FAO is supporting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to increase awareness and accelerate action towards win-win investment in agriculture and food systems. This is being done by supporting the implementation of the ASEAN Guidelines to Promote Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry, which were adopted by the ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry in 2018.

The ASEAN Guidelines reflect the priorities and characteristics of the region, and are grounded in the CFS Principles for Responsible Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI), the first global agreement providing guidance on how investment should address development challenges, and benefit those who need it most. The adoption of the ASEAN Guidelines is an important step forward in the commitment towards responsible agricultural investment in the region.

In July 2019, FAO, Grow Asia and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat, and with support from the governments of Germany and Switzerland, organized a workshop to share experiences and establish consensus on the ASEAN Guidelines and related Action Plan. The workshop brought together 64 participants including ASEAN governments, the private sector, civil society organizations, farmer organizations and other key stakeholders. The gathering resulted in a revised Action Plan to rollout the Guidelines in the region. It highlights in particular the need for capacity development and advocacy to encourage widespread adoption of Guidelines across ASEAN’s agriculture and food sector. More information about the workshop can be consulted in its outcome report.

The need to increase responsible investment in agriculture

The population of the ASEAN countries is expected to grow more than 120 million from 2020 to 2050.[1] Meeting the increased demand for food that this population will generate poses an unprecedented challenge, especially in the context of natural resource degradation and climate change impacts.

FAO estimates that additional investment of USD 5.2 billion[2] per year in agriculture and rural development are needed in the ASEAN region to achieve the first two Sustainable Development Goals – ending poverty and hunger. Yet, the current level of investment is insufficient to tackle these challenges facing the region. This is illustrated by the marginal share of credits to agriculture in total credits, which is below 5 percent.

Whereas agriculture employs as much as 35% of the population in the ASEAN countries, it contributes only 25% to the Gross Domestic Product. In parallel, a high share of the population is employed informally in jobs marked by insecurity, low pay and lack of social protection. In this context, additional responsible investments will be crucial to leverage the potential of the agricultural sector in creating decent jobs and driving sustainable economic development.

An essential part to upscale responsible investment in agriculture is to create an enabling environment, including legal, institutional and investment incentive frameworks.

Strengthening the capacities of all stakeholders involved in the agri-food sector is equally important, especially to engage youth in agriculture. In fact, Guideline 5 of the ASEAN Guidelines focuses on “Women, youths, indigenous peoples and marginalized groups” and underscores the “critical importance of food, agriculture and forestry in harnessing the youth dividend, as well as their right to equitable access to work and other opportunities.”

Enhancing stakeholders’ capacities to engage youth

In June 2019, FAO conducted a multi-stakeholder assessment on responsible agricultural investment and youth with AsiaDHRRA and national DHRRAs from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam. This resulted in the identification of country-specific priorities that were translated into action plans. Subsequently, the national DHRRAs requested FAO to expand their capacity in order to be better equipped to operationalize these plans.

In this spirit, FAO organized a Training of Trainers (ToT) with 24 members of the AsiaDHRRA network from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. This ToT served to enhance the understanding of the CFS-RAI and ASEAN Guidelines among participants, as well as to train them on the use of the FAO Rapid Capacity Assessment Tool: Empowering youth to engage in responsible investment in agriculture and food systems. This tool helps practitioners to conduct multi-stakeholder assessments of existing and needed capacities to involve youth in responsible investment in agriculture and food systems.

Currently, the members of the AsiaDHRRA network are applying the Capacity Assessment Tool at the local level. This process will help them identify key challenges and opportunities for young agri-entrepreneurs and draw up a roadmap to unlock their potential in the region. This includes policy and advocacy activities aimed at increasing responsible agricultural investment and supporting the application of the ASEAN Guidelines.

Next steps

Activities by the national DHRRAs are currently ongoing. FAO and AsiaDHRRA hope to organize a Regional Forum on Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems in the second half of 2020 in order to share their findings and exchange country experiences. This information will provide a springboard to inform regional and national policymaking and program-designing on responsible agricultural investment with, by and for youth.

More information:

• ASEAN Guidelines to Promote Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry
• CFS Principles for Responsible Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI)
• Workshop report: Operationalizing the ASEAN Guidelines and Action Plan
• FAO Rapid Capacity Assessment Tool: Empowering youth to engage in responsible investment in agriculture and food systems.
• FAO conducts training of trainers to engage youth in responsible agricultural investment in the ASEAN region