Nerlita Manalili

Packaging It Is

2012-02-06T22:33:00.000+08:00

It’s been more than 2 months since my last post, and have reasons for being silent that long. Yes, Packaging it is. Another study on appropriate packaging, this time at home country, The Philippines, kept me extremely busy till last week.

A Japan International Development Cooperation (JICA) commissioned study on Enhancing the Competitiveness of Fresh and Semi-Processed Agricultural Products Through The Application of Appropriate and Sustainable Packaging Technology has kept me busy the past two months. In this JICA study, I headed a team of three consultants who looked into the competitiveness enhancing potential of 8 agricultural commodities spread across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Imagine how hectic the schedule was, going around the country’s three major islands twice in the span of one month.

Well can’t share the study results yet as a JICA Mission will use them as input in designing a full blown project for the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on packaging. But what excites me most about this JICA undertaking, is that it is an application, in a country context, of the FAO Rome commissioned study I did on “Investing in Appropriate packaging in Developing Countries” with a resultant publication launched during the May 2011 Save Food Congress at Dusseldorf, Germany.

It will again be a hectic month ahead, as I will serve as resource person to the JICA mission, and will be going back to potential commodity/project sites. However, I am really looking forward to this mission and the eventual project to be developed out of it, as it is not every day that one gets to see a follow through of one’s study results to its fruitful use.

“What Will It Take for Asian Farmers to Be Sustainable Suppliers to Modern Value Chains?”

2011-10-29T08:17:00.000+08:00

A question that is timely and in need of answers and which I attempted to address during my presentation on the workshop on Strengthening the Capacity of Asian Producers’ Organizations to Respond to Modernizing Agriculture held oct 19-21 at Chiang Mai Thailand. Three success factors for producer organizations were underscored in the presentation, namely: the ability to serve as vehicles of change and to network (linking them to opportunities, ideas technologies and resources) as well as a system of rules and incentives. Also, modern value chain has certain demands that calls for changes in organizational structure, processes, and the ways by which profits are assessed, so these three need to be looked into.

The presentation was derived from the paper i co-authored with Dr. Rolly T.Dy, Executive Director, Center for Food and Agri Business, University of Asia and the Pacific, Philippines and was among the three overview papers of resource presons presented on the first day of the workshop. The other two papers were: Overview On Value Chains by Dr. Andreas Springer-Heinze from German International Development Cooperation (GIZ) Head office, and Producer Organizations and Value Chain Development by Dr. David Kahan of FAO Headquarters in Rome.

The three day workshop, which was participated in by 29 participants coming from 14 countries in the Asian Region, aimed to introduce producer organizations and NGOs – support service providers – to some of the changes that are occurring in modern agriculture and the concept of value chain development. It covered the following key topics relating to (i) producer-market linkages; (ii) post harvest management; (iii) Good Agricultural Practices (iv) cooperative and collective action (v) business services; and (vi) financial services.

The workshop was a success in a way that it a) raised awareness among participants on the challenges facing producer organizations to link to modern value chains, b) led to the Identification of capacity building needs of producer organizations; c) enhanced awareness of the training resources and support available; d) led to the identification of possible cooperation between NGO service providers in supporting producer organizations; and e) resulted to 14 proposals for follow-up training/ support activities at country level.

ANP-AFOS GEARS UP FOR COOPERATION IN THE AGRI INDUSTRY

2011-10-25T11:09:00.001+08:00

Through the intervention of the AFOS –ANP partnership, a new cooperation among key stakeholders of the Fruit and Vegetable sector is evolving. In the Agri Forum that took place last Sept 22, 2011 at Business Inn, key people in the value supply network chain of the Fruits and Vegetable Industry gathered. The Forum participants included private Farms, organic farmers group, LGUs , the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Neg. Occidental, organic advocates, food processors, the academe and the mainstream retail outlets. The forum was highlighted with the insightful presentation of Dr. Nerlie Manalili, an international free lance consultant who has done extensive agricultural research and studies for development under the FAO ( Food Agricultural Development) and many international organizations.

During the forum, Dr. Stephan Kunz, country Director of the AFOS Foundation raised a very strong call among the players that there is a need for communication to make a real productive program. He further, urged everyone to participate and be involved. Among the reactors after the presentation were Mon Penalosa of Penalosa Farms who congratulated ANP and AFOS citing that it was indeed a beautiful time to get together and do something and start cooking the meal. Another reactor was Rodel Parcon, of the Bacolod City Government who cited that 50% of the household earnings are spent on food but a a big chunk of the budget goes out because the products that we consume come from other provinces . Pam Henares, of Buro-buro Spring Farm, who also sits in the National Organic Agriculture Board cited that there is so much budget we can tap from the government allocation for organic farming. She further said that there are many resources but players need to sit down with the purity of intentions to spread the benefits. Alter Trade Inc, a pioneering member of the Association of Negros Producers was invited to share their best practices working with small farmers for muscovado sugar and organic banana chips.

