Wednesday 18 June
13:00-14:30, Iran Room

About the event: The Side Event will provide Member Countries with opportunities to review and discuss the progress and achievements made by the Asia Regional Rice Initiative and its possible applications in other regions.

Purposes:The Asia Regional Rice Initiative has been implemented jointly by FAO Headquarters and Decentralized Offices since 2013 with the objectives of (i) focusing on the importance of goods and services produced by and available from rice ecosystems and landscapes and (ii) supporting rice farmers and producers in three pilot countries – Indonesia, Lao PDR and the Philippines – in practicing sustainable intensification of rice-based farming systems such as Save and Grow, rice-fish, and Trees Outside Forests. It is designed to support the Strategic Objective 2 (SO2) that is aimed at making agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable. This Side Event will inform FAO Member Countries of the progress made and lessons learned from the pilot phase of the Asia Regional Rice Initiative in 2013 and how the Initiative will further contribute to the SO2 goals in the 2014-2015 biennium. The Side Event is also intended to call for government initiatives to (re)formulate and implement national rice strategies or policies building on the Regional Rice Strategy for Asia and the Pacific which has been recently crafted by the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, with support from an External Rice Advisory Group.

Refreshments will be available outside the Iran room from 12:30 onwards.