Development of Agribusiness Enterprises - Asian Productivity ...

crops (i.e., non-traditional crops/fruit) and a greater range of processed foods. As a result,
product life cycles had also been shortened.
In recent years, many countries had joined the movement towards the privatization of
government-owned and controlled industries and businesses (e.g., power, water and
fertilizer). In turn, that has led to improvement of those sectors with the takeover of private
enterprises.
In the area of trade, non-tariff barriers had also been put up by importing countries in
the form of packaging and labeling requirements, certifications for non-genetically modified
products (GMPs), hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) and environmentfriendliness
etc. That had resulted in additional costs for the producers, which had not been
passed on to consumers nor absorbed through higher prices. The profit squeeze was now
taking its toll among farmers and industry as a whole.
Other identified common problems and challenges that SMEs were facing included:
C a lack of good infrastructure, i.e., roads, and telecommunications and irrigation
networks.
C unreliable supplies of raw materials in terms of quality and quantity.
C obsolete and inefficient equipment and technologies.
C poor marketing facilities and sales networking.
C a lack of managerial skills.
C fluctuating foreign exchange rates and high interest rates.
C high product losses due to inadequate post-harvest facilities.
C high transportation and distribution costs.
C difficulty in accessing financing support due to bureaucracy and bias against smallscale
farmers who are usually considered to be high-risk borrowers.
C unresponsive or inappropriate government policies.
C a lack of data and statistics on the industry.
To address the above concerns, strategies now being pursued included:
C privatization of government-managed industries and businesses.
C trade liberalization involving imports and exports.
C the provision of soft loans and credit facilities.
C the provision of incentives to attract investments in priority areas and businesses.
C information/technology sharing and dissemination through various channels of
communications, e.g., extension service, tri-media, websites, forums, seminars,
conventions, trade fairs and exhibits.
C the promotion of joint ventures or partnerships with large companies.
It was clear from the discussions that almost all countries would continue to be highly
dependent on their agriculturally-based economies in the near future. The above-mentioned
strategies had been formulated in order to address the goals of food self-sufficiency,
increased competitiveness in the global market, less dependence on imported inputs and
technology, and alleviation of poverty and unemployment in rural areas.
Regarding cooperatives, it was reported that very little success had been achieved
despite the promotional efforts and resources being poured into strengthening them. Even
so, the participants saw the value of cooperatives and proposed their continued promotion and
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