The Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (AsiaDHRRA) ‘s Assistant Secretary-General, Mags Catindig-Reyes, joined a panel discussion on Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Side Event 18: Promoting Responsible and Climate Smart Investment in Agriculture in Southeast Asia through Multistakeholder Approaches on 12 October 2022.  She shared the civil society organization’s (CSO) role and contribution in implementing ASEAN-RAI, which focuses on capacity development, case studies documentation, and regional popularization and localization.  The collaboration with the FAO has invested capacities of CSOs, farmers’ organizations, and select governments in the ASEAN, especially in promoting youth and women’s roles in climate-resilient and responsible agri-investments.

She underlined that to further realize the guidelines, agreements, commitments, and policy instruments within the network, it is crucial to have strategic actions reach on-ground and involve multistakeholder participation, specifically in rural people’s organizations.  Lastly, there is a need to capacitate ranks such as in constructive engagement and partnership building with the public and private sectors.