Financed by the French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Commission, with a budget of 12 million euros, and orchestrated by Group for Research and Technology Exchanges (GRET), with scientific coordination by the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), the far-reaching five-year project Agroecology and Safe Food System Transitions (ASSET) will involve 27 partners in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Its goal is to exploit the potential of agroecology in order to support the transition of agrifood systems in Southeast Asia.

The project is based on an integrated approach, addressing three spheres of the agroecological transition in agrifood systems. First, “technical-economic”, to develop and promote agricultural and marketing practices that are appropriate and effective. Next, “political”, to raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities of integrating agroecological approaches into public policies. Finally, a “societal” sphere, to ensure an increase in citizen and consumer demand for more sustainable and safer food products. In every country, an intervention territory will be selected. Next, all actors in that territory will use the theory of change to identify the innovations to be supported: crop associations between cereals and legumes, cultivation of fodder crops under trees, cover crops under maize, use of natural enemies to limit crop treatments, participatory guarantee systems, etc. This will be followed by support at the level of fields, farms and also service providers, downstream operators, local authorities, etc. Changes in production will thus be integrated with downstream changes (marketing, management of traceability for greater consumer trust) and the policy environment. The knowledge produced by the project will also inform the policy dialogue built at different levels. A dialogue which, once taken to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional level, in particular via the Lao Facilitated Initiative on Agroecology for ASEAN (LICA) initiative, should lead to the development of a roadmap in support of agroecology.

FAO, together with CIRAD, will coordinate the evidence-based policy dialogue and advocacy component of the project. This will include facilitating the dialogue with ASEAN about the formulation and endorsement of a common vision on agroecology. It will follow a bottom-up strategy building upon lessons learned and findings from flagship programs to be jointly implemented at territorial levels in each country through multi-stakeholder approach.