At the 34th ASEAN AMAF Meeting in Vientiane (27th September 2012), Lao PDR has been tasked with launching for ASEAN an initiative to develop Conservation Agriculture in the ASEAN region the LICA initiative), and with facilitating its endorsement by AMS Countries. On 14th-15th August 2017, the scope of LICA is enlarged to all agroecology (AE) approaches, during the Special 38th ASEAN SOM AMAF meeting in Singapore. The objective of this initiative is now to propose a Common Position in Agroecology for ASEAN.

In order to improve commitment of its neighbouring countries, Lao PDR has started by setting since 2016 regional LICA meetings, then has designed in 2017 some first inputs for a regional reflection. Firstly, is set up the LICA regional community of experienced Agroecology practitioners, relying on an on-line directory of experts and knowledge resources). Information about which ASEAN key persons are best skilled on each topic related to agroecology is thus on-line available.

Then, the Lao LICA staff and the countries LICA focal points have launched a cross-countries reflection process within this LICA regional community of practitioners, which is regularly producing some inputs for an ASEAN reflection on a Common position on Agroecology:

  • Linking up LICA process with the other existing policy initiatives that are related to agroecology (inventory of current countries and ASEAN initiatives, then involving the focal points of these initiatives into the LICA exchanges).
  • From this shared and cross-countries reflection, setting up proposals for an ASEAN Common position on agroecology (policy tools and mechanisms, shared understanding of agroecology definition, innovative supports for an agroecology transition…).
  • Identifying, then helping the LICA regional community of practitioners monitoring, some Countries lead actions to support agroecology transition.

The final aim is to provide ASEAN experts and decision-makers (e.g. ASEAN working groups) with some inputs that will feed the design of an ASEAN common position on agroecology and to identify the ad-hoc policy tools and mechanisms to support agroecology transition in ASEAN.