The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the French agricultural research and international cooperation organization (CIRAD) and the French non-governmental organization GRET, will be organizing a virtual regional consultation on Engaging with Academia and Research Institutions (ARIs) to support Family Farmers and Food System Transformation during and post COVID-19 Pandemic in Asia towards the end of 2021.
This event will aim at bringing together representatives of universities, family farmer’s organizations, agricultural research institutions, government agencies and development partners to explore how Academia and Research Institutions (ARIs) in