The strategic plan of action for ASEAN Cooperation on Agricultural Cooperatives 2016-2020 lists exchange visit as one of the activities to empower personnel and leaders of agricultural cooperatives. Exchange visit will be conducted by ASEAN Member States (AMS) in coordination with the ASEAN Centre for the Development of Agricultural Cooperative (ACEDAC) Secretariat.
At the 26th ACEDAC Board Meeting on 21 May 2019 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, the meeting agreed to organise another learning exchange visit and identified Lao PDR to play host to the upcoming ASEAN Exchange Visit, in cooperation with the ASEAN Foundation under the project of ASEAN Farmers’ Organisations Support Programme (AFOSP). The Department of Agriculture Extension and Cooperatives Division of Groups, Cooperatives and Agribusiness in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Lao PDR was identified as host of this exchange visit bringing together agricultural cooperatives personnel and leaders. The learning exchange visit has a combination of activities consisting of dialogues with government representatives, the private sector, agriculture cooperatives and field visits to promote sharing experiences and open discussions of key issues and challenges in the agricultural value chain in ASEAN. It is also to support the implementation of the ASEAN Roadmap on Agricultural Cooperatives.
The thematic area of this exchange visit is designed to discuss coffee cooperative development including access to market, best practices and lesson learnt of Geographical Indication for coffee cooperatives. The climate and geographical location of Southeast Asia is ideal for coffee cultivation. Moreover, the region’s coffee culture and expertise in coffee production has contributed to the emergence of a thriving coffee industry in ASEAN. Some Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Laos have become top world coffee exporters. Coffee is also proposed as a starting point for agricultural cooperation to participate in the global value chain as envisioned in the ASEAN 2025. However, the coffee supply chain is complex. Beans pass hands from growers, traders, processors, exporters, roasters, retailers and finally to the consumers. A collective action is needed to have an inclusive coffee value chain in the region.
The overall objectives of this Exchange Visit are to:
1. Share the best practices of addressing key issues and challenges in the coffee value chain with GI and GAP certification for Coffee.
2. Facilitate cooperation between farmers organisations/cooperatives, government, private sector in regional coffee value chain to implement the ASEAN Roadmap on Agricultural Cooperatives “Pillar: Capacity Building and Access to Market”
3. Generate recommendations for regional partnership on coffee to be submitted to the 27th ACEDAC Meeting in Philippines
The specific objectives of this Exchange Visit are to strengthen the knowledge and skills of professionals in the agricultural sector to:
1. Explore the plan of action to pilot the “ASEAN Coffee” Branding (led by ACEDAC Secretariat)
2. Collect materials/ information for training and support to agricultural cooperatives in the field of business development and market access (supported by ASEAN Coffee Federation)
Information source: LaoFAB.
