Balisacan calls for support for small farmers

Small farmers in the Philippines and Asia should be provided support and opportunities to allow them to contribute to the economic growth process, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told a conference in Bangladesh last week.

 

In a video message at the 8th International Conference of the Asian Society of Agricultural Economists (ASAE) on Oct. 15, the Cabinet official called for greater support and opportunities for the agriculture workers.

 

"Further development of the agriculture sector, specifically the small farms that constitute it, could redound to rural welfare improvement and poverty alleviation," he added.

 

According to Balisacan, also the ASAE president, interventions should be focused on improving farm productivity, especially in areas where topography is not conducive to agriculture.

 

Balisacan said some small farms have the potential to improve their production performance and be transformed into "commercially-oriented and profitable farming systems."

 

"These smallholder farmers need a policy environment that would support and nurture this transformation and help them overcome the challenges they face,” he said.

 

"It is also very important to facilitate the linkage of smallholders to supply chains and markets and overcome the threat of climate change,” Balisacan said.

 

He said importance of small farms should not be overlooked, as Asia is among those with an overwhelming panorama of small farms.

 

According to a National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) statement released on Monday, latest statistics from the World Census of Agriculture showed that 90 percent of about 428 million agricultural landholdings in Asia are small farms.

 

“In Asia, which is home to around 4.4 billion people, including two-thirds of the world’s undernourished, majority of people living in poverty rely on these small farms for food," Balisacan, also NEDA director general, said.

 

The ASAE International Conference is held every three months and is attended by agricultural economists, development practitioners, policymakers, academicians, researchers and students. —Kathryn Mae P. Tubadeza/KG, GMA News