A study on ‘trade liberalization and resource poor farmers in the Philippines’ has concluded that a lot more needs to be done to improve the rural economy to ensure that poor farmers benefit from trade liberalization. The study, which culminated into a writeshop, held on 10th to 15th November 2003, at IIRR in Philippines showed that improvements in the rural economy including infrastructural development, capacity building of the farmers’ organizations and improving marketing systems needed to be done as the country plans to deepen agricultural trade liberalization.

The writeshop, which will produce a resource book, drew over 40 participants from all regions of the Philippines. Twenty case studies were presented. They showed that poor farmers new very little about trade liberalization. Also, largely due to the fact that most of them are not yet involved in the market economy, little effect could be noted.

The idea of coming up with a resource book started in July 2001 in an exploratory meeting held at IIRR and attended by representatives from Lutheran World Relief (LWR), HEIFER Philippines International (HPI), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Philippine Partnership for the Development of Rural Resources in Rural Areas (PhilDHRRA), and International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR). Later in the process, the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC), Philippine German Development Foundation, Incorporated (PhilGerFund), and Alternate Forum for Research in Mindanao (AFRIM) who shared common interest on the project joined the group and formed a consortium. The Steering Committee composed by the representatives of the consortium members was then organized to oversee and facilitate the implementation of the project. The resource book will be printed in March 2003.

Over the past two decades, the Philippines government has pursued a consistent path toward trade liberalization within the agricultural sector. Trade liberalization is the progressive removal of all barriers to trade, whether in the form of tariff or non-tariff measures like quantitative restrictions, imports licensing, export taxes and other barriers to trade. Multilateral trade agreements entered into by the Philippine government, such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) all represent efforts to liberalize trade. The government’s enthusiasm for trade liberalization is evident by its voluntary decisions to lower tariffs and other trade-protection measures faster than required in various multilateral agreements.

IIRR is working with partners in the Mekong River Region on a study of the effects of trade liberalization on poor women in the region. In addition, IIRR is planning a study on globalization and poor farmers in the Andean Region of Latin America.