News and events

November 13, 2024 – The ASEAN-CGIAR Innovate for Food and Nutrition Security Regional Program recently visited the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributing efforts to strengthen ASEAN-CGIAR collaboration. During the visit, the program’s delegations met with H.E. Satvinder Singh, Deputy Secretary-General of the ASEAN Economic Community, and Dr. Pham Quang Minh, Assistant Director of the Food, Agriculture and Forestry Division.

On September 20, 2024, key stakeholders in Cambodia gathered for a pivotal workshop aimed at crafting a Sustainable Food System Country Profile. This event brought together 56 participants from diverse sectors, including government institutions, academic circles, the private sector, international organizations, and civil society groups. All united in their commitment to enhancing food systems in the country.

Traditional irrigation systems in Cambodia, such as reservoirs, as well as river and canal systems, have limitations, leading to the emergence of farmer-led irrigation management. Meanwhile, solar irrigation has gained attention as a solution. However, challenges exist in matching demand with supply, as the solar irrigation market structure in Cambodia is monopolistic and limited in product choices. This article highlights the need for evidence-based targeting, stronger market demand-supply linkages, innovative marketing strategies and financing solutions to enable the uptake of solar irrigation and expand its potential benefits to farmers.

On October 22, 2024, ASEAN-CGIAR presented the progress and future direction of its Innovate for Food and Nutrition Security Regional Program at the Preparatory Senior Officials Meeting (PrepSOM) of the 46th ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF). Hosted virtually by Myanmar, the session focused on efforts to strengthen agri-food systems, enhance resilience to climate change, deliver better livelihoods, improve health and nutrition, and promote sustainable regional trade.

Bangkok, Thailand (February 23, 2024) – A workshop was held to address the critical issue of enhancing agricultural value chains and regional trade within ASEAN. Co-organized by the International Food Policy Research Institute and the Mekong Institute, the event brought together a distinguished assembly of researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders from over 20 institutions across more than 10 countries.

Baguio City, Philippines (May 27 to 31, 2024) – Agricultural experts convened for a week to explore innovative solutions for sustainable pest management. The workshop, co-organized by the Department of Agriculture (DA), the International Rice Research Institute, and the Philippines Rice Research Institute, brought together 105 participants from various sectors to delve into advancing the potential of Biological Control Agents (BCAs) as a viable alternative to harmful pesticides.

Vietnam and Laos face significant challenges in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), intensified by the inappropriate use of antibiotics in healthcare and agriculture. The misuse of antibiotics in poultry farming has led to the emergence of resistant bacteria, posing serious threats to animals, humans, and environmental health.

Following the successful testing of the ImpactSF Analyzer with LandBank in the Philippines in 2023, and the presentation of these results to multiple banks across the ASEAN region in early 2024, ASEAN-CGIAR Innovate for Food and Nutrition Security Regional Program’s Intervention Package 6 is expanding its activities to banks in Cambodia and Laos.

Researchers from the International Rice Research Institute, Royal University of Agriculture, National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, and International Water Management Institute came together for a two-day workshop to discuss their findings on innovative farmer-led irrigation solutions for Cambodia and Laos.

The ASEAN-CGIAR Innovate for Food and Nutrition Security Regional Program presented its latest progress at the 18th Meeting of the ASEAN Technical Working Group on Agricultural Research and Development (ATWGARD), held on April 24-25, 2024, in Singapore.

MANILA, Philippines—Achieving sustainable food systems transformation in Southeast Asia entails cooperation and collaboration among the public and private sector, including research organizations and financial institutions in the region. Bringing together experts from CGIAR Centers in Southeast Asia and ASEAN member states, the ASEAN-CGIAR Innovate...

MANILA, Philippines (25 October 2023) – Coming after the official launch of the ASEAN-CGIAR Innovate for Food and Nutrition Security Regional Program in Malaysia, representatives for two of the eight Intervention Packages convened for...

The Workshop on Improving Food and Nutrition Security through Regenerative Farming Systems, Enhanced Agrobiodiversity, and Farmer-Led Irrigation recently convened in Vientiane, Laos on November 2023, bringing together key stakeholders from various sectors, including government, international NGOs, CGIAR Centers, and academia.

The ASEAN-CGIAR Regional Program has been at the forefront of driving sustainable development in the Southeast Asian region through its innovative approaches to agriculture and finance. In particular, the program’s IP6, has yielded significant outputs that are reshaping how financial institutions (FIs) in the ASEAN region engage with agriculture, addressing...

Preserving biodiversity in ASEAN member states is crucial for ensuring food security, resilience to climate change, and sustainable economic development. However, challenges such as changing diets, unsustainable land management, and rapid urbanization pose a threat to this biodiversity.

At the COP28 Climate Summit in the UAE, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) of Vietnam unveiled preliminary results of the Food System country profile methodology—a key element of the ASEAN-CGIAR Regional Program Intervention Package 8 on Food Systems Transformation for More Nutritious and Healthy Diets.

Dr. Kevin Chen, a Senior Research Fellow in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), was invited to give a keynote speech at the 7th ASEAN-China Agricultural Cooperation Forum in Nanning City, Guangxi, the People’s Republic of China (P.R. China) on September 16, 2023. The event was co-hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) of P.R. China and the People’s Government of Guangxi Zhuang...

The world is confronted with pressing global challenges—in particular, health issues—stemming from the intersection of the humans, animals and the ecosystem. This requires a collaborative One Health approach by sectors that recognize this interdependency, working together through coordination and communication.

The ASEAN-CGIAR Innovate for Food and Nutrition Security Regional Program was officially launched during the 45th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 4, 2023. This program aims to scale up and scale out integrated innovations in order to enhance the resilience of ASEAN’s...

The Australian Government has announced additional funding of A$ 1 Million to the ASEAN-CGIAR Innovate for Food and Nutrition Security Regional Program as part of its commitment to ensure long-term resilience and sustainability of agri-food systems in the ASEAN region and its member countries.

The International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) Cambodia collaborated with the Council for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) and the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT (ABC) to organize a consultation workshop on nutrition-sensitive agri-food systems along the deltaic regions in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on December 05, 2023.

In its continuing commitments to improve food safety, Vietnam has integrated a Food Safety Technical Working Group within the framework of the country’s One Health Partnership. The official working group launch took place on 28 September 2023 in Hanoi at a meeting attended by more than 100 food safety experts from various government agencies, development partners, research institutions, private sector, along with distinguished delegates from One Health regional networks...

Vietnam and Laos PDR face significant challenges in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), intensified by the inappropriate use of antibiotics in healthcare and agriculture. The misuse of antibiotics in poultry farming has led to the emergence of resistant bacteria, posing serious threats to animals, humans, and environmental health.