Rome - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Grow Asia, a multi-stakeholder partnership platform that brings together farmers, the private sector, governments, NGOs and key stakeholders to foster inclusive, resilient, and sustainable food systems in Southeast Asia, have joined forces to improve the productivity, profitability and environmental sustainability of smallholder agriculture.

The two organizations have a long-standing, though informal, collaboration, with Grow Asia most recently leading the private sector consultation during FAO’s 35th Session of the Asia Pacific Regional Conference in September 2020. The move towards a more formal partnership is welcomed by FAO as an opportunity to engage a variety of actors, particularly Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), in support of the interconnected economic, social and environmental dimensions of more sustainable agrifood systems.

Grow Asia works with more than 580 partners – half of which are from the private sector – at both regional and national level. Its six Country Partnerships and 44 Working Groups reach more than 2 million smallholder farmers in the Asia-Pacific region through value chain interventions and sectoral coordination on policy, national roadmaps, financing, market issues, and other shared challenges.

Signing on behalf of FAO, Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol embraced the partnership as a chance to take a coordinated approach to agrifood systems transformation in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. “We look for collaborations that complement each other’s strengths, and Grow Asia's considerable on-the-ground expertise and extensive private sector networks will help us to advocate for responsible agricultural investments and to more effectively involve smallholders and SMEs in identifying and scaling up solutions for agrifood systems transformation.”

The partnership will leverage Grow Asia’s regional and national networks to support implementation of the ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry and the ASEAN Action Plan on Fall Armyworm Control; advance the economic empowerment of women in agriculture through multistakeholder initiatives; and enhance the representation and participation of private sector entities, particularly SMEs, as key stakeholders in policy dialogue and policy consultation processes.

Using South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, innovations, and expertise, the collaboration will also work to strengthen the capacity of smallholder value chains and agribusinesses, helping to increase production through the adoption of environmentally friendly agricultural technologies.

“Working in closer partnership with FAO will support Grow Asia in more effectively cultivating inclusive, sustainable and resilient food systems in Southeast Asia,” said Grahame Dixie, Executive Director of Grow Asia. “The technical expertise FAO offers is critical, and will strengthen the multi-stakeholder action we catalyze, particularly by bringing the voices of the public, private, NGO and producer sectors in delivering the follow-up actions that emerge from the UN Food Systems Summit.”

For more information on FAO’s work with the private sector, visit the CONNECT portal for private sector engagement.