This document discusses policies and practices affecting smallholder farmers in Southeast Asia and provides recommendations. It summarizes that critical policies include transitioning agriculture, farmers' choices, rural finance, markets and private partnerships. Recommendations are provided on extension services, irrigation, climate change impacts, and strengthening farmers' groups and cooperatives. The document advocates for evidence-based policies and inclusive, participatory approaches to better support smallholder farmers, especially women.

2.  Critical insights & contextual analysis of the current
policies and practices of public and private sectors
that affect smallholders - including rain-fed rice
farmers - in attaining sustainable livelihoods,
productivity and profitability while facing the
pressure of climate change.
 Research findings and recommendations for policy
advocacy work to inform the policy advocacy and
communication activities supported by the SEMIL-SRI-
LMB.
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3.  Small holder Farmers (Women)
 Overall Policy Framework which has
implication on smallholder farmers

5.  Transitioning agriculture (affecting smallholders)
 Farmers’ choice (all 4)
 Rural finance (all 4)
 Rural industries or processing (all 4)
 Access to inputs – including labor (all 4)
 Access to markets (all 4)
 Private sector partnerships (all 4)
 Access to Land and the Rule of Law (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Vietnam)
 Irrigation (Cambodia, Lao PDR)
 Farmers’ groups (Lao PDR, Vietnam)
 Contract farming: Thailand
 Women representation ( all 4)
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6.  4 agro-ecozones: coastal, plain, Plateau and
Tonle-Sap
 2 categories: commercial (1-3 ha) and
subsistence (<1 ha)
 Very low yield (2.8t/ha avg) and poor value
 Persistent difficulty access to food security
 Increasing diversification and use of other
income sources, incl. migration
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7. New Extension policy is recently launched,
 Public investment to implement this policy is still a
question.
Women’s representation is still a question but good signs
Increased influence of the private sector
Development of a cohesive extension policy’s monitoring
and evaluation framework and resources investment plan
needs to be established.
 Adequate incentives for extension staff/system
 Coordination of all extension providers (TWG can be the
mechanism)
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8. Focus on supplementary irrigation (reduce risk, but low
return) and large scales (not adapted to topography)
Difficult transfer to user groups because of low
incentive to invest.
Advocate for the development of (dry season) small
scale irrigation schemes that are more likely to benefit
small farmers (women)
 Capacity building of Gvt staff to train farmers and to
transfer schemes to user groups
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9. Insufficient evidence of the impacts of CC on small
farmers.
CCCSP is ready, but translation into practical plans
coordinated intra- and inter- ministries is very arduous
 Development of evidence of the impact of climate change
on poor farmers and women (micro-economic studies
necessary)
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10.  Key rice producing area: 7 plains.
 2 distinct small farmers: plain (about 3.5 T/h)
and upland (about 1.9 T/ha)
 92 % glutinous rice
 Plain farmers are increasingly commercial
 Upland farmers are switching to cash crops
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11. Industrialization of the agricultural sector
Use of natural resources to generate income (“turning
land into capital”)
Little coordination between ministries with opposite
goals.
 MAF decided to transform from service provider to
facilitator  good opportunities.
 New Law -Farmers cooperative/Association will bring
a good opportunity to SEMIL project.
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12. Schemes are under-performing because:
 poor non-participatory designs
 lack of investment (most channels are earthen) / mismatch design vs
resources
Disconnection between irrigation schemes and markets (input and
output)
Positive move towards reinforcing user groups.
Guidelines for co-management between user groups and gvt
 Participatory design of irrigation scheme with focus on small-
scale and sustainability. Balance between supplementary and
dry irrigation.
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13. Very positive development
MAF transitions from service provider to facilitator
commercial farmers cooperatives are created.
Strengthen enabling environment for farmers cooperatives to
ensure that they do not become a relay for political
structures, but serve their members.
 Women in extension services
Provide networking opportunities for farmers cooperatives.
Advocate for direct provision of seed fund to cooperatives.
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14.  Third largest exporter of rice.
 Mature agricultural sector for the region.
 Rice smallholders: 56% of rice farmers <3.2 ha
 Central region: rice bowl of Thailand.
 Northeast: rice farming with low productivity.
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15. The Philosophy of Self-Sufficiency and the New Theory
are guiding agricultural development (articulated in the
11th NESDP).
 Positive view of farming based on diversified farms for
sustainability.
Use the Philosophy of Self-Sufficiency as a platform to
interact with gvt.
 Reinforce the role of women farmers
Advocate for increasing number of options for farmers
(some have become stuck in credit cycle).
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16. Market intervention, now terminated.
Has affected the whole value chain
Did not benefit small farmers.
Space available for advocacy as there is now a vacuum.
Gov’t will be especially sensitive to better focus of
subsidies towards the poorest.
Opportunity to call for research on the impact of global
markets and how small farmers may benefit (position
in the value chain).
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17. Thailand is one of the pioneer and is now actively exporting the
model to neighboring countries.
Model mostly benefited the better-off farmers by mitigating state
deficiency.
Benefit for most vulnerable with low bargaining power is less than
evident (debt, landlessness…).
Strengthen implementation of legal framework to protect smallest
farmers and lobbying agri-business for long-term mutually beneficial
approach.
Reinforce capacity of extension staff, smallholders and cooperatives to
deal with agri-business.
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18. Successful promotion by Thai government
Slow uptake as organic certification is too expensive for
smallholders or cooperatives.
Reinforce attractiveness for farmers by raising profile of
Thai organic rice /or SRI rice on domestic and
international markets and by awareness campaign on the
benefits (fits with the New Philosophy)
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19.  Doi Moi in 1986.
 Increased yield and diversification into non-
farm activities.
 Smallholders <
 0.5 ha with fragmented land.
 30-35% of rural population poor or near poor.
 Smallholders mainly live in disadvantaged
areas: North and central highlands. Rice is not
as important for them as for others. 19

