“This collection of essays provides a wealth of information and analysis about the Philippine economy and the role of agriculture and economic policy in it. The Philippine experience has been quite different from the highly successful Asian economies, with a long period of low growth until the turn of the century and only then greater success. The authors cover not only the Philippine experience but also place it in its Asian context and that of developing countries more generally. They report on the lessons learned, both positive and negative, from the various economic policies that have been adopted, with regard to both agriculture and to economic inequality. Those interested in Philippine economic development, and Asian development more broadly, will find this an important reference work.”—Anne O. Krueger, Senior Research Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; 1st Deputy Managing Director, IMF (2001-6); Vice-President of Economics and Research, World Bank (1982-86)

The Duterte administration (2016–22) marked the return of an authoritarian style of rule in the Philippines. It was also accompanied by an economic recovery that was better than many expected, at least until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both during and following the Duterte period, the country was buffeted by a series of internal and external shocks that called into question the state’s legal and social policy contract with its citizens. This period of “contesting the Philippines” was an intense, normative and practical struggle to shape (or reshape) some of the Philippines’ most critical institutions: the Constitution, the presidency, the Supreme Court and the rule of law, the free press, regional autonomy and independent regulatory institutions. These developments energized many domestic policy actors: technocrats, the business sector, civil society organizations, the police and the military, armed groups and religious leaders across the spectrum of Filipino politics. This volume considers some key sites of contestation between and among domestic policy actors, including the executive, during this eventful period for political and legal institutions in the Philippines.

This publication i) illustrates how costs and benefits of energy interventions including their impacts along the agrifood value chain can be measured at country level, ii) applies the analysis to 11 country case studies, iii) identifies barriers, possible solutions, business models and success factors for the adoption of energy technologies, and iv) draws general recommendations for investors and decision makers. This report summarizes the analysis and main findings stemming from the FAO project “Investing in Energy Sustainable Technologies for the Agrifood Sector” (INVESTA). FAO has been working together with GIZ and partners of the international initiative Powering Agriculture: An Energy Grand Challenge for Development (PAEGC) since 2014. PAEGC, also partnered by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), supports the development and deployment of clean energy innovations that increase agriculture productivity and stimulate low carbon economic growth in the agriculture sector of developing countries to help end extreme poverty and extreme hunger.