Technical Workshop Biomass for Growth: Potentials and Challenges of Bioenergy in Agricultural Communities and Rural Development in ASEAN Region

25 July 2019 -

The Technical Seminar on Biomass for Growth: Potentials and Challenges of Bioenergy in Agricultural Communities and Rural Development in ASEAN Region, under the framework of the project on Promotion of Biomass Energy for Agricultural Communities and Rural Development in ASEAN Region funded by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF), was held on 25-26 July 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand. The seminar was co-organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Viet Nam (MARD) as the lead country of the project and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative of Thailand as the host country of the seminar. The seminar was attended by participants from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Speakers and specialists from several universities and organisations in ASEAN region were also invited to attend and share policy and technical information with ASEAN Member States.

The seminar aimed to provide an overview of biomass energy in ASEAN region with the current status, trends, and future setting. It discussed the sources and types of biomass from agricultural wastes, the opportunities for biomass energy in climate policy and finance, and the potential for biomass energy using different and specific agriculture products such as palm-oil and sugarcane. It also served as the platform to discuss the framework and provide inputs to develop the regional strategy and policy recommendations in enhancing biomass energy for agricultural communities and rural development in the ASEAN region. The seminar included a session of Country Papers presentation in order to exchange the status as well as the innovations of respective countries in the area of biomass energy.