The Philippines, being an archipelagic country with a majority of its agriculture industry made up of smallholder farmers (those who farm on three or less hectares), has often been told that one of its biggest challenges when it comes to food production is that it doesn’t produce enough. We have been given the impression that our small farmers are no match for the large-scale farms that occupy vast swathes of land and have seemingly unlimited capital.

Dr. Julian Gonsalves, Senior Asia Program Advisor at the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), an international organization focusing on rural development, does not share this view. “…most of the food in the world today is produced by smallholder farmers in terms of most of what we eat on the table, at least in Asia and in Africa,” Gonsalves said. “...about 60 to 70% of the population of farmers are small holders. And in the Philippines, the majority of farmers have less than three hectares, in terms of absolute numbers.”

Smallholder farms have an advantage when it comes to agroecology and regenerative agriculture, both of which the IIRR promotes. “...our interest is to produce food with a low carbon footprint, and to produce food that's healthy, safe for the consumer, and safe for the environment,” Gonsalves said. “The word regenerative implies there's been some degradation and you're trying to restore it. And for agroecology, we're talking about food being produced in a manner that is good for the planet, good for human beings.”

He highlights some factors that make agroecological food production more suited to small farms:

Multi-commodity. “...regenerative and agroecological approaches tend to be multi commodity, and they could involve labor, and therefore you don't want to get into activities that have a high labor requirement. This is where we highlight the fact that many of these regenerative and integrated farming approaches are better done on a small scale, so you can have livestock, trees, crops, [and] fish on a half a hectare of land. You might not be able to do that on 10 hectares of land,” Gonsalves said.

“Smallholders have that special advantage to adopt regenerative agriculture technologies because they can do this multi-commodity farming system on a small scale… so they can shorten the farm to market change. That's why the point that I've been making all the while is that the future holds great opportunities.”

Less risk. “...over-specialization comes with risk,” Gonsalves said. “...a multi-commodity approach provides a hedge against price failure, market failure, and natural disaster. And more importantly, when you have multiple commodities on the farm, you have something to sell every week, every month, and this improves household income flow.”

Opportunities for niche markets. “...you have better opportunities to go organic, to be able to produce safe food, and therefore be able to attract consumers through some niche market,” Gonsalves said. “There's also an opportunity to do direct sales to consumers, roadside marketing, [and] weekend marketing, all of which are of special relevance to smallholders.”

Economies of scale. “You can achieve economies of scale by addressing what it takes to support hundreds of thousands of small holders,” Gonsalves said. “...achieving economies of scale is something that a local government can do by ensuring that hundreds or thousands of farmers benefit, as opposed to a few people benefiting…. In other words, you already assume you have a strategy to reach large numbers of areas, large numbers of farmers over a large area in the shortest possible time.”

Strength in cooperatives. “The scenario of production being done by small holders and market linkages being fostered by local governments is an important one. We need brokers to link to the market,” Gonsalves said. “I'm not assuming that all these thousands of small holders are going to be able to do direct marketing. There is definitely a need for so-called middlemen or traders, and I think this is where effective cooperatives can provide that marketing at a fair price.”

Like most things in life, this is easier said than done. It requires, among other things, solid planning, the ability to adapt to a specific community’s needs, the willingness to pivot when things don’t go as planned, and the ability to play the long game. The last one is particularly important in a country where policies seem to change with every administration. Ironically, consistency is one of the most required factors in an industry whose infamy comes from its uncertainty. But it can be done, if all players are willing to start slow and stay for the long haul.

Next week, I will continue my condensation with Dr. Gonsalves, this time focusing on his observations on the biggest challenges Filipino smallholder farmers face and what, in his experience, has been the most effective way to de-risk smallholder farming in the Philippines.