Some 60 representatives of different organizations of small farmers, fishers, indigenous people’s, rural youth and women and rural development organizations from 13 countries in Asia and the Pacific converged in Manila to urge financial institutions like the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government to invest in smallholder agriculture in order to address food security.

At the sidelines of the two-day conference, “Investment for Whom and for What?” being held in Ortigas, Pasig City, Esther Penunia of the Asian Farmers Association, said small agricultural producers constitute the bulk of the food producers in Asia and the Pacific, providing food not only for the region but also other parts of the world but lack the necessary support from their respective governments and financial institutions.

The conference is a side event to the “Investment Forum on Food Security in Asia and the Pacific” organized by the ADB, International Fund for Agriculture and Development and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Penunia said that many investments of the ADB, International Funding for Agricultural Development and other financial institutions, national government and big agri-business companies are problematic, even causing increased food insecurity in the region.

She added that instead of promoting domestic food self-sufficiency, many investments promote export crop production, push the withdrawal of governments from providing essential services for small farmers, and promote unsustainable and environmentally-damaging farming technologies.

“It is unfortunate that it is also the small farmers, fishers, indigenous people, rural women and youth who are the hungriest and the poorest in the region,” Penunia said.

“The investment of national governments and international financial institutions on agriculture and food is inadequate and give too little focus on sustainable agriculture for small agricultural producers,” she said.

Penunia said an estimated 35 percent of farmers and fishers in the Philippines are poor or live below poverty level.

She said that one way of correcting the problem is sustainable, integrated, diversified, ecological and organic agriculture, aquaculture systems which are owned and managed by small-scale women and men farmers, fishers and indigenous peoples.

This is a key strategy to increase productivity, enhance food security, mitigate climate change and build climate resilience, she said.

Afhab Khan from Action Aid International, for his part, explained that in order to reverse the dire situation of small agricultural producers and bring the region closer to reducing the number of poor people, 10 percent of national budgets and 50 percent ADB funds should be allocated for small holder agriculture.

“Public investments should be directed for the improvement of ownership of land, access to water and other national resources of small fishers, indigenous peoples, rural women and youth and fishers; agricultural research and development to upscale sustainable and farmers’-led pilot projects; production, post-harvest and marketing support for small farmers; and promotion of ecologically sound farming and fishing systems,” he said.