Asia In Focus

Help Make A Difference

Asia America Initiative is a 501c3 nonprofit supported solely through private contributions.
We do not receive government funding.
Your donation is
100% tax-deductible.

Contact Details

Washington DC Office
1523 16th St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
Telephone 202.232.7020
Fax 202.232.7023
admin@asiaamerica.org

Map of DC Office

Get directions

Metro Manila,
Philippines Office

Asia In Focus - Number 20 : FRUITS OF HOPE
How a Farm-to-Market Revolution Stopped a War
October 25, 2007 | Editor Al Santoli

On September 11, 2007, while most of the world was remembering the terror attacks which ignited the “Global War on Terror,” in the southern Philippines, where the Muslim-Christian conflict threatened to explode, a revolution in peace making was taking place. At that time thousands of marines and soldiers were pouring into the island of Jolo to exact revenge on guerilla groups following bloody clashes. In response, a coordinated effort by the Philippine National Red Cross with the non-profit Asia America Initiative and the Provincial Government brought together local Muslim farmers and Christian owned supermarket corporations to create a farm-to-market program to stop the war.

The Fruits of Hope program is a model for reconciliation and terror prevention through creating livelihood opportunities in agricultural- and fisheries-based communities. Almost two months after the program’s first flight of fruits and coffee on an Air Force C-130 cargo plane to the capitol, an atmosphere of peace prevails.

The program is a partnership encompassing all levels of Philippine society intended to achieving peace through shared prosperity. The Philippine military played a key role. The Air Force utilized its only C-130. Instead of conducting “search and destroy” missions, Philippine marines worked with farmers – some of whom would have gone to the forest preparing to fight -- to package hundreds of cartons of fruits and the region’s renowned coffee beans for shipment.

Remarkably, within the first few hours after the inaugural shipment arrived in Manila, the participating supermarkets announced that the five tons of exotic tropical fruits had already been purchased by shoppers. The marketing director for SM Super Malls announced that their stores intended to purchase more large quantities of the fruits as soon as possible.

Sulu Governor Abdulsakur Tan told reporters the program is “an unprecedented partnership” to establish hope among communities on the frontline of severe poverty. He said a substantial shipment of farm products, will create the framework for peace through economic development. “This initiative links the farmers of Sulu to big businesses and small retailers in Manila,” he said.

The critical role of farm-based economic development is being recognized by international financial institutions as essential for reducing poverty, hunger and conflict worldwide. An October 2007 World Bank report titled “Agriculture for Development,” advocates that the agricultural sector must be placed at the center of the international development agenda. The report states that 75% of the world’s poor live in rural areas, while only 4 percent of official developmental assistance goes to agriculture in developing countries. According to Francois Bourguignon, the World Bank’s Chief Economist, “The challenge is to sustain and expand agriculture’s [and aquaculture’s] unique poverty-reducing power where the number of rural poor people is still rising and will continue to exceed the number of urban poor for at least another 30 years.”

Not surprisingly, the Mindanao Muslim provinces where armed conflict is ongoing are classified as the poorest in the country. The United Nations Development Program has classified Sulu along with Malawi in Africa as among the least developed places in the world. The conditions of poverty, however, can be overcome if a climate of peace enables the development of Sulu’s abundant agricultural and fisheries resources.

At the inaugural ceremony in Sulu, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed for the continuation of the Fruits for Hope into a full-fledged sustainable economic development process and to transform Sulu into a peaceful province through an improved economy. Signatories to the MOA were Senator Richard Gordon representing the Red Cross; Governor Tan; Rohaniza Sumndad, representing Asia America Initiative; the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process represented by Undersecretary Nabil Tan; and representatives from SM Malls, Rustan’s supermarkets, Shopwise and Nescafé-Nestlé corporation. Military Joint Task Force chief Brig. General Ruperto Pabustan represented the Philippine Air Force at the signing.

Farmers, retailers, local government, military and humanitarians have all become partners in the program. Senator Gordon stated, “When the people in the Muslim provinces suffer, we suffer as a nation. We must approach Sulu, Basilan and the other provinces in Mindanao with more innovation and more compassion. We must assist development in those provinces, not as a reward, but as the vital precondition for peace.”

While tropical fruits are seasonal, other large Philippine food corporations stated that they would like to begin purchasing fresh seafood from the Sulu area. And the international Nestle Corporation made a commitment through its Nescafe company to purchase large amounts of coffee beans from the area. As a significant next step, Nescafe has worked with AAI to expand the Fruits of Hope project to central Mindanao where peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are ongoing. In coordination with AAI and the Governor of Lanao del Sur Province, in November Nescafe will send marketing experts to teach local farmers the best methods for packaging their coffee beans.

Proceeds from the initial sale of the fruits will be used as seed money to form cooperatives and to train local people engaged in marine products. Thai agricultural experts will be asked to teach improved agricultural techniques. The national Department of Science and Technology will also teach local fishermen and seaweed farmers how to package their produce.

At an Asia Foundation conference on violence in Mindanao, the respected Sultan Asgar Sani stated, "The only solution to achieving lasting peace is to enhance Livelihood." The landmark role of the Fruits of Peace program was explained recently by AAI program coordinator Rohaniza Sumndad: “Many people thought that the vicious cycles of poverty and violence could not be changed and that reconciliation between Filipinos of different religions and cultures could not be possible,” she said “Fruit of Hope can be the beginning of a new life, new growth and great opportunity in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Mindanao. Despite our differences in culture and religion, we are all one and should work together. Let Fruits of Hope be one of our bridges towards lasting peace and prosperity.”