A Southeast Asian think-tank had offered to link the Philippine government to its vast network in the entire region’s agriculture sector to help alleviate poverty in the country, especially among farmers.
The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) has recently offered Department of Agriculture(DA) Secretary Emmanuel Piñol its technical expertise in agricultural development research.
SEARCA’s knack for agricultural research can play a pivotal role in Philippines’ agricultural programs especially as it enters into the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) era.
“We have noted that President Duterte’s eight-point agenda places strong emphasis on agricultural development. Over many years, we have been providing technical assistance to national government agencies to promote agricultural and rural development,” said SEARCA Executive Director Gil Saguiguit Jr.
Saguiguit also told Piñol SEARCA’s research on rice smuggling could be tapped by the Department of Agriculture to solve smuggling problems in the country.
SEARCA just hosted Piñol’s farmers’ consultation at its University of the Philippines Los Baños headquarters.
The consultation aimed to present winning technologies that will lure rice farmers to better techniques, particularly hybrid rice.
SEARCA is a treaty organization of 11 members of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) — including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste.
Its five-year plan, which will end in 2019, focuses on inclusive and sustainable agricultural and rural development.
SEARCA’s programs seek to enable entrepreneurship among farmers. It aims to link small farmers to commercial food systems.
One of the group’s projects in the Philippines is to enhance the link of small farmers to markets in order to cut traders’ income and channel this income to farm families.
Primary focus is on rice, corn, and coconut sectors where farmers are among those that need government assistance the most.
For the Philippines’ carabao sector, one of SEARCA’s projects is a value chain analysis on carabao products — dairy and meat — in Visayas and Mindanao.
The group has particularly tapped a diagnostic tool on Value Chain Analysis that is used globally for the development of a local carabao center in the country.
“In the overall value chain, farmers are the losers for getting the lowest gain from carabao production. A value chain assessment will identify constraints facing key players and suggest policy directions to enhance competitiveness and participation of smallhold farmers,” SEARCA said.
