The websites of two commodities supported by the LSFM project is now online.
The organic rice website can be accessed at http://www.berasalami.com
At the moment, it is only available in Bahasa Indonesia. The english version will be activated as soon as the necessary translations and technical adjustments are finished.
It is maintained by Chaerul Umam of Binadesa
The kalamansi (Philippine lemon) website is still currently under development but some parts are viewable now at http://www.pinoykalamansi.org/
It is maintained by Mags Catindig of PhilDHRRA
Visit the 3rd LSFM Activity Blog here…
Representatives from networks of rural NGOs and people’s organizations from nine countries in Southeast and East Asia gathered in Cagayan de Oro City from June 28 to July 2 to discuss how the small farmers and farmerholders can hurdle the extremely difficult challenges of entering and participating competitively in the market. They are united in the belief that small farmers and farmholders can survive and compete in the market if they are organized as commodity-based associations of small producers.
The event, organized by AsiaDHRRA, is the third of a series of ASEAN-level workshops implemented under an ASEAN Foundation project entitled “Linking Small Farmers to Market” which aims to establish the mechanisms that will help commodity-based associations of small producers achieve economies of scale and a stronger bargaining strength in the market. PhilDHRRA, the in-country anchor for LSFM in the Philippines, hosted the event and provided a festive welcome dinner featuring a traditional Manobo dance number and the participants’ diverse backgrounds and cultures.
The participants of the workshop realized how difficult the situation of small farmholders had become over the last 15 years due to various factors. Regional and bilateral agreements on the removal of tariffs have pushed down the prices of highly-subsidized agricultural imports from highly-developed countries, to the detriment of small farmers in Asia. Consumer preferences have increasingly shifted from fresh farm products to processed food due to increasing urbanization. Small farmers who have not been able to claim their space in agricultural sectors and industries will now have to face the additional hurdle of increasing market segmentation.
LSFM is set to hold the 3rd Regional Training Workshop of the Linking Small Farmers to Market project towards end of June 2009 in Cagayan de Oro City, a city in the northern part of Mindanao island, the Philippines.
This workshop will emphasize the importance of small farmers organized into commodity groups so that issues of competitiveness, economy of scale, food safety and product quality as well as regular delivery of product supply are easily addressed. Presentors from the Taiwan, Korean and the Philippines will share their experiences about their engagements with markets as a commodity-based association of farmers.
Participants will also visit the farm site of Normin Veggies, a vegetable producers association in Northern Mindanao.
LSFM-Philippines held its 2nd in-country training-workshop last March 17-18, 2009 at the Ugnayan Hall, Partnership Center. The training-workshop, with a theme: “Complying with Market Requirements on Product Quality and Food Safety,” focused on enhancing the knowledge and skills of small calamansi farmer leaders, LGU and NGO agricultural extension workers/community organizers on the importance of standardization on product quality and food safety, and, on meeting such market requirements.
Among the NGO, PO and LGU participants were Kooperatibang Likas ng Nueva Ecija (Kool NE), Zamboanga Sibugay High Value Marketing Crop (ZASHIVAC), Xavier Agricultural Extension Services (XAES), Samahan para sa Likas Kayang Pagsasaka (SALIKA), Samahan at Ugnayang Mambubukid para sa Likas Kayang Pagsasaka, Inc., (SAMBUKID, Inc), Triparrd Federation of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (TRIFED-ARBC), Lakambini-PAKISAMA, Center for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (CARRD), Mindoro Ecological and Sustainable Agriculture Federation (MESAFED), Nazareth’s Women Association, Trento Calamasni Processors Development Cooperative (TCPDC), PAKISAMA-Mindoro, Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Masgsasaka (PAKISAMA)-National, PhilDHRRA-National and the LGUs of Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay, Brgy. Caudillo, Cabanatuan City, and Nabunturan, Compostella Valley
The national training is a response to the agreement reached during the 2nd Regional Training in Cambodia to follow through and localize learnings and targets in the pilot countries.
The LSFM Program is pleased to announce the publication (print and digital) of the following books:
The books are available in print and in PDF for immediate download (click on the link to view or download).
The publication of the two books was made possible with support from the ASEAN Foundation.
AsiaDHRRA together with the Cambodian Center for Study and Development of Agriculture (CEDAC) will hold the Second Regional Training Workshop entitled “Complying with Market Requirements on Food Safety and Product Quality” under the Linking Small Farmers Project (LSFM) supported by the ASEAN Foundation and the World Rural Forum on January 19-23, 2009 in Monoreach Angkor Hotel, Siem Reap, Cambodia
This Regional Training Workshop aims to enhance the awareness, knowledge and skills of participants from 10 Asian countries on the importance of food safety and product quality standards so that they become initiators, implementers, advocates and supporters of initiatives that would help small farmers upgrade their capacities at producing quality and safe food and agricultural products.
This training workshop is the second of a series of workshops at the regional level.
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.
As a regional network, the most significant contribution of AsiaDHRRA is the formation of a regional federation of farmers – the Asian Farmers’Association for Sustainable Rural Development or AFA, a regional alliance of farmer federations and organizations in ten Asian countries, representing 9 million farmers. Established in May 2002, its formation was a fruit of a three-year five Farmers’ Exchange Visits (FEVs) organized by AsiaDHRRA.The farmers’ exchange visits focused on sustainable production technology, trading and marketing as well as in federation building. In July 2006, in partnership with AFA, AsiaDHRRA organized another farmer exchange visit focusing on pro-small farmer marketing system. The exchange visit looked into various direct producer – consumer marketing arrangements in Japan.
The network also conducted studies on alternative agricultural trading and marketing initiatives. Five good practices on marketing from four countries and one at the regional level was chosen to highlight workable features of alternative agricultural marketing model. The first draft was presented during a parallel forum with the WTO in Hongkong last December 2005.
The network together with its strategic PO partner AFA, also launched series of in-country consultations and campaigns on fairer and just agricultural trade thru posters, issue papers, signature campaign, workshops. A Regional workshop among farmers, NGOs and government trade negotiators on Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) was also undertaken to provide venue for farmer and NGO leaders to influence country representatives to WTO on issues related to food sovereignty, fairer and just agricultural trade.
AsiaDHRRA also mobilized its DHRRA members to share country experiences in joining WTO (particularly the impact of their accession to WTO to farmers) to other DHRRA members and partners in Vietnam and Cambodia – both applying for membership to WTO.
Lany V. Rebagay, AsiaDHRRA program officer presented a paper on “Empowering and Engaging Rural People with the Market” in a seminar workshop sponsored by FAO and hosted by VECO last May 8-12, 2006 in Bali, Indonesia.
The seminar was attended by about 50 participants representing various NGOs, development groups, market players and actors, and support service sectors coming from the different parts of Southeast Asia. The four-day program recognized the &emerging roles for NGOs, farmer groups, and the farmers themselves vis-à-vis current market requirements. There was a growing consensus among the participants that NGOs should focus on capturing and packaging appropriate market information that will guide farmers in making important decisions related to production and marketing. They also emphasized the need for establishing cooperation with the academe in assessing marketing channels particularly in identifying how the risks and benefits are shared within the supply chain.
To push forward the efforts of linking small farmers to the market, AsiaDHRRA is currently exploring cooperation with partners in mapping of existing marketing initiatives in the region and in countries particularly in southeast Asia. In partnership with AFA, an inventory of existing marketing efforts is being undertaken as an input for developing a more coordinated marketing effort among the farmers in the region. The inventory was presented during the Farmer exchange visit in Japan on July 3-10, 2006.
Updates from the ASEAN Foundation
Recent Comments