April 22, 2026 | 05:37 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched the first Asia-Pacific Food Forum (APFF) to improve agriculture and food systems across the region.
The event brings together ministers, experts, businesses, farmers, and young people to discuss how to increase investment, use new technology, and create more opportunities in agriculture.
FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol opened the forum with a call for urgent action to scale up regional solutions already within reach. “We do not lack solutions — what we need is to scale them, and to better connect priorities with investment, innovation with markets, and people with opportunities,” she said.
To participants, FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu also called for stronger investment and more use of science and innovation to improve food systems.
The forum highlighted the need for more funding from governments and the private sector. It also promoted FAO’s One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) program, which helps countries develop key agricultural products by improving quality, productivity, and access to markets.
During the forum, FAO Assistant Director General and Regional Representative Alue Dohong named two institutions as Centres of Excellence: the Institute of Geographic Sciences under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Nutrition at Mahidol University. These institutions will support farmers by improving food quality, productivity, and access to markets.
“These new Centres of Excellence will enable Asia-Pacific smallholder producers to sustainably grow more with less, increase resilience to natural disasters and climate stress, bring healthier food to the table, and improve traceability of special agricultural products from farm to high-end consumers,” Dohong said.
The forum also underscored the important role of women and young people in agriculture through a dedicated session on the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026.
APFF called for better access to funding, training, and opportunities, especially for women farmers and young innovators. Participants stressed the importance of cooperation between governments, businesses, and organizations to turn plans into real results.
The APFF was held alongside the 38th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific. The conference aimed to promote sustainable and resilient agriculture in the region.
Read: FAO Asia-Pacific Meeting Targets Rising Food Insecurity
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