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Do you feel that organic agriculture is a key for a sustainable and fair development in the Mekong region? Do you believe that agroecology is a promising approach to protect people’s health and the environment? Do you also admire farmers who are developing innovative agroecology initiatives? Then, help us to showcase the beauty and the diversity of agroecology initiatives in the Mekong region. Pick one of the many agroecology initiatives implemented by innovative farmers in the region and share with us your best photo from the field. The deadline for submission is the 30th of September 2018.  Your photos must be sent to the email address: agroecologynetworksea@gmail.com. All photos must be related to one of these four thematic categories related to agroecology:  – Agroecology in practices – Youth and Agroecology – Marketing agroecological products – Biodiversity and Agroecology The 20 best photos will be selected and displayed during the Regional Forum “Agroecology futures”, taking place in Siem Reap, in Cambodia, during the week of the 5th of November 2018. Photographers will benefit from a high visibility during the event. Out of the 20 photos of the exhibition, 3 will be elected by the participants during the Regional Forum and will […]

Co-organizers Finn Church Aid (FCA) Dan Church Aid (DCA) Life with Dignity (LWD) Overview of the symposium ‘Resilience’ has been an international buzz-word for a while and has lately become an emerging global topic. Cambodia is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change in Southeast Asia and highly affected by the climatic variability. In this framework, European Union Aid Volunteers from Finn Church Aid (FCA), Life with Dignity and Dan Church Aid (DCA) have organized this event to share knowledge and experiences bringing innovative solutions to enhance climate change resilience in Cambodia. The topics of the speakers cover sustainable and resilient agriculture, resilience-based programming, agroecology approach and migration as a coping strategy for climate change. In addition, new green office standards and ‘Plastic use awareness’ will be showcased. As resilience has become increasingly trendy as a term, it has been applied to various contexts. Because of this over-use we have ended up in a situation where everything contributes to resilience and thus the term has become vague. As the term is used increasingly to justify programs, there is a need to discuss and define what fits under this broad term – what additional value does it bring to […]

Gaia Green Network organized the 5th annual meeting in Nyaung Shwe Township, Innlay, Shan State on 10-12 May, 2018. Their objectives are to share information and technique about organic agriculture, to solve the problem of agriculture and to strengthen the network in Organic agriculture and PGS. There were (40) participants coming from Myitkyina, Pwint Phyu, Pyin Oo Lwin, Phe Khon, Inle, Dawei, Kan Kyi Tauk, Tike Kyi and Yangon townships, presenting their activities, discussed the difficulties and challenges in organic agriculture production and action plan.

Since 2011 GIZ ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN-SAS) have been cooperating closely with delegates of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery (MAFF) from the Department of Agricultural Legislation (DAL) and General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA) as well with agricultural experts of all ASEAN Member States to develop the ASEAN Guideline on the Regulation, Use and Trade of Biocontrol Agents (BCA). The purpose of the guideline aims to create a regional blueprint for national regulation and implementation strategies, harmonization of registration requirements and ASEAN recommendation for national regulations and policies. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the GIZ, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, through the ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems project has organized a workshop on dissemination of the registration form of the biocontrol agents, the Prakas No. 526 on Imposing Usage of Sample Documents for Commercial Biological Control Agents (BCA). The main objectives of this event are to: Raise awareness on registration form as key element to make BCA official available in Cambodia Share and discuss the experiences, activities, and lessons learned by BCA application All presentations are available for download hereafter: Presentation the key content of registration form and registration application procedure and activities of […]

The 1st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Agroecology Learning alliance in South East Asia (ALiSEA) in Myanmar was organized in Yangon on the 22 and 23 February 2018. The support to the emergence of ALiSEA is part of a regional program, Towards an Agroecological Transition (ACTAE), funded by the French Agency for Development (AFD) and implemented by GRET. The AGM was attended by 46 participants from a broad diversity of organizations (Local & International NGO, Farmer Federations, Research Centers, Academia, Private Sector and Government Agency). This event was organized around a two-days meeting alternating presentations, insightful talks and field visits. The field visits, on the 22 February 2018, brought the participants to 2 organic farms: Myanmar Organic Farm Co. Ltd located in Pan Tapwint Taung village, near Hmawbi Township and part of the Myanmar Organic Farm Movement (AMFM) and Kokkoya Organics, an urban farm located in North Dagon Township and operating through a Community Supported Agriculture model. It enabled participants to witness first hand organic initiatives and exchange with experienced farmers. The AGM provided a space for: Reinforcing and envisioning a broad coalition of stakeholders involved in the promotion of agroecology in Myanmar Presenting and sharing ALiSEA progress activities and updates on granted organizations […]

