By Nguyễn Thị Trang – PHANO
The ALiSEA network and ASSET project participated and shared their experiences at the DeSIRA Connect Days Asia & Pacific 2025 held in Hanoi from 14-15-16 January 2025. The workshop was co-organized by the DeSIRA LIFT Community, the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS), and the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD), with financial support from the European Union (EU). This event brought together over 70 participants from 17 countries including research organizations, farmer organizations, NGOs, private sector entities, and policymakers, to promote Agroecology, Climate Smart Agriculture transitions and sustainable food systems.
Objectives of all the workshop
- Share experiences & good practices from DeSIRA projects
- Support & scale up innovations with a focus on agroecological approaches.
- Strengthen collaboration between operational partners, research, and extension services.
- Contribute to the new EU/IFAD program through insights gained from the event.
The workshop emphasized the importance of the collaboration between research, extension services, education, and policies to support food system transitions.
Key Highlights of the workshop
Agricultural Ecosystem Innovation:
Mr. Dao The Anh (VAAS, PHANO) stated the need to create a comprehensive innovation environment to encourage local creativity and adapt solutions to specific contexts.
Mr. Oliver Oliveros (Agroecology Coalition) praised the role of DeSIRA in connecting research, farmer organizations, and policymakers.
Scaling Agroecological Innovations:
Mrs. Aurélie Toillier (CIRAD/DeSIRA-LIFT) emphasized the need to build national capacities to create community-driven innovation niches, shorten scaling timelines, and improve efficiency.
Mrs. Estelle Biénabe (CIRAD) pointed out the close link between agroecological transitions and market transformations, highlighting the importance of sustainable consumption patterns to improve nutrition and food security.
The role of farmer organizations like AsiaDHRRA and PIFON was highly valued, though their leadership and innovation capacities still require strengthening.
Rikolto Viet Nam participated and presented the first result of research of the Ecofoodsystem Project in Vietnam.
Policy and Financial Support for Innovation:
Mrs. Delgermaa Chuluunbaatar (FAO) emphasized the importance of policy innovations and regulatory frameworks to drive resilient and fair food systems.
Latin American initiatives, such as FONTAGRO and the Tropical Agriculture Platform (TAP), provided valuable lessons on research collaboration and financial mechanisms to support innovation.
The participating of ALiSEA Network and ASSET Project:
At this event, Mrs. Marie Christine LEBRET (Project Manager of ASSET Project, Gret Laos) and Mr. Pat Sovann (ALiSEA network, Gret Cambodia) presented our activities and lessons learned from Southeast Asia, the key topics shared included:
- Promoting grassroots innovations through small grant programs, supporting local initiatives, and building community capacity.
- Enhancing knowledge management and sharing, focusing on exchanging experiences among countries and diversifying partners within the agricultural innovation ecosystem.
- Engaging in policy dialogue, contributing to raising awareness and creating mechanisms to support agroecology initiatives.
- ALiSEA and ASSET reaffirmed their commitment to continued collaboration with regional and global partners to accelerate agroecology transitions further.
The event highlighted the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration and the essential roles played by organizations such as DeSIRA, VAAS, CIRAD, and the financial support of the EU. We sincerely thank all organizations, experts, and international partners who contributed to share in the workshop, creating new opportunities for collaboration to advance a sustainable and equitable food system worldwide.