AsiaDHRRA and the Southeast Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment (SEARICE) jointly organized an online discussion on “Facilitating Co-creation of Knowledge on Agroecology” on 25 October 2024 via Zoom conference. The event gathered project and DHRRA partners, farmers’ organizations, and the academe to review draft policy proposals based on farmer-led research case studies coordinated and prepared by AsiaDHRRA and SEARICE.
AsiaDHRRA presented three case studies based on the experiences of three farmer organizations and cooperatives in Cambodia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The country cases and policy proposal are part of AgriCord and EU’s cooperation on “Farmers Organisations Leading Research & Innovation (FO-RI)” on agroecology for sustainable food systems. In addition, SEARICE highlighted cases of farmer-led plant breeding and genetic resources conservation and use, documenting and promoting farmer innovations, including the learning and action supporting farmers’ rights and agroecology.
The policy brief elaborates on agroecology research and knowledge sharing of the recently approved ASEAN Guidelines on Agroecology Transition. The discussion emphasized the rationale of the policy proposal through shared highlights and findings from the case studies. Feedback and recommendations were also examined among participating stakeholders on their views relating to the priorities, relevance, and benefits of the proposed policy proposals. Further, implications of other case study findings were similarly reflected to contribute to future research programs and policy development to enhance agroecology practices to achieve sustainable agri-food systems.
The dialogue has surfaced suggestions to include capacity building for researchers on the co-creation process, encouraging the role of women and youth, the principle of gender equality, and significant contribution from smallholder farmers on agroecological inputs. Lastly, sharing and open data access on policy briefs were also proposed among participants.
