that happens after their produce leaves the farm and reaches the consumers. Moreover, Various studies have already shown that most small farmers have lost their livelihoods due to the influx of cheap agricultural product from other countries.However, there are also successful cases where farmers with appropriate support were able to capture opportunities in the liberalized market.
This project will focus on building the capacity of women and men leaders of small farmers’ organization and cooperatives together with their partner NGOs/agri-agencies to respond to agricultural marketing issues confronted by small farmers and producers. It shall also undertake the formation of marketing intermediation mechanisms that will link small farmers to the market to lessen the transaction cost and increase the benefit of the small farmers in the process of engaging with the market.

PROJECT GOAL AND OBJECTIVES
The strategic goal of the project is to contribute to the reduction of rural poverty in South East Asia region through strengthened capacity of small farmers and their organisations to engage in the market and other institutions having impact on rural development.
The program in general aims to strengthen entrepreneurial capacity of NGO workers and their partner Farmers’ Organisations (FOs) in Southeast Asia to establish an on-ground marketing link between small farmers’ group and market players and to collaborate with policy makers at national, sub-regional, and regional levels to respond to agricultural marketing issues confronted by the small farmers.
PROJECT PARTICIPANTS
The participants are primarily women and men small farmers who are members of AFA and FO partners of DHRRA members at the country level plus other groups of small farmers and stakeholders in the identified commodity or industry sector in three pilot countries namely Philippines,Cambodia and Vietnam.
The pilot sites are selected based on the following criteria:

• presence of enterprising organized communities producing surplus and willing to engage the market
• presence of organizations (NGOs/POs) interested and potential for market intermediation roles
• core stakeholders with previous experience in partnership mechanism

Aside from the small farmers as focal point, other important stakeholders shall be mobilized in the project e.g. NGOs and government and intergovernmental agencies ASEAN, academe and research groups, media, business sector (traders, processors, supermarket chain, input suppliers, commodity chambers, marketing groups, etc.). These stakeholders will be part of a partnership mechanism that shall be installed as a necessary platform for coordination and closer cooperation.
PROJECT COMPONENTS & CRITICAL ACTIVITIES
Component 1: Participatory Market Research and Information System Development

1. Product inventory of key partner NGOs and POs
2. Market scanning/appraisal of shortlisted commodities including mapping of marketing initiatives of POs and NGOs at the country
3. Supply chain analysis of chosen crop per country
4. Focused group discussion among major crop or industry players
5. Designing and installation of marketing information system

Component 2: Capacity Building

1. Carrying out of a capacity and training needs assessment (TNA) to identify existing marketing capacity and specific training needs of local partner organizations at the pilot country level and a rapid assessment in non-pilot countries
2. Conduct of 3 regional and 5 national/local training and 1 farmer exchange visit focusing on common marketing training needs.

Component 3: Commodity-Based Market Intermediation Mechanism

1. Consolidation and strengthening of farmers group based on common commodity through regular forum, trainings, exchanges etc.
2. Setting-up of marketing intermediation mechanism with appropriate organizational systems and policies
3. Installation of effective and efficient enterprise development and management system
4. Formulation of business plan
5. Provision of product development support
6. Farmers group participation in trade fairs
7. Initial negotiation with major markets

Component 4: Partnership Building

1. Formation of technical working group for each of the selected priority crop / commodity towards defining market intermediation mechanism
2. Setting-up of marketing intermediation program and services to selected commodity-based farmer groups
3. Round table discussion/ forum among major industry players on selected priority crops

Component 5: Policy Review and Advocacy

1. Preparation of policy papers promoting farmers’ right and favorable and fair agricultural trade policies
2. National consultations on farmers’ issues focusing on specific crops or commodity towards formulation of pro-small farmer marketing policies
3. Conduct of meetings and dialogues with concerned national and regional inter-governmental agencies (ASEAN, FAO, IFAD)

Establishment of mechanisms towards improved dialogue and constructive engagement of FOs in the discussion on wider policy issues
PROJECT STRATEGIES
In-country Piloting
Pilot countries are chosen based on the general criteria of presence of enterprising organized communities producing surplus and willing to engage the market, of organizations (NGOs/POs) interested and potential for market intermediation roles, and of core stakeholders with previous experience in partnership mechanisms. In addition to the core criteria, consideration was given to the mix of development context in the three pilot countries which will be instructive in the expansion or replication in other countries of varying conditions. The project recognizes that marketing realities in each country vary from one another. In fact, it will not only be country specific but also crop/industry based. What will be drawn at the regional level are processes and learnings from the pilot areas that are relevant to all regional participants, regardless of the product. The inputs from the pilot experiences will serve to enrich ( being experiential-based) the more generic regional workshop themes e.g. food safety standards, quality control management, and agri marketing info systems which are deemed crucial capacity building areas for producer groups in different countries.
In these three countries, AsiaDHRRA has strong partners to work with which will be mobilized in the course of project implementation. The mapping activity will also guide in further identifying potential core participants and service providers.
Linking up with expert groups and institution
The Technical Working Group will be multi-sectoral and multi-agency in nature. It will provide directional guidance to national level piloting. Other than drawing out specific expertise from this platform, it could usher informal networking cooperations. The technical experts may also serve as resource persons in the trainings. Composed of respected authorities in their respective fields the TWG is expected to give the project cooperation credibility, especially in dealing with policy making bodies.
Information-Based Marketing Operation
A practical information system will be designed to ensure that there is efficient link between production/supply and consumption/demand. It will be developed based on an assessment of what information system exist for the selected crop or industry. This project will exploit possibilities that the information technology could offer, especially in engaging the youth sector. It will also be potential area for cooperation with the business sector and other marketing information service providers.
Developing Pro-Small Farmer Marketing Mechanism
A mechanism that will facilitate effective market intermediation and shorten the supply chain between the producer and the consumer shall be designed and installed based on the result of the studies and the recommendations of various stakeholders. The mechanisms shall be stirred by small farmers and professionally managed by competent personnel.
ICT Enabled Operations
To ensure a wider benefit spread of the project, results, publications, expertise, mechanism, shall be made accessible to all through the Marketing Information system that will be hooked up in the AsiaDHRRA website and shall be downloadable free. An Information Officer shall ensure that the info system is responsive to actual needs of (small farmers) commodity stakeholders. In-country Pilots shall be documented and published for wide circulation.