20. Continues to guide Gvt policy intervention with - results in low-
quality high-volume.
Gvt’s strong interventionism in export and less focus on domestic
rice market
Focus on rice quality for policy intervention on domestic
market and ensure this is enshrined in next SEDP (drafting is
starting)
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21. 95% of farmers have a land use certificate.
 Farmers’ opportunities to diversify into other areas and increase
incomes are limited by factors like water consumption, labor use,
carbon emissions.
 The designated rice land policy and difficulties in land-use
transformation (Decree No. 42/2012/NĐ-CP dated 11 May 2012
requires the Prime Minister's approval for any change of land-use
purpose from designated rice land to non-farm usage).
 Review the new agriculture restructuring re potential benefit
to smallholder farmers.
Constructive dialogue with Provincial govt/ Farmer Union for
possible way to promote/strengthen small holder farmers to
gain more benefit from rice production policy.
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22. Various services are offered, including technical trainings, field
demonstration workshops, on-site consultation, and provision of
market information.
However extension services is mostly to response to govt’s
objectives (not really focus on demand-driven), with insufficient
budget and not wider reaching to the poor.
Recent positive evolutions have seen increased budget for extension.
Emphasis on the quality of services and women as the audience.
 Incentives for private or farmer-led extension services
(including transparent input registration…)
Facilitation of contract farming arrangements with
development of regulations and mechanisms to protect the
poorest
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23.  The Philosophy of Self-Sufficiency and The New Theory
in Thailand
 Lao PDR’s focus on farmers’ cooperatives and on public
extension as a facilitator
 Rice Production Policy- support to reduce input cost in
Viet Nam
 Thailand experiment with precision farming and support
to organic agriculture.
 New Extension policy ‘s monitoring and implementing
and monitoring resource allocation for extension in
ASDP2014-2018 for Cambodia
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