Forum takes stock of transformation of food systems in Asean post-pandemic
Analysts, policymakers, researchers, international donors and public-private groups recently gathered at a high-level policy forum in Hanoi, Vietnam, where they deliberated over five years of rigorous research.
The research, “Agricultural Transformation and Market Integration in the Asean Region: Addressing Food Security and Inclusiveness Concerns[ATMI-Asean”isaprogramcoveringthePhilippinesCambodiaDPRLaoleMyanmarandVietnam[ATMI-Asean”isaprogramcoveringthePhilippinesCambodiaLaoPDRMYanmarandVietnam[ATMI-Asean»estunprogrammecouvrantlesPhilippinesleCambodgelaRDPlaoleMyanmaretleVietnam[ATMI-Asean”isaprogramcoveringthePhilippinesCambodiaLaoPDRMyanmarandVietnam
It is jointly implemented by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Los Baños Regional Center for Graduate Studies and Research in Agriculture (Searca) for Southeast Asia.
It is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Under the theme “Transforming food systems in the Asean region after Covid-19”, the forum took stock of the progress made in food security and inclusiveness in the Asean region.
Participants deliberated on pathways for a resilient recovery of agrifood value chains that will ensure the inclusiveness of smallholders in regional and global value chains and make them resilient to shocks.
Unless food security and the inclusiveness of smallholders are credibly aligned with the ASEAN competitiveness agenda, improvements in regional agricultural and food markets will fall short, leaving them vulnerable to sudden disruptions, experts pointed out. forum organizers.
The forum also presented the results of the ATMI-Asean program, among which are the components led by Searca, namely the regional value chain assessment carried out in coordination with the ASEAN Secretariat, as well as the studies on the agricultural value chain at the national level, policy strategies and national strategies. roadmaps in the five target ASEAN Member States (AMS).
“The roadmaps will further contribute to building the capacity of the targeted AMS to develop policies and programs to support the adjustment of the smallholder agricultural sector to changes in sub-regional and supra-regional agricultural and food markets,” said said Searca director Dr. Glenn. B. Gregorio.
Participants also discussed possible ways to sustain the use of the program’s work beyond its lifecycle through an extended network of policy actors and analysts. ATMI-Asean internalizes the recomposition of the food system with public health concerns and the geopolitical complex.
“We are proud that our support has contributed to better coordination of food security policies and the development of regional and sub-regional roadmaps for investments in food and agricultural value chains for the ASEAN region. “, said Abdelkarim Sma, IFAD’s senior regional economist. .
“I am particularly pleased that the programme’s capacity building efforts have helped strengthen national government agencies and ASEAN in their respective planning and programming capacities,” Sma said.
More than 100 stakeholders participated in the forum co-organized by IFPRI, Searca and Vietnam Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development.
They included representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Government of Vietnam; Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Cambodia; Myanmar Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation; Asian farmers’ organizations, research institutes, donors, civil society, non-governmental organizations and academics.
Image credits: Searca
