The Greater Mekong Subregion Working Group on Agriculture (GMS WGA) is convened annually to discuss  progress of  the GMS regional cooperation program  implemented under the Core Agriculture Support Program (CASP).  Building on the success of CASP Phase I (2006-2010),  CASP Phase  II (2011-2015) was endorsed at the 16th GMS Ministerial Meeting held in August 2010. CASP Phase II  vision is “The Greater Mekong Subregion is recognized as the leading producer of safe food, using climate-friendly agricultural practices and is integrated into global markets through regional economic corridors. It  has three pillars:  (i)  building global  competitiveness by promoting food safety and  modernizing  agricultural trade; (ii) promoting  climate-friendly  agriculture  through market-based strategy to ensure food  security while  rewarding  farmers for their ecosystem  services; and (iii) promoting  agriculture as a leader in  providing clean rural renewable energy and  cross-border  eco-friendly supply chains.

For the Eighth Meeting of the WGA (WGA-8), the theme will be  Enhancing Competitiveness on Sustainable Sourcing and Tracing of Agri-food Products in the GMS. It will include sessions on:

• Opportunities in improving regional competitiveness in sustainable sourcing of agriculture products;
• Review of activities of the Working Group on Agriculture under the Core Agriculture Support Program (CASP);
• GMS Strategic Framework 2012-2022: agriculture sector and strengthening of multi-sector coordination; and
• CASP Phase II -results framework and pipeline projects within the context of a new regional master plan for GMS economic corridor development.