Regional : Implementing the Greater Mekong Subregion Core Agriculture Support Program (Phase 2)

Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agricultural production

Industry and trade / Small and medium enterprise development

Information and communication technology / ICT industries and ICT-enabled services

1. Strengthened regional policy framework and capacity for agri-food quality management

2. Established electronic trade of environmentally friendly agri-food production of smallholders

3. Increased adoption of gender-responsive and climate-friendly agriculture

4. Facilitated knowledge management and dissemination

5. Strengthened regional cooperation on agriculture in the GMS

Output 1: Establishment of two participatory guarantee system (PGS) pilots per country completed. There were increased attempts by both private and public sector to scale up PGS experience. PGS pilots in five countries demonstrated positive signs of becoming sustainable. Links with markets were facilitated.

The first value chain study on low-input rice value chains have been conducted. The study focused on three rice-producing countries with emphasis on rice that employs sustainable rice intensification practices. Draft working paper is being reviewed.

Efforts have been exerted to arrive at a conceptual framework and operational definition of a safe and environment-friendly agricultural product.

A rapid gender assessment has been conducted with the aim of formulating a gender plan or framework for the capacity building of women farmers on climate friendly agriculture. The appraisal confirmed the increasing role oof women in agriculture in the GMS.

Output 2: Facilitated participation of small business operators in regional trade fairs. Support in moderating the Workshop on Promoting Cross-border Agricultural Trade for Sustainable Development in November 2016 provided to UNESCAP. UNNExT experts as well as experts from FAO, ADB, GS1 and Kasetsart University, Thailand, supported this workshop. Over 40 public and private sector stakeholders from more than 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region mainly less developed economies from South and Southeast Asia received training on implementing food safety and quality standards and their related control systems, particularly for fresh horticulture products. Participants received training on business process analysis tools that may be used to streamline control procedures and facilitate cross-border trade. The workshop also included a practical session on fruit and vegetable grading.

Preparations for the GMS Pavilion and Business Policy Forum that will be held at the Thaifex International Trade Fair on 31 May-4 June 2017 ongoing.

Output 3: In December 2014, the first LOA was signed with Cambodia and the LOAs with the other GMS countries were signed in 2015. The adoption of the LOA greatly enhanced country ownership of TA activities. A total of 28 subprojects had been implemented through this mechanism. The first round of LOA pilot subprojects have been successfully completed in the third quarter of 2016. The Ministries of Agriculture of the GMS have committed to expanding the good agronomic practices and value chains of safe and environment-friendly agro-based products. Additional subprojects on green water management (GWM) and nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) have been facilitated.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was initiated to provide a platform for CASP2 to work with private companies and NGOs. The MOU is intended to help farmers acquire knowledge, technologies, and experiences on climate-friendly agriculture (CFA) and access markets for their CFA products. The first MOU was signed with a firm in Thailand in September 2014 and six others were signed thereafter.

Output 4: A strategic communication perspective that would take into consideration the visibility and outreach of CASP2 among different publics was initiated. The elements consisted of a media outreach plan for use by the respective NSSUs for regional activities or in-country activities with regional relevance. Materials produced internally and which have been used in the public domain include the trifold brochure entitled, _Overview of the CASP Phase II and Future Perspectives_, the new audiovisual production on the CASP 2 vision and message as well as a new documents folder, _SEAP for All_. Other materials have also been developed such as an OP-ED article on Food Safety and draft press releases on the strategy consultations and other related postings for Facebook and the website

The midterm review undertaken in 2016 opined that the continuation of the agriculture information network services (AINS) in the present form of a website was not strategic. This was because there was not much ownership for the tool among the GMS WGAs except for PRC. To validate this proposition, two studies to assess the importance and viability of reinvigorating the AINS have been conducted. In parallel, the Bangkok-based TA experts conducted a needs assessment for regional agricultural information services. Both works concluded that: (i) there was still a need for agriculture related information from among the various agri-based stakeholders in the GMS, whether these be the public or private sector; (ii) the huge information gap was about the emerging SEAP: what these are, where they can be sourced, who/which companies supply them, what are the markets and features of the consumers of SEAP, what are the technologies and government-related regulations pertaining to the SEAP market, etc.; and (iii) the use of smart phones and social media for SEAP communications was the way to go for AINS.

Output 5: The WGA Secretariat had been established in Bangkok, Thailand and strengthened as well. The 12th and 13th WGA annual meetings were successfully conducted (WGA-AM12 held in Thailand in 2015; WGA-AM13 held in Viet Nam in 2016). The draft GMS Strategy and Action Plan for Promoting Safe and Environment-Friendly Agro-Based Value Chains was presented and notated in the 21st GMS Ministerial Conference in 2016. The 14th WGA Annual Meeting (WGA-AM14) and the 2nd GMS Agriculture Ministers' Meeting (AMM2) were successfully held in July and September 2017, respectively. National and regional consultations have been conducted on the strategy preparation and action plan development. A major policy forum, and GMS Pavilion were held at THAIFEX 2017 in Bangkok with a focus on food safety. The 15th WGA Annual Meeting was held in May 2018 in Pu'er, PRC; and the 16th WGA Annual Meeting was held in June 2019 in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR.

The TA completed its activities on 30 June 2019.