Primary Sector Value Chains, Poverty Reduction, And Rural Development Challenges In The Philippines

The insertion of Philippine agriculture and fisheries into global value chains has not contributed significantly to rural poverty reduction, in contrast to several other Southeast Asian countries. While there are pockets of downstream export successes, upstream actors face persistent precarious conditions. This comparative investigation of the relationships between value chains and rural development fills a gap in the literature on the Philippines. An analysis of four important products affecting at least 3 million households illustrates the need to focus more on upstream value-chain governance and pro-poor rural development interventions. This article shows that the integration of livelihoods and value-chain analyses has the advantage of fleshing out upstream challenges that are relevant for agri/aquabusiness performance, socio-spatial policies, and refinements of rural development theories. It is unlikely that horizontal coordination/social capital as well as associated upgrading efforts will be effective without a stronger emphasis on vertical coordination and human-capital formation.