A productive discussion on the opportunities and bottlenecks seen in the value supply chain transpired in the afternoon session. And by way of a consensus, action areas were identified with every participant outlining the the tasks they can contribute. More fora and meetings will be organized in the near future until a concrete market and value-driven program will be developed, says Marivic Rio, Sector Unit Counsellor for ANP-AFOS partnership. The immediate task right now is the research and profiling of network organizations, farmers groups, processors so that proper information can be accessed and developed for both domestic and international market.

Dr. Nerlie Manalili, FAO Consultant sharing successful Agriculture Business Models with stakeholders of the Fruit and Vegetables Industry

Stakeholders of the Fruit and Vegetable Value Supply Chain Network with FAO Consultant , Dr. Nerlie Manalili ( in the middle) and Dr. Stephan Kunz, Country Driector of AFOS Foundation

My Linkedin Profile

2011-09-21T07:30:00.000+08:00

I have just updated my Linkedin Profile. You can view it here.

To Have Worked With Two Aggie R&D Greats

2011-09-18T16:16:00.003+08:00

It is not every day that one gets to have an opportunity for a photo shoot with these two

gentlemen, and I am happy to have that opportunity. But one thing I am even happier

about, is to have worked with and learnt much from them.

I am referring to Dr. Arturo A. Gomez and Dr. Percy E. Sajise, internationally acclaimed Scientists, the former in the field of Agronomy and the other in Ecology. Both were former directors of the Philippine-based SEAMEO Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), the venue where the working and learning opportunities occurred, as I was once part of this institution as well.

L to R: Dr. Art Gomez, Dr. Nerlita Manalili, Dr. Percy E. Sajise

This picture was taken on Sept 10, 2011, Los Banos, Laguna

I was an on- call consultant to SEARCA’s Agribusiness Project during the time of Dr. Gomez’ directorship while my full time stint at the Center started during the directorship of Dr. Sajise, initially as consultant of the Consulting Services, then as head of the Agro-Industrial Development Program (AIDP) the Policy Studies Project (PSP), on concurrent capacity.

Years later, I became Manager of the Research and Development Department (though under another directorship).

My technical encounter with Dr. Gomez happened when we were then finding a win-win solution for an agro-industrial slops or waste water that were then being discharged to bodies of water and causing pollution concerns to environmental regulatory bodies and surrounding communities. It was Dr. Gomez who suggested that its use as irrigation water and soil amendment be explored and experiments were undertaken along this line. Much came out of this experiment that started from the wisdom of this man and results led to a win-win solution to an otherwise environmental regulatory impasse between the agro-industrial firm and the government regulatory body, while in effect ensuring a sustainable market for the smallholder producers supplying the firm (refer to the attached article for full story).

It was during Dr. Sajise’s leadership of the Center that agro-industrial development as a program was institutionalized and became one of the Center’s banner program in Southeast Asia. His good grasp of development concerns in a holistic approach, his much valued technical and managerial guidance inspired me a lot to lead the AIDP and PSP programs. I could very well say that much of my project management and applied R&D experiences in the region, would not have been enhanced without the support of a very good R&D administrator, that is, Dr. Sajise.

Thanks, gentlemen for the valuable R&D experience.

To know more about these two gentlemen, try reading their books

1. Beyond the Sacred Forest: Complicating Conservation in Southeast Asia

(Duke University Press).

PERCY E. SAJISE

2. Statistical Procedures for Agricultural Research, 2^nd Ed

ARTURO A. GOMEZ; KWANCHAI A. GOMEZ

Women for Women

2011-09-06T02:08:00.000+08:00

It’s been more than a month since I served as resource person for the Asian Productivity Organization’s (APO) Workshop for Women on the Management of Small and Medium Food processing Enterprises in Makassar Indonesia last July 18-23, 2011. It’s the first time that I have been part of a workshop where all the 18 participants from nine Asian countries are women as well as all the three resource persons. We had the time of our life in presenting women views without much violent reaction, of course to the chagrin of the lone male in the team, the Workshop Coordinator, Mr. Joselito “Jojo” Bernardo, the director of the agricultural department of APO, Tokyo.

All told, it was another wonderful experience made special by the fact that it is a Women for Women kind of empowerment. Not only are the participants a good mix in terms of culture and organizational experiences, the resource persons’ field of expertise is a potent combination as well. Dr. Navam Hettiarachchy, a biochemist from the University of Arkansas, USA, Dr. Rashmi Singh, an institution building specialist from India and myself, a market access and enterprise specialist joined forces to help meet the participants’ training needs and expectations.

Thanks go to the wonderful participants, to my co resource persons and to the organizers - Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture and APO Tokyo. Special thanks also to the provincial government of Sulawesi, Indonesia for their hospitality.

Dr. Nerlita M. Manalili: Another Fulfilling International Training Course Engagement

2011-07-01T20:00:00.003+08:00

An INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE ON AGRICULTURAL MARKETING FOCUSED ON INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT was successfully conducted last 5 – 18 June 2011 at Bayview Hotel, Manila, Philippines.

It was undertaken with the sponsorship of ASEAN and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) Under the Project for Strengthening of Partnership among Japan and ASEAN Countries and the South-South Cooperation Promotion Project for Agricultural Productivity Enhancement in Developing Countries. Implemented by the Department of Agriculture Agricultural Training Institute (DA-ATI), Philippines it was participated in by participants from Bhutan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Nepal,
Myanmar, Vietnam and the Philippines.

