Workshop for Parliamentarians on the Implementation of the ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry Sectors

Background

Southeast Asia's agriculture sector plays a crucial role, contributing 12% to the regional GDP and employing over 100 million people. Urbanization and rising incomes are driving increased demand for food, fisheries, and forestry products in the region. Sustainable investment is essential to ensure future food security, safety, and nutrition amid rapid industrialization and population growth.

To address these challenges, ASEAN Member States adopted the ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture, and Forestry in 2018. These guidelines, based on global principles, aim to promote responsible and sustainable investments in the region. They establish frameworks to minimize negative outcomes and promote equitable, sustainable industries.

About the event

This joint workshop, organized by AIPA, FAO and IISD, aimed to engage parliamentarians, enhance their capacity, and give them an opportunity to share expertise to support the implementation of the ASEAN RAI. The workshop focused on how parliamentarians can identify relevant regulatory gaps, promote legislative reforms, oversee government efforts to apply the ASEAN RAI, and communicate the importance of responsible investment in agriculture, food, and forestry in ASEAN.

Specific objectives included enhancing parliamentarians' understanding of responsible investment within ASEAN, exploring the use of parliamentary functions to address challenges in agricultural investment effectively, using insights from a practical handbook for concrete actions at national and regional levels, and developing a toolkit outlining specific activities that parliamentarians can undertake to support the application of the ASEAN RAI.