Based on on-going activities in the field of training and higher education implemented by a range of partners within ACTAE project and beyond (see program of the event) a regional workshop was organized in Phnom Penh on October 11 2017 bringing together different partners involved in training, awareness raising and higher education. This workshop was organized on the continuity of a 1st event organized by ALISEA in Vientiane in June 2017. A diversity of participants attend the event with representatives from several universities in the region (Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Myanmar), research institutions, representatives from Ministry of Agriculture, departments of Agricultural Land Resources Management, and NGOs. The first focus of the event was on e-learning as an integrated tool between different actors and beneficiaries. Discussions were conducted prior the event one between ITC, SupAgro, RUA, Queensland University, GDA/DALRM, GRET and CIRAD to identify common expectations for this event and outputs. The event was organized on two main sessions with in the morning presentations from different partners in the region and in the afternoon working groups on beneficiaries identified. Dr. Bunthan NGO (RUA), Dr. OM Rommy (ITC), Dr. Chan Phaloeun (GDA) and Dr. Philippe Girad (CIRAD) did introductory speeches. During his […]

The 1st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Agroecology Learning alliance in South East Asia (ALiSEA) in Vietnam was organized in Hanoi on the 13th and 14th of November 2017. The support to the emergence of ALiSEA is part of a regional program, Towards an Agroecological Transition (ACTAE), funded by the French Agency for Development (AFD) and implemented by GRET. The AGM was attended by over 55 participants from a broad diversity of organizations (Local & International NGO, Farmer Federations, Research Centers, Academia, Private Sector, Government Agency and International Donors). This event was organized around a two-days meeting alternating presentations, insightful talks and field visits. The field visits, on the 13th of November, brought the participants to 2 organic vegetable groups engaged in PGS approach in Thanh Xuan Commune (Soc Son District) and to Bao Chau Organic Pig farm in Minh Phu Commune (Soc Son District). It enabled participants to witness first hand agroecological initiatives and exchange with experienced farmers. The AGM provided a space for: Reinforcing and envisioning a broad coalition of stakeholders involved in the promotion of agroecology in Vietnam Presenting and sharing ALiSEA progress activities and updates on granted organizations of the 1st and 2nd calls for proposals from ALiSEA and CANSEA Grant […]

With a fast growing population, increased pressure on its natural resources and climate change impacts everyday more present, South East Asia is at a crossroads regarding its agriculture development, calling for an important shift towards an agroecological transition. In this framework, ACTAE project has a regional focus (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) and aims at enhancing and building durable and effective networking mechanisms to facilitate synergies among agroecology initiatives. It intends, through its CANSEA component under Cirad, at providing institutional and operational backstopping on Conservation Agriculture (CA) and Agroecology (AE) research linked to the Conservation Agriculture Network in South East Asia (CANSEA). In this way, some grants will be provided to CANSEA members and partners in order to enhance and strengthen agroecological research activities. Here is enclosed a concept note explaining the procedure and topics short listed: ACTAE-Cansea 3rd call for proposal VF10102017 Only proposals with a focus on agroforestry approach among agroecology will be eligible. The proposal should be based on a production of high economic interest for the country (ies) concerned and should aim at: – Showing results for capitalization / demonstration even within 9 – 10 months of operational implementation of the project; – Improving the scientific […]

This experience sharing workshop was part of the activities implemented by the Agroecology Learning alliance in South East Asia (ALiSEA) to foster multi stakeholder collaborations in regards to promoting an agroecological transition. It was more especially embodied in the support provided to the Faculty of Agriculture from the National University of Laos through the ALiSEA Small Grant Facility to develop new AE pedagogical material. Their project aims at both producing an updated learning and teaching manual for Agroecology with the collaboration of the Departments of Agriculture from three other universities (Souphanouvong, Savannakhet and Champhasak) as well as revising the syllabus for agroecology courses in order to harmonize them at national level. It brought together 23 participants from Research & Academia (57%) and National and International NGOs / CSOs’ (43 %) actively working on sustainable agriculture / agroecology sector in Laos (see participants list in the full proceedings of the workshop). This workshop aimed in particular to provide an opportunity for synergizing one another’s activities. This was a great opportunity for the different participants to present and confront the outcomes of their respective projects with other initiatives in Laos and learn from their previous experiences. In addition, it provided the opportunity […]

“We agree there are very different policies and priorities between all countries, but the common point is that they are all working under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework. The main problem though is that SDGs do not mention organic agriculture at all, they do not mention Agro-ecology either. That is where the university needs to become involved.” Wayne Nelles, Visiting scholar, CUSAR, and Facilitator of the Symposium.   On Thursday 23th of February 2017, Chulalongkorn University, School of Agricultural Resources (CUSAR) hosted a regional symposium about University-based Farmer Extension Services & Agroecology with the support avec the Agroecology Learning Alliance (ALiSEA) and United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This event was a unique opportunity to bring together scholars from eight different nationalities among ASEAN countries. Were represented Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Here are all speakers’ profile: The symposium came after a one-year study lead by researchers who have been working on the role of post-secondary institutions and research institutions in farmer extension services. They presented their conclusions on how these institutions either enable or inhibit agro-ecological transition, through various case studies from each country. Here is the final symposium program: FINAL_Program_(23 Feb 2017)_Chula_Ext_Res_Symposium […]

GRET together with CIAT in the framework of the Agroecology Learning Alliance in South East Asia (ALiSEA) are planning to conduct an exploratory research initiative to quantify and map Southeast Asia’s pesticide usage. The main objective of this exploratory research initiative is to get an initial appreciation of pesticide usage patterns in key agricultural crops within several SE Asian countries, and to visualize associated environmental risks and socioeconomic implications. More specifically, this exploratory research initiative proposes to address the following objectives (each the focus of a subsequent priority action). Some of the objectives (a-b) will be addressed in priority and in the first part of this initial research and other (c-e) will come later. To consolidate and centralize available information on crop-specific pesticide use patterns, as obtained through multiple data sources, for a select set of agricultural communities in min. 3 different countries; To generate an accurate, fine-grained map of pesticide-usage patterns, as organized by crop, country, active ingredient and/or target pest (with particular attention of utilization of generic produce or banned substances); To develop initial environmental risk maps for different sets of commodities, farm typologies and geographies, and to make spatially-explicit inferences regarding the impact of pesticide use on […]

A Lao Bamboo Platform workshop addressing the development of the bamboo sector in Lao PDR was held on the 15th and 16th of June 2016 in Vientiane capital, Lao PDR. It was co- organised by Department of Forestry (DoF) / Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), GRET, WWF and RECOFTC. The opening was chaired by Mr Boualy Phamuang (Vice Head of DoF) and co-chaired by Mr Martin Hasler (Deputy Director of Cooperation, SDC). The closing was chaired by His Excellency Dr Phouang Parisak Pravongviengkham (Vice Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry). It brought together 38 participants from national and international NGOs, researchers and provincial and national governments agencies, development partners actively working on developing the bamboo and rattan sector in Lao PDR. It aimed at defining and creating a dynamic Lao Bamboo Platform for facilitating experience sharing among bamboo and rattan projects in the country in order to create a common vision, to act the willingness of a Lao Bamboo Platform as well as to start the formulation of an action-plan of the Lao Bamboo Platform for initiating a discussion on the national governance of the bamboo sector in Laos. The workshop was organized into 2 sessions: Presentation of the national forestry strategy, related to NTFP and […]

The 1st national multi-stakeholder workshop addressing Agroecological Transition in the Mekong Region, and more especially in Laos, was held on the 2nd and 3rd of June 2016 in Vientiane. It was organized by CIRAD and GRET as part of the inception phase of ACTAE project, funded by the French Agency for Development (AFD). It brought together nearly 60 specialists and practitioners from national and international NGOs, research and universities, farmers’ network, government agencies, development partners and private sector actively working on sustainable agriculture sector in Laos. It aimed at sharing knowledge, information and experiences between agricultural development stakeholders, more especially through: Introduction to ACTAE program with its 2 components: Conservation Agriculture Network in South East Asia (CANSEA) Agroecology Learning Alliance in South East Asia (ALiSEA) Discussions of initial findings from the 1st study carried out in the framework of ALiSEA about Situation review of agro-ecology initiatives, stakeholders and networks in Lao PDR (report to be available soon on ALiSEA website) Demonstration of the online ALiSEA knowledge management and experience sharing platform on Agroecology Presentation of 12 case studies and one video from various stakeholders in line with 3 main topics Social & Technical dimensions of Agroecology AE products: Quality control, […]

The 1st national multi-stakeholder workshop addressing Agroecological Transition in the Mekong Region, and more especially in Myanmar, was held on the 7th and 8th of March 2016 in Yangon. It was organized by CIRAD and GRET as part of the inception phase of ACTAE project, funded by the French Agency for Development (AFD). It brought together over 40 specialists and practitioners from national and international NGOs, research and universities, farmers’ and consumers’ associations, government agencies, development partners and private sector actively working on sustainable agriculture sector in Myanmar. It aimed at sharing knowledge, information and experiences between agricultural development stakeholders, more especially through: – Introduction to ACTAE program with its 2 components: + Conservation Agriculture Network in South East Asia (CANSEA) + Agroecology Learning Alliance in South East Asia (ALiSEA) – Discussions of initial findings from the 1st study carried out in the framework of ALiSEA about Myanmar agroecology stakeholder mapping and policy framework review (report to be available soon on ALiSEA website) – Demonstration of the online ALiSEA knowledge management and experience sharing platform on Agroecology – Presentation of 12 case studies from various stakeholders in line with 3 main topics + Disseminating agroecology practices through training and extension […]