Butuan City, Philippines — On 22-23 October 2025, the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) and its partner cooperatives joined over 200 farmers, fisherfolk, cooperative leaders, experts, and innovators at the Knowledge Fair 2025, organized by the GIZ Philippines and the Pacific Island Countries under the project “Strengthening the Implementation of Regional and Local Peace and Development Agendas in […]
Youth in Agriculture ForumFostering leadership, innovative capacity, and agripreneurship of youth in Region 13Highlights and key messages
Youth in Agriculture: Building Structure, Starting Enterprises, Leading ChangeStrategic Insights, Experiences, and Actionable Recommendations This guide was developed based on the experiences of AFA’s project, Empowering Women and Youth through Inclusive Cooperatives and Agricultural Value Chains toward Peace and Development in Mindanao, and the institutional knowledge of AFA, PAKISAMA, and AGRICOOPh. The project is part […]
Surigao del Sur, Philippines — A new aroma fills the air in Tagbina, Surigao del Sur as the Progressive Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose Cooperative (PARBEMCO) Youth Committee officially opened ParbemCafé on December 11, 2024. Through the AFA SPADe Project—Empowering Women and Youth in Cooperatives—the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) supported PARBEMCO’s young entrepreneurs with a […]
Agusan del Sur, Philippines — Two agricultural cooperatives in Region 13 reached a new milestone in digital transformation with the installation of Point-of-Sale (POS) and lending software systems from 8–10 December 2024. The San Isidro Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (SAIFMULCO) and Maragusan Banana-based Cooperative (MARBCC)—both members of the Federation of Agrarian Reform Communities Cooperative (FEDARCCO), are now equipped with modern tools to enhance efficiency […]
Agricultural cooperatives play a crucial role in promoting equality and fostering the engagement of women and youth in the socio-economic arena. The initiative “Empowering women and youth through inclusive cooperatives and agricultural value chains toward peace and development in Mindanao” aims to enhance gender equality and ensure the active participation of young farmers in […]
One of the important recent concepts in agricultural development has been the concern for sustainability. This concern originated with the high tech, high input and high yielding systems of the developed world and its meaning and appropriateness to the developing world. The presentation represents some reflections on the application of sustainability to the developing countries of Asia.
Sustainable agriculture is defined as agriculture that balances the need for essential agricultural commodities such as food, fibre, etc. with the necessity of protecting the physical environment and public health, the foundation of agriculture.
May 31, 2023. The Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) started its first of a series of Mindanao-wide training for focal persons on youth and women/ Gender and Development (GAD) in 6 national and provincial agriculture cooperatives/farmers’ organizations and in 11 primary cooperatives who belong to their membership. The training is being held […]
