MANILA, Philippines — Grow Asia, a farm production platform, is benefitting 117,000 smallholders in coconut, coffee, corn, fisheries, and vegetables, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) said.
SEARCA, through Grow Asia, has supported the development of organized and skilled farmers.
Grow Asia has demonstrated farming models that now integrate small farm owners into the big ASEAN value chain.
ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) co-founded Grow Asia with the World Economic Forum.
Grow Asia-Philippines Partnership for Sustainable Development has built synergies between different value chain players in agriculture.
It facilitates delivery of many interventions including agricultural and technical-vocational skills training in the production of coconut, coffee, corn, fisheries and vegetables.
Grow Asia-PPSD is providing a Mindanao-based program multiple interventions in farmers' production of coconut water and development of skills and know-how in coconut intercropping, replanting, and market access. Partners in this program are Unilever, Friends of Hope, and KFI Center for Community Development.
For coffee, Nestle is helping 10 cooperatives in Tagbina, Surigao del Sur through technical assistance, intercropping know-how, provision of quality planting materials (Robusta coffee), and establishment of market.
Macnut Philippines is also involved in contract growing and buy-back of Arabica coffee. This project has 15 other partners including the Philippine Coffee Alliance.
Farmers in Zamboanga del Norte have been connected through ZMDC Grains Inc. to a hog farmers' cooperative in Batangas (to buy corn). Partners include Pioneer and 8 other agencies including Philippine Maize Federation Inc.
A hatchery for mudcrab for export has been constructed which is supporting 1,000 farmers. Interventions are working capital credit, know-how on the development of loan products and business development, and technical assistance via the Zamboanga Peninsula-wide baseline and performance indicators system.
SEARCA has actively supported Tech-Voc Education and Training (TVET) since it was tapped by ASEAN education ministers (SEAMEO) to lead a research on competency certification for agricultural workers in Southeast Asia.
SEARCA director Glenn Gregorio said a common competency certification system among ASEAN countries will enable freer exchange of farm workers between countries.
ASEAN countries are working toward one ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF) in order to allow this matching of farm skills and competencies between countries.
Gregorio said the AQRF recognizes both non-formal and informal learning in assessing farm workers' skills level and qualifications.
ASEAN countries have been concerned about the status of skills among agricultural workers as they acknowledge that "competitiveness, productivity, and economic growth largely depend on the ability to acquire and use knowledge, as well as to attract the best talents.'"
As ASEAN aspires to have a "single market and production base", the AEC (The ASEAN Economic Community) Blueprint has called for a "free flow of skilled workers" between ASEAN states.