Reforms in rural, farm policies sought
THE Philippine government-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) recently convened experts on agricultural development and policy in a workshop in Bangkok, Thailand to take stock of the current situation of the rural and agriculture sector in Southeast Asia, particularly the factors that hindered policy reforms and institutional innovations in agriculture in the region.
Searca noted that government policies play a crucial role in diminishing the effects of inhibiting factors to Southeast Asia’s food security initiatives.
Aside from market manipulation, the food price shocks that hit South and Southeast Asia in 2008 and 2010— especially agriculture-based developing countries—are believed to have been caused by government speculations and poor policies on food security.
To address this gap, Searca urged governments to focus on policies that provide food-based safety nets and social protection programs, enhance agricultural productivity, promote rural development, and support more investments in agricultural research.
“The Bangkok workshop brought together ministry officials, academics, researchers, consultants, and experts on agricultural development and agricultural policy from the 11 Southeast Asian countries. They reviewed the current institutional and policy regimes of countries in the region and determined how they affected agricultural productivity and competitiveness vis-à-vis government responses,” Searca said in a statement.
By identifying new and emerging cross-country and regional issues on food and agriculture, the workshop produced a new outlook on Southeast Asian agriculture. The outputs can be used to craft new strategies to address pressing issues that can be scaled up for the whole region and other developing countries in Asia. They can also be used in formulating policies on regional trade integration, regional standards, and equivalence.
Searca intends to publish the outputs of the workshops the second edition of its widely disseminated Southeast Asian Agriculture and Development Primer ( Saadp) series. The focus of the second edition is on “Policy Reforms and Institutional Innovations in Agriculture: Experiences, Impacts and Lessons.”
The Saadp series is an 11-volume series covering Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. It is a concise yet comprehensive reference on Southeast Asian agriculture that aims to promote awareness on the state of agriculture across countries in the region and draw lessons from each country’s experiences.
Several participants of the Bangkok workshop will serve as authors of the second edition of the Saadp series.