Ear to Asia

Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne

On Ear to Asia, we talk with Asia experts to unpack the issues behind news headlines in a region that is rapidly changing the world. Ear to Asia is produced by Asia Institute, the Asia research specialists at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Ear to Asia

Episodes (168)

Feb 24th How are rice farmers faring in the Philippines?
Dec 14, 2025 Can India maintain strategic autonomy in the Trump 2.0 era?
Nov 12, 2025 Indonesia under Prabowo—promises, protests, and power

Ear to Asia

Feb 24, 2026
59¼ minutes
57 MB

Rice is more than a staple in the Philippines — it’s a measure of well-being and security. But decades of government policies built around industrial-scale production have struggled to deliver self-sufficiency in a country where rice farming is overwhelmingly smallholder-based. As farmers contend with debt, land insecurity, and environmental vulnerability, are current strategies fit for purpose? Or does the future of food security lie in approaches that start with the realities of small-scale farming? Dr Eric Gutierrez and Prof Wolfram Dressler, both social geography researchers from the University Melbourne, join host Sami Shah to examine the complex realities of rice...

Ear to Asia

How are rice farmers faring in the Philippines?

Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne

00:00 -59:11