15 march 2022 via Zoom – The Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (AsiaDHRRA) organized the Digital Village Initiative (DVI) Output 2 Inception Workshop. The event was joined by 31 participants, with representation from management/operation of four (4) implementing country DHRRA partners, namely: Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam, six National Digital Village Planners cum Facilitators (NDVP/F), four assistants to NDVP/F, eight (8) regional team members, and three (3) external consultants.
AsiaDHRRA collaborates with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UNFAO) to implement agricultural digitalization initiative centered on small-scale farmers using a territorial approach for rural and food systems. This project supports the Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (RDPE) strategy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (SOMRDPE). The partnership aims to empower and enhance the capacity of farmer organizations, women and youth associations, and small and medium (SME) platforms to influence policies, programs, and investment plans using digital technology, hard infrastructure, and connectivity.
In addition to its commitment to the RDPE strategy of the ASEAN SOMRDPE, this project also focuses on UNFAO’s Digital Village Initiative (DVI) and AsiaDHRRA’s Strategic Action Plan 2022-2025, specifically in the Innovation goal context. The project covers two significant outputs from its inception workshops and is simultaneously undertaken in a parallel manner without affecting each other. Inception Workshop for Output 1 was completed with participation from the country team and followed by Inception Workshop 2 with the installation of another country team to deliver the targets for Output 2. The core purpose of the latter inception workshop is to develop a good understanding of the methods, processes, tools, guides, and the ability to make collective agreements on operational matters.
The main objective of the meeting is for participants to have a common understanding of the project’s rationale, tasks, and deliverables of Output 2 of the project. The project will deliver two main outputs: (1) scoping study on enabling environment for establishing digital villages in ASEAN region and (2) FO’s plan on digital agriculture piloting.
