MODELS OF SMALLHOLDER FARMER UPLIFTMENT: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY ON PHILIPPINE RICE FARMING COMMUNITIES

MODELS OF SMALLHOLDER FARMER UPLIFTMENT:
A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY ON PHILIPPINE RICE FARMING COMMUNITIES

Written by:
Beata Maria F. De Ocampo
Department of Financial Management
Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business
DLSU-Manila

Abstract

Smallholder farmer upliftment is an urgent global concern and, thus, related to three United Nations Sustainability Goals 2030 of #1(no poverty), #2(food security), and #10(reduced inequalities). With smallholder farmers providing 90% of the rice food supply, the world recognizes their importance. However, despite many programs at different levels of society, many farmers remain in subsistence situations, some even locked in a cycle of debt. Using a theoretical sampling approach on selected Philippine rice farmer respondents in the provinces of Quezon, Iloilo, Laguna, and Pangasinan, four basic models of farmer upliftment emerged: (1) Empowered Farmer; (2) Farmer-Entrepreneur; (3) Contract Farming and (4) End-to-end Value Chain. The findings on the sustainability of such models emphasize sustained farming support, education towards entrepreneurial orientation, the values of financial literacy, and contractual obligation. Exemplary cases are a local government-led initiative that partnered with the national government to help the farmer association with their value chain and a landless, elementary-level smallholder farmer who spotted an entrepreneurial opportunity, set up a vegetable business, and led his siblings to farming, leading them to resilience. Insights on youth engagement in agriculture and the importance of external intervention from the government and the private sector also emerged from the research.

Keywords: contractual obligation; entrepreneurial orientation; financial literacy

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