It was another fulfilling engagement to have served as resource person (on Market Access and Value Chain) together with Dr. Rolly Dy of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) and Director Harold J. Dacumos, President, ADP Enterprises and Managing Director, HD & Associates.

Interview: Agricultural Challenges in Pakistan

2011-06-22T01:04:00.001+08:00

Interview with Dr. Nerlita Manalili on Agricultural Challenges on Pakistan.

Nerlita Manalili with UN FAO Save Food 2011 at Messe-Duesseldorf

2011-06-21T22:35:00.000+08:00

Here's an update from my recent trip to Germany to attend the International Congress and Exhibition in
Dusseldorf, Germany May 16-17, 2011. Images and link of PDF file by Messe Duesseldorf. For more information, you can find their links at the end of this post.

On the second day, I gave a presentation entitled:

Investing into Appropriate Packaging Technology in Developing Countries

Dr. Nerlita Manalili (Advisor to the FAO)

The question and answer part was in participation with Mr. Moises Dorado (Advisor to the FAO; Associate Professor, University of the Philippines Los Baños).

Download Presentation here (in PDF)

Source: Messe-Duesseldorf UN FAO Save Food 2011

By Nerlita Manalili

2009-11-15T22:55:00.000+08:00

Here's a complete list of my work in collaboration with different institutions, partners and projects. Most of them could be downloaded in PDF file online. If you are interested for more information, you may email me.

I will update this page often, please bookmark this post for your reference. Thank you.

1. NMM's PACA (Participatory Agricultural Chain Assessment)
in Vredeseilanden

2. Download PACA in pdf file

3. RegoverningMarkets - Implication of the Food Retail Sector Development to the Small-scale Livestock Producers in Vietnam

4. Apaari.org

5. The Needs and Expectations of the Partner Countries
An Agribusiness and Market Access Perspective

6. The Phillipine Rice Industry : A Supply –Chain perspective

7. Regoverning Market: Securing Small Producer Participation
in Restructured National and Regional Agri-food System

8. Linking Farmers to Markets Through Cooperatives
Vegetables Supply Chain Redesign Options for
Kapatagan, Mindanao, Philippines

9. Benefits from Byproducts: Recycling Distillery Wastes for Sugarcane Production

10. Fish for the Future: An Assessment of Fishery Conservation Policies in the Philippines

11. The Challenge of Agribusiness: The Case of the Philippines

12. Enhancing Rural Non-farm Employment Opportunities through Agro-Industries and Rural Urban Linkages (Nerlita M. Manalili)

13. Towards An Enhanced Understanding of Restructuring Markets Through R&D

14. The Changing Map of the Philippine Retail Food SectorThe Impact on Trade and the Structure of Agriculture:The Policy Response

15. Human Resource Development in EAGA:
Role of Institutions of Higher Education and Research

16. The Philippine rural economy: status and measures for increasing farmers’ income
and economic vitalization - Nerlita M. Manalili and Hadji C. Jalotjot

17. Strategic Alliances Between Small or Medium-Scale Agribusiness Enterprises and Large Corporations (Nerlita Masajo-Manalili) – page 39

18. SEAMEO

19. UN FAO Save Food 2011

Nerlita Manalili

2009-11-15T22:02:00.001+08:00

Nerlita Manalili is Regional Marketing Advisor to the International Potato Center ’s UPWARD programme and ASIADHRRA where she provides technical advice on agricultural chain development. She serves as resource person to the Asian Productivity Organization of Tokyo on its agribusiness and enterprise development training programmes.

She currently chairs the Southern Advisory Group of the ERA ARD under the frame of the European Research Area Network (ERA Net) of the European Commission.

Previously, Nerlita Manalili was Regional Advisor for Asia on market access at VREDESEILANDEN, a Belgian NGO working on sustainable livelihoods for organized family farmers, and was stationed in Indonesia. She has also been R&D manager of the Philippines-based SEAMEO SEARCA where she engaged in regional agro-industrial, enterprise and supply chain development initiatives.

She was once a faculty member of the Agribusiness Department of the College of Economics and Management of the University of the Philippines at Los Banos, where she handled both undergraduate and graduate courses on Business Policy, Enterprise Development, Organization and Management among others.

Participatory Agricultural Chain Assessment or “PACA”

2009-11-14T21:23:00.000+08:00

You may now download the pdf file and the zip file of Participatory Agricultural Chain Assessment or “PACA” at Vredeseilanden's website, just click on this link:

Vredeseilanden

For more information, just leave a comment after this post. Or email me.

China Forum November 7, 2009

2009-11-14T08:12:00.000+08:00

Fr Left to Right :
1. Rosa Rolle, FAO BKK, Agroindustry Officer
2. Kit Chan, owner of K Farm, Malaysia
3. NMM and
4. Siree, Dean of Agroindustry Kasetsart, Thailand

source: http://www.gaif08.org/asia_pacific_en.htm