Agriculture confronts several challenges over the decade, i.e., meeting burgeoning food requirements with limited farm land, and balancing the need to import with the provision of livelihoods. The current policy regime leans heavily toward import substitution, with supply side interventions to...

As 2015 draws near, assessing ASEAN's progress toward the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) defined by the AEC Blueprint is necessary and instructive. This paper constitutes the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the AEC Blueprint for the Philippines. The Philippines Country Report presents the results of...

Expansion of global trade has been heralded as a great boon for agriculture. However, benefits of such expansion has been seen by some quarters as inequitable due to the role of large agribusiness firms and conglomerates. This study synthesizes existing research on the market structure of...

Expenditures on agriculture have been rising over time, as expression of the state's commitment to reduce poverty, raise rural incomes and household welfare, and promote food security. However, agriculture continues to exhibit disappointing performance, namely, laggard growth, lack of...

To illuminate the role of agro-export industry in inclusive growth, this case study on Philippine mango focuses on the role of market structure in the distribution of export benefits. It is based on review of industry trends and related studies, open-ended interviews of key informants, and...

This paper argues that the development of the rural economy is a key factor for achieving inclusive growth, one that creates jobs, draws the majority into the economic and social mainstream, and continuously reduces mass poverty. Employment conditions in Philippine rural labor markets and...

Linking small farmers to modern markets, whether domestically or for export, increasingly entails participation in modern supply chains coordinated by contract farming. Concerns have been raised regarding the possible disadvantages from contract farming facing small farmers. Most empirical work...

This study analyzed the interactions between natural disasters and household poverty and discussed the coping strategies used by households in response to natural disasters in the Philippines. It used data from the 2011 CBMS Household Profile Survey for Pasay City, Metro Manila and results of...

This study examines "choke points" in the supply chain of two selected commodity groups that are of interest to the ASEAN region; within the HS15 group the study focuses on crude coconut oil (CNO); for HS03 the study covers fish and crustacean, mollusks, and other aquatic invertebrates (HS 03)....

Fertilizer policy in the country has evolved from pervasive interventionism in the 1970s to today's market-oriented regime. Government has abandoned price policies and subsidies, focusing rather on standard setting, quality regulation, and training. Over the same period domestic demand for...