Dateline Southeast Asia

Study: Tropical ecosystems pay the price for underpriced agriculture

By RJ Whitehead

- Last updated on GMT

Photo: iStock
Photo: iStock

Related tags Agriculture

While international trade may generate economic benefits to agricultural exporters in the tropics, a groundbreaking study by National University of Singapore researchers reveals that benefits from trade cannot compensate for the loss of forests and ecosystems in those countries.

Tropical countries are among the largest global exporters of key agricultural commodities such as oil palm, rice, soybean, sugarcane and cassava. They also represent the main source of new land for agriculture at the expense of forests. 

By quantifying the impact of international trade on ecosystem services, the NUS team, led by Roman Carrasco, showed that tropical countries are severely underpricing the agricultural commodities they produce, and thus effectively subsidising consumption by importing countries. 

The researchers believe that the findings, which were published online in the journal Ambio​, can be used to support agricultural export and land-use policies in tropical countries.

Since the late 20th century, global trade volume has grown exponentially, increasing the demand for agriculture, crop and livestock products. To produce these, tropical countries have increasingly been converting their forests for crop and livestock production, leading to a loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, flood protection or pollination, while increasing carbon dioxide emissions.

For their research, the NUS team analysed data from 85 countries, combining estimates of the land used in tropical countries to produce the commodities for export. 

They also embedded the countries’ imports; the biome that would be present if deforestation had not taken place; the benefits generated by agriculture and timber through trade; and the losses from forgone ecosystem services.

The findings of this first-ever study showed that the majority of tropical countries incur huge net economic losses amounting to US$1.7tr each year. Topping the list are countries such as Brazil, Thailand, India, Vietnam and Indonesia, where large areas of land are used for producing timber, crops and livestock for export.

Deforestation is supported under the assumption that the countries are better off by engaging in agricultural activities​,” said Assistant Professor Carrasco. 

However, our findings show that this is not necessarily the case. This points to the urgency for tropical countries to rethink their land-use strategies. Without incorporating the environmental costs into international trade, deforestation beyond optimal levels will continue and may lead to serious environmental consequences​.”

Having quantified the problem of rapid tropical deforestation due to agricultural expansion, the NUS team is currently assessing steps that can be taken to reduce the environmental costs of deforestation while still meeting the global demand for livestock and agricultural products.

Some of the potential measures that can be adopted include the introduction of an ecosystem services tax on international trade, price premiums for environmentally friendly agricultural produce, or agricultural intensification to spare land​,” Prof. Carrasco added.

Source: Ambio
Published online: DOI 10.1007/s13280-016-0768-7
International trade causes large net economic losses in tropical countries via the destruction of ecosystem services​.”
Authors: Junning Chang, William S. Symes, Felix Lim, L. Roman Carrasco

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Philippines unveils action plan to transform country into agribusiness hub

The Philippines government has laid out a blueprint for the country to become a regional agribusiness hub by 2022 through a comprehensive national industrial strategy.

Philippines

This hub approach, which was revealed by the trade secretary, will also cover manufacturing and services in a bid to transform the country into a regional powerhouse.

[It] links the manufacturing sector with the agricultural and services sectors. In the process, forward and backward linkages will be strengthened, supply chain gaps will be addressed and the industries’ participation in the global and value chains will be deepened​,” said Adrian Cristobal Jr at a presentation in Manila.

While the Filipino agriculture sector has been in decline in recent years and manufacturing has remained stagnant, the services sector has emerged as the backbone of the Philippine economy.

We should be able to lift these sectors—with agriculture as source of inputs and services as the enabling element—to support broad-based sustained growth in manufacturing​,” Cristobal said.

Eventually, we would like to see a Philippines manufacturing sector that is inclusive, with micro, small and medium enterprises at the front and centre of business activities in the Philippines. A manufacturing sector that is likewise expansive to conquer not just the local markets but also strategic markets beyond our borders​.”

The plan also sets out to transform and upgrade agriculture from traditional farming to a globally competitive agribusiness sector.

Globally competitive services, meanwhile, is projected to create quality jobs, move up the value chain, and enable structural transformation.

Singapore’s first food manufacturing complex signs its first tenants

Food manufacturers will soon have the opportunity to secure premises at Singapore’s first food hub as the government-backed project signed its first tenants.

Food hub
An architect's impression of the JCT Food Hub

The 50 modular factory units of around 1,130 square metres at the JTC Food Hub @ Senoko will be opened in the next three months, though companies will also have the option of taking up adjacent units at the seven-storey complex to form larger spaces of up to 4,500 square metres each.

The Singapore Manufacturing Federation has joined with JTC Corporation and Singapore Food Manufacturers' Association to develop the hub, the first of its kind in the country. 

It will offer an integrated cold room and warehouse facility that tenants will share on a pay-per-use basis, while shared distribution and delivery services will also be available through StorBest, a third-party operator. 

Png Cheong Boon, chief executive of JTC, a government-backed industrial development agency, said the hub will help firms lower operating costs and so enhance competitiveness. 

"With these features, companies can reduce their investments in cold room, warehouse and delivery operations, and optimise their space take-up as they only need to rent the space they really need,” said Png. 

JTC has now signed agreements with three companies: Tenderfresh Fried & BBQ Chicken, Deli Asia and Kemin Industries. 

"At our current premises, the cold room is at a different location from our factory unit​," Tenderfresh managing director Jimmy Soh said. The company will have a cold room and warehouse facility located directly under its factory units. 

"The capital and operating cost savings we will gain will allow us to further invest in technologies that can streamline our processes​," said Alex Ong, managing director of Deli Asia. 

Referring to StorBest’s role in the project, Koh Poh Koon, minister for national development, said: "With warehousing and logistics functions taken care of by a third-party operator, the Food Hub's tenants will be able to focus on their core functions and undertake activities to enhance their competitive advantage​." 

JTC is currently developing customised financing solutions for firms taking up 20-year leases at the hub. 

Png said such packages, coupled with a new loan and support package for SMEs announced in the recent Budget, will "provide comprehensive support for small and medium-sized food companies to transform and grow their businesses​". 

Shock tactics used in latest Thai diabetes awareness campaign

The Diabetes Association of Thailand has taken a shocking approach in its latest awareness campaign by using images of confectionery to create a frightful picture of infections and festering wounds on limbs.

Sweet kills

The “Sweet kills​” adverts, produced by Ogilvy and Mather Bangkok and designed by Nattakong Jaengsem, warn against the possible effects of sugar on health and set out to encourage consumers to rethink how they see their favourite sweets. 

The campaign focuses on showing how high blood sugar levels can reduce the body’s ability to detect infections and heal. 

In one of the images, an elbow wound drips with chocolate syrup, caramel and yellow frosting. Another features a disturbing ice cream sundae, with red cake in the wound and white frosting crusted on the edges.

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