Agri-Aqua Value Chain Laboratory

𝗜𝗖𝗬𝗠𝗜 | On 27 February 2026, the University of the Philippines Mindanao hosted 𝗗𝗿. 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗵 (University of Bonn) for a Visiting Experts Lecture on “𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩: 𝘈 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴”

Drawing from her forthcoming multidisciplinary Routledge Handbook and fieldwork in Mindanao, Dr. Hambloch framed contract farming as an outsourcing mechanism that transfers land relations, labor mobilization, production risks, and price volatility from agribusiness firms to smallholders and cooperatives. She showed how post-CARP contract growing arrangements in oil palm and banana sectors often preserved corporate monopsony power, low rentals, debt traps, labor fragmentation, and out-migration (including undocumented workers to Sabah), undermining genuine agrarian reform.

Discussants Dr. Roehlano M. Briones (PIDS), Mr. Sylvester Sales (MinDA), and Atty. Glenn Pobre (DAR Region 11) highlighted AVA compliance gaps, localized market power abuses, infrastructure influences, contested territorial claims, and the urgent need for farmer capacitation, stronger competition enforcement, and diversified livelihoods to foster inclusive rural development.