The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-funded project Agricultural Transformation and Market Integration in the ASEAN Region: Responding to Food Security and Inclusiveness Concerns, or ATMI-ASEAN, conducted series of virtual meetings to discuss the national road mapping exercise as part of its technical assistance on planning and policy development. This activity has been seriously delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To start, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) through Dr. Pedcris M. Orencio and Ms. Bernice Anne C. Darvin, Program Head and Program Specialist, respectively, of the Research and Thought Leadership Department (RTLD), together with the ATMI-ASEAN Project Support Unit (PSU) led by its Coordinator, Mr. Jimmy B. Williams met with Dr. Roehlano M. Briones, Senior Research Fellow of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), on 5 August 2020 via Zoom to discuss the proposed methodology for the road mapping exercise. This activity will be conducted in the five ASEAN Member States (AMS) namely: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
These five countries have recently completed a value chain study of their chosen commodity, which will serve as the take-off points for the exercise. At the outset, national road-mapping teams will be established in each of these countries to participate in a workshop in preparation for the road map. The teams are expected to be composed of representatives from the government focal agencies, partner research institutions/universities, and in-country value chain experts. During the virtual meetings with the focal points from the five target AMS, SEARCA and Dr. Briones discussed the terms of reference of each of the team members and solicited recommendations on the experts to be engaged.
The meetings were held with the General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) in Cambodia on 19 August; Department of Agriculture (DA) in the Philippines, and the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development (IPSARD) in Vietnam on 20 August, and; Department of Agriculture (DOA) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), together with the National University of Laos (NUOL), and the Department of Planning (DOP) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MOALI) in Myanmar on 26 August.
In a meeting with Dr. Fabrizio Bresciani, Regional Economist of the Asia and the Pacific Region of IFAD, on 4 September 2020, Dr. Briones and SEARCA discussed the succeeding interventions particularly during rollout meetings, as well as taking into account digital innovations that played well during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ATMI project team noted how this pandemic has affected the export potential of the commodities and would be an important consideration in developing policies. The national road-mapping exercises will be conducted starting from September 2020.
The ATMI-ASEAN Project is being implemented by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) as lead, and SEARCA as an implementing partner.