Promotion of Sustainabel Agricultural Value-Chains in ASEAN II (ASEAN AgriTrade II)
Context
The agriculture and food sector is crucial for most Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States (AMS) and serves as one of the key drivers for regional cooperation. ASEAN strives to enhance quality and collaboration in agricultural production within the region to strengthen its domestic and international trade. The project aligns with the ASEAN Economic Community's (AEC's) vision of a seamless market for free-flowing goods and services essential for regional growth. However, achieving this, especially the agri-food sector, faces complex and interconnected challenges.
ASEAN's vision for sustainable agricultural value chains and food systems requires improvement and aligning national laws, regulations, and guidelines in line with ASEAN regional agreements and their effective implementation within and across national borders.
The ASEAN AgriTrade II project builds on its initial success by working with stakeholders and partners to promote harmonisation across the ASEAN Member States. It focuses on sustainability and quality in agricultural value chains, aiming for improved regional cooperation and integration through economic, environmental, and climate standards. The project seeks to boost sustainable agriculture and trade by fostering public-private partnerships, particularly in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam. The project adopts a gender-sensitive approach to empower women and youth in agriculture, aiming to contribute to ASEAN policies related to agriculture, trade, and climate.
Objective
The implementation of harmonisation measures to comply with sustainability and quality standards in regional and global agricultural value chains is improving in the ASEAN region.
Approach
The project advances sustainable agricultural value chains in ASEAN by:
- Enhance strategic alignment and coordination among AMS and regional stakeholders to harmonise sustainability and quality standards in agricultural value chains.
- Promote market-driven agricultural innovations focusing on decarbonisation, private sector sustainability engagement, and digitalisation in CLV countries.
- Strengthen conditions for private engagement, including adopting climate-smart agriculture practices.
- Foster knowledge exchange on climate-sensitive cultivation, sustainable agriculture, and food security among AMS.
- Adopt a gender-sensitive approach to empower women and youth, aiming to address gender disparities and influence ASEAN policies related to agriculture, trade, and climate.