National Foresight and Theory of Change workshops on Agroecology and Safe Food System

From 12^th to 19^th October 2022, three national Foresight and Theory of Change workshops on Agroecology and Safe Food System have been organized as part of the ASSET project activities. The workshop aimed to:

Engage key stakeholders involved in agroecology in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in a reflexion about:
1. the future of the agricultural and food systems at the national level,
2. the potential associated with agroecology in driving changes towards sustainability.
Guide the interventions of the ASSET project and inform its Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) strategy.

The workshops took place over two days in each of the three countries: Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, with more than 130 participants (In Cambodia 42 participants including 16 women, in Laos 59 participants including 25 women and in Vietnam 38 participants including 23 women) bringing together farmers representatives, local and international CSOs, researchers and academia, private sectors and government agencies.

During the introduction session, the ASSET team presented the objectives of the workshop and shared the results of the consultation workshop on the concept and key principles of agroecology in order to remind the common values and understanding of the country. In addition, keynote presentations introduced the discussions of the workshop by (i) presenting megatrends on agriculture and food systems transformations, their drivers, key issues around Agroecology and Safe Food System in the country and (ii) introducing key narratives and stakeholder groups that support these narratives about the future of agriculture and food systems.

Key note Presentations in Vietnam:

The Vietnam Food System characteristics and challenges by Dr. Dao The Anh, Vice President of Vietnamese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS)
AE based systematic approach and solutions for farming efficiency & sustainability, Pham Van Hoi, Director of Center for Agricultural Research and Ecological Studies (CARES)
Agroecology at large scale is possible, Tran Van Hieu, Co-founder of Developing Agriculture and Consulting Environment Co., Ltd (DACE CO., LTD)

Key note Presentations in Cambodia:

Situating agroecology in the agricultural development of Cambodia: a systemic view, by Dr. Jean-Christophe Diepart (independent consultant)
Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems: an overview from a local context by Mr. Mey Veata (Uni4Coop)
Experience on safe vegetable market by Ms. Bun Sieng (Natural Village Village)

Key note Presentations in Laos:

Changes in agriculture in Lao PDR, by Dr. Jean Christophe Castella (IRD)
Impacts of shocks and crisis on agriculture and food systems transformations: key issues around agroecology and safe food systems in Lao PDR, by Dr. Stephane Gueneau (CIRAD)
Role and future of smallholder farmers on agriculture, by Mr. Phoutasinh Phimmachanh (Lao Farmers Network)

The participants then split into three groups to discuss the following issues:

Current obstacles to the agroecological transition
Current opportunities to the agroecological transition
Perceived trends that will shape the future of agriculture

The three groups changed every 20 minutes so that each group could discuss the three topics. After the synthesis of the three groups, participants voted for the key elements that should be addressed to build a future vision for the agroecological and safe food system transition.

Finally, the participants co-developed the desired future state for all selected key obstacles, opportunities and trends in order to develop a common scenario for the future.

The results of the national Foresight and Theory of Change workshops aim to:

Guide the design of the ASSET project and the ALiSEA national action plan;
Inspire the intervention strategy of the ALiSEA members and use them for their future proposals;
Guide the priority topics for the next Small Grant call for proposal

To access the workshop reports: