"The Philippine's rural banking industry has reaffirmed its focus to prioritize assistance to the poor, particularly those who have difficulty accessing credit from bigger banks, as poverty incidence remains high. With the country still feeling the aftershocks of tropical storm Ondoy and typhoon Pepeng, the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) has zeroed in its efforts to assist thousands of farmers whose agricultural products were damaged by the recent typhoons.

Rural banks are also working to meet the development goals set by the United Nations in reducing poverty. The RBAP is re-emphasizing its commitment to this market through microfinance and continuous investment in the agriculture sector. Currently, more than 50 percent of rural banks' total loans are invested in the agriculture sector."

"Public investments will have to be raised to improve efficiency and the spread of irrigation facilities in India, thereby pushing growth in the agriculture sector, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday. He also said his government 'was sharply increasing' public investment in agriculture.

He said the most important area for investment in agriculture relates to the provision of water and its most efficient use. The prime minister said there was scope for substantial improvement in the efficiency of the irrigation system. An assessment of the irrigation system in India indicates that efficiencies of surface water systems can be improved from the present level of 35 to 40 percent to about 60 percent and that of groundwater systems from 65 percent to about 75 percent."

"In South Asia, many of the main commercial banks are yet to reach the majority of the population. If it wasn't for the microfinance sector, the vast majority of the rural population would have no option but to be at the mercy of unregulated high interest loan providers. The capital employed in the microfinance institutions is a small fraction compared to the commercial banks. Operations are also very much decentralized.

However, critics question the efficiency of microfinance instituitions. The amount of money lent is so small, they say, there is no scope for the low-income entrepreneurs to develop beyond a small business. Yet in a strategic shift in late 2002, the United Nations declared that microfinance services will, over time, become an integrated part of the financial system."

"Teenagers below the lawful age for marriage in Fiji are often 'sold' or given away as wives in rural areas as a result of poverty. It was hoped new laws banning such marriages would put an end to such practices. The new laws made it illegal for any girl, with or without parental consent, to be married. A girl, in this case, is considered to be a female under 18 years.

There have been cases, mostly in Vanua Levu, where parents out of extreme poverty have forced their daughters to marry older men, a social worker said. Some of these girls are forced and some do it willingly to get out of the cycle of poverty."

"The PRC government will try to raise the earnings of the middle and low income groups to boost consumer spending, said a senior economic planning official. The government will step up research on the optimization of the income distribution mechanism to improve residents' spending capabilities. The government will also raise pensions for enterprise retirees and improve treatment for those who receive special care.

He noted more affordable housing will be offered to middle and low income families, and efforts will be stepped up to curb speculation in housing transactions. The reconstruction of urban shantytowns, obsolete industrial and mining districts, as well as forestry regions will continue. Government-led investment should play a bigger role in job creation. The basic social pension system should be completed to ensure social security."

"Cambodia's salt producers are aiming to boost salt production to at least 90,000 tons in the upcoming season to fully meet domestic demand after bad weather last season severely curtailed output. Just 30,000 tons was produced in the last production season, which ran from November to May, well below the national target of 100,000 tons.

As a result, the association imported salt for the first time to meet local demand of around 120,000 tons per year. Hot, dry weather is required to produce salt through the evaporation of seawater from salt fields, but early rains last year massively curtailed production. Local producers have capacity to produce from 120,000 to 200,000 tons of salt per season, weather permitting."

"An increase in fuel prices and winter-related road blockages in different parts of Afghanistan are driving up food prices, despite a bumper 2009 wheat harvest, according to Kabul traders. Petrol, heating oil and propane gas have gone up at least 10 percent over the past three weeks, they say.

Afghanistan imports fuel mostly from Iran and Turkmenistan. However, its transportation around the country has become expensive and dangerous with the threat of attacks by Taliban insurgents. Furthermore, roads to several districts in Bamyan, Badakhshan and Daykundi provinces have been blocked due to early snowfall."

"The water level in the Hong River, Viet Nam's second biggest river has reached a record low for a century, leaving more than 200 vessels stranded and threatening farming production, warned authorities. With vessels beached and left idle, fishermen are suffering losses. About 100,000ha of agricultural land in the northern region and 30,000ha in Hanoi may face water shortages if 500 million cubic meters of water are not supplied soon.

To deal with the situation, the municipal People's Committee has urged local authorities to develop drought prevention plans. Farmers have been encouraged to actively store water from lakes, rivers, and lowland areas for crops. The Department of Plantation said that around 30,000ha of rice in the northern region would have to be turned into other crops in the 2009-2010 winter-spring crop due to a shortage of water."

"PRC will extend stimulus measures in the automobile industry for one more year, with small adjustments, to further support the world's biggest and fastest-growing auto market. The stimulus package, which was due to expire at the end of this month, includes a 50 percent cut in the 10 percent purchase tax for cars with an engine capacity of 1.6 liters or less and subsidies for trade-in cars. It will now be extended to Dec 31, 2010.

However, the purchase tax for smaller cars will be lifted from the current 5 percent to 7.5 percent of the total vehicle price. Statistics show that smaller cars contributed 85 percent of the sales increase in the domestic auto market."

"The Cambodian government needs to do more to promote small enterprise, according to the results of a study. Cambodia has just 28.1 establishments per 1,000 people, compared with 96.7 in Indonesia and 35 in Lao PDR. An establishment was defined as an enterprise or part of an enterprise situated in a single location in which the main productive activity accounts for most of the income generated by the enterprise.

The report, which was supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, found that 70 percent of Cambodia's 376,761 establishments consist of just one or two people. Just 12.3 percent involve five or more people, 3.5 percent involve 10 or more and only 0.2 percent, or 692 enterprises, have more than 100 people involved. The country has only 106 enterprises with more than 1,000 people, the report showed."

"Many women in Tajikistan find it hard to get back to normal life following their release from prison. The re-offending rate among them is high. An official from the women's prison said that over 60 of the 291 inmates released under a 2007 amnesty were now back inside, and accounted for a quarter of the current inmates. Another 30 or so had been released in the period since the amnesty, but around one-third had already re-offended and were in prison again.

The widespread prejudice against ex-convicts means few employers are prepared to take them on. The current economic crisis, which has forced some of the migrants working in Russia to return home, have placed added strain on the job market."

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