On 25 November 2021, the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) organized a webinar on “Responsible investment in agriculture and food systems” for their member and observer parliaments, with the technical cooperation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

The purpose of the webinar was to introduce the ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry ('ASEAN RAI') and to give parliamentarians the opportunity to exchange and discuss national policies and laws relevant for responsible investment in their countries.

Besides, FAO and IISD presented the idea of developing a shorter version of the FAO-IISD publication Responsible investments in agriculture and food systems – A practical handbook for parliamentarians and parliamentary advisors (the ‘Handbook’), which would be adapted to the regional context and the ASEAN RAI, and collected feedback from the participating member parliaments.

Over the next months, FAO and IISD will adapt the Handbook, in collaboration with AIPA and their member parliaments. The launch of this regionally adapted version of the Handbook is planned for the second half of 2022.

Further links:

ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry: https://www.aseanraiguidelines.org/

FAO-IISD publication “Responsible investments in agriculture and food systems – A practical handbook for parliamentarians and parliamentary advisors”: http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb1991en/

Interactive version of the Handbook: https://www.fao.org/3/cb1991en/online/cb1991en.html#/