Creation and Testing of Learning and Accreditation Programme to Implement ASEAN-RAI Guidelines

Proponent	:	ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC)
Implementing Agency	:	Grow Asia, Singapore

Background

As the demand for food increases due to a growing population, economic growth and accelerated urbanisation in ASEAN, agriculture continues to attract foreign and domestic investments. Agricultural investments can generate a wide range of benefits to the region, including higher productivity, technology transfer, employment creation, and access to markets. Amidst the increase in investments, however, threats remain to community land rights, natural resource conservation, food security, and worker protection, among others. To ensure that investments in agriculture meet global standards and promote responsible and sustainable investments, the ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) adopted the ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture, and Forestry (ASEAN-RAI) in 2018 and the Action Plan Implementation Strategy for the ASEAN-RAI in 2019. Yet, despite the adoption of the ASEAN-RAI and its Action Plan, it is still challenging to translate these documents into concrete action.

What is the project aiming for?

The project Creation and Testing of Learning and Accreditation Programme to Implement ASEAN-RAI Guidelines aims to lay the foundation of the Action Plan by training a cadre of experts to advise on responsible investments in agriculture. With this cadre of experts, the ASEAN-RAI will be implemented at the local level and create the impact needed to address power asymmetries and disparities among smallholder farming communities and investors, governments, and other stakeholders. This project will capacitate 50 experts from the private, public, and civil society sectors, through the following activities:

Developing a Learning Management System courseware to offer online modules to participants;
Testing an online and in-person programme with a pilot cohort at national and regional levels; and
Developing and testing a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system for the Learning and Accreditation Programme (LAP) through online and field-based assessments.

The Meeting reiterated the importance of the ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (ASEAN-RAI), and encouraged the ASEAN partners to provide support on the implementation of the Guidelines at the national and regional levels to promote investment in food, agriculture and forestry in ASEAN.

43rd Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry
27 October 2021
Indonesia
Video Conference

The project contributes to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint, particularly the Strategic Measure C.5.57, Action ii: Enhance trade facilitation, and remove barriers to trade to foster competitiveness and economic integration. The project also fosters the ASEAN-Japan Strategic Partnership through enhanced practical cooperation and synergy in one of the priority areas outlined in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). It supports the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 by providing assistance to the most vulnerable groups (agricultural communities) as stipulated in the progress report on AOIP.

The project is currently ongoing for the duration of two years from August 2021 to August 2023.

As of 30 November 2021

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Creation and Testing of Learning and Accreditation Programme to Implement ASEAN-RAI Guidelines

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