July 2020, ASEAN Countries
Farmer Organizations and COVID-19 in ASEAN: Role, impact, and opportunities
Ruchira Boss,Fabrizio Bresciani, Mamata Pradhan and Devesh Roy
Even prior to the pandemic, Farmer Organizations (FOs) in many ASEAN countries were playing an important role in disseminating information, reducing farmer risk and improving market reach. All of these have taken on a new significance in the post-COVID-19 world. Luckily, FOs were well suited to adapt to changing market conditions, stepping up their presence on social media and adopting vertical integration and in-house production processes to minimize supply chain disruptions and simultaneously ensure product quality and safety. Recognizing the importance of these organizations and working to strengthen and support their functioning should be a key priority for governments in the region, especially given the centrality of agriculture to these economies. – Kalyani Raghunathan, series co-editor and Research Fellow at IFPRI.
Despite high economic growth, agriculture remains crucial for ASEAN countries, employing over 60% of the workforce in Laos and Myanmar. Even in countries where contribution of agriculture to GDP is low, it is amplified many-fold by the inclusion of agri-business. The orientation of agriculture is also fairly diverse, with some ASEAN countries focusing on export-oriented agriculture (palm oil and rubber in Indonesia and Malaysia, cacao, and coffee in Vietnam), while others like Laos and Myanmar have a greater focus on ensuring food security. Vietnam and Thailand are the second and third largest exporters of rice in the world, and ASEAN countries are also among the largest exporters of pineapple, bananas, coffee, cashew nuts, and fish and fishery products. Given the importance of agriculture, farmer collectivization through farmer organizations (FOs) could enhance farmers’ welfare by reducing transaction costs, bringing economies of scale, helping farmers realize better prices and reduce risk through product differentiation and marketing. This role is all the more important in these times, as FOs can significantly help in buffering against and recovering from the economic shocks that will follow the COVID-19 pandemic.
