What are the major problems in rice production in AFA member countries?
From the country rice reports presented by members of the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, it found that overall rice production is characterized by low productivity. This is mainly due to poor production techniques, lack of irrigation, high dependence on weather conditions (particularly in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand) and decline in rice areas that are largely due to massive land conversion (particularly in Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea). Because of high costs of inputs such as fertilizers and seeds and the inadequate credit support by their governments, small rice farmers are also highly indebted to private money lenders who usually charge high interest rates. On the other hand, small rice farmers especially in Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan as well as in the Philippines and Thailand are faced with labor shortage because
