Read our Joint Statement on South-South Cooperation Issued by Grow Asia, FAA, AGRA, IICA
Hanoi, 25 April 2023 - Ministers responsible for food and agriculture from Viet Nam, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines met at a specially convened inter-regional ministerial roundtable today to advance opportunities for sustainable investment, innovation, and digitalization, opportunities in food systems through enhanced South-South cooperation.
The event was co-hosted by Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration with Grow Asia and the Food Action Alliance (FAA), in collaboration with leaders from AGRA and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), who yesterday attended a ministerial briefing with the Prime Minister of Viet Nam, Pham Minh Chinh. The delegation, which was led by Grow Asia’s Executive Director, Beverley Postma, discussed common challenges and opportunities for the food and agriculture sector in the global south and stressed the urgency for enhanced South-South Cooperation.
His Excellency Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the ministerial delegation from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and Grow Asia’s Executive Director in Hanoi yesterday
Recognizing the significant opportunity that a framework for South-South Cooperation presents for countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, the organizers agreed to use their collective leadership to drive progress on food system transformation on the pathway towards major events that will shape the global food system agenda in the run up to COP28. This includes the UN Food Systems Stocktake Moment, the Africa Food Systems Summit, and the Grow Asia Investment Forum, which will take place in Singapore on 12 September – the official UN Day for South-South Cooperation.
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About Grow Asia
Grow Asia is a multi-stakeholder platform established in 2015 by the World Economic Forum and the ASEAN Secretariat to cultivate more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable food systems in Southeast Asia. Grow Asia does this by brokering commercial and non-profit partnerships between the global and regional public, private, civil society, academic, and farmer organizations that make up the Grow Asia Network, creating an ecosystem that supports knowledge sharing, collaboration, innovation, and policy change.
Grow Asia comprises the regional Grow Asia Secretariat in Singapore; 6 Country Chapters; and 44 Working Groups, organized around specific cross-cutting issues (e.g., agritech) or value chains (e.g., corn). Today, Grow Asia engages over 640+ partner organizations through its Country Chapters in Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Viet Nam, reaching 2.5 million smallholder farmers.
In 2020, Grow Asia was accredited as an Entity Associated with ASEAN due to the important role Grow Asia plays in the region, particularly in facilitating multi-stakeholder partnerships for sustainable agriculture development.
Learn more at www.growasia.org
About Food Action Alliance
The Food Action Alliance is a multi-stakeholder platform with a shared vision of achieving sustainable food systems that deliver better, faster, and at scale on food security and nutrition, inclusive growth and decent jobs, environmental sustainability and climate resilience. Achieving this vision will require a movement and action by actors everywhere, including countries, cities, communities, companies, civil society, consumers, producers, and workers all around the world. The mission of the Food Action Alliance is to serve as the leading multi-stakeholder platform for scaling food systems innovation and impact, by mobilizing collective action, partnerships, and investments in leading national food systems strategies and flagship initiatives that demonstrate the best of what is possible in food systems transformation. Learn more at www.foodactionalliance.org/home
About AGRA
Established in 2006, AGRA is an African-led and Africa-based institution that puts smallholder farmers at the center of the continent’s growing economy by transforming agriculture from a solitary struggle to survive into farming as a business that thrives. Together with our partners, we are working to sustainably grow Africa’s food systems. AGRA strengthens seed systems, develops, and promotes sustainable farming practices, helps unlock trade and markets, and supports governments who lead their countries’ development. We work with farmers to adapt to climate change, increase soil health, and protect the environment. AGRA believes deeply in the urgency of reducing the inequality that women face in agriculture, and to unlocking the power and innovation of youth. More information: www.agra.org
About Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) is the specialized agency for agriculture of the Inter-American System that supports the efforts of Member States to achieve agricultural development and rural well-being. The Institute provides cooperation services through close and permanent work with its 34 Member States, addressing their needs in a timely manner. Without a doubt, IICA’s most valuable asset is the close relationship it maintains with the beneficiaries of its work. We have broad experience in areas such as technology and innovation for agriculture, agricultural health, food safety and quality, international agricultural trade, family farming, rural development, natural resource management and the bioeconomy.
More information: www.iica.int/en