This issue paper is about what is known as the “global financial crisis,” which is said to have affected the economies in Europe and North America and caused massive loss of jobs and bankruptcy in these countries. For some of us here in the developing world, the global financial crisis may seem very far from us and therefore, has no effect on us. We may even think that it is something that only concerns economists and the business sector. But we will learn in this paper that the global financial crisis actually affected and even worsened the situation of people and communities in developing countries, including small-scale women and men farmers.
This issue paper explains what “global financial crisis” means, what it is all about and how it started. It will then discuss the effects of the financial crisis on farmers and what civil society organizations can do to support farmers. It also points out what government can do to lessen the impact of the financial crisis on small-scale men and women farmers. Finally, it presents civil society's recommendations to effectively address the impact of the global financial crisis on the vulnerable sectors in the ASEAN region
