MANILA, Philippines -- Insufficient efforts by the Philippine and other governments in the Asia Pacific region to improve the agriculture sector was the reason the fight against poverty has not gained much in recent years.
This was according to the United Nation’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap), which noted that two-thirds or 641 million of the poor people of the world live in the region.
“The gap is widening between the rich and the poor because the benefits of growth are not shared equally by different sectors, regions or income groups. Agriculture appears neglected, even though it still provides jobs for 60 percent of the working population in Asia Pacific,” Escap said in the 2008 Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific, which was released Friday.
Escap said the shifting focus of developmental efforts from agriculture to the industry and services sectors was being done despite the fact that most of the region’s population was dependent on agriculture for their livelihood.
Jovi Dacanay, economics professor at the University of Asia and the Pacific and speaker during the Escap survey’s media launch, said that in the case of the Philippines, 70 to 80 percent of the country’s population directly or indirectly depends on agriculture for their income.
But over the years, agriculture has been overtaken by the services sector in terms of contribution to the country’s overall economic growth. Agriculture accounts for about a fifth of the country’s economic output.
Dacanay said an ideal scenario would be for the agriculture sector to contribute much more to economic output to benefit more of the country’s labor force.
The economist said Escap was pushing for governments in Asia Pacific countries to allot more resources for the development of the agriculture sector. He said more microfinance programs should be made available to farmers.
Many farmers in Asia Pacific countries are “still in the learning process in terms of how to manage funds,” she said.
Escap said many countries in the region still have lack of rural infrastructure and poor delivery of basic services to the rural areas.
Dacanay said Escap was also advocating for the full implementation of agriculture-related commitments of WTO-member countries during the Doha round of talks.In 2001, members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) made commitments during talks held in Doha, Qatar, to substantially reduce subsidies granted by some countries, especially industrialized ones, to their export sector that leads to unfair competition, and other forms of support that distort trade.
Dacanay said full implementation of the commitments made during the Doha round of talks could lift some 20 million people from poverty in the Philippines alone. More people from other Asia Pacific countries can be freed from poverty if global agricultural trade manifested fairness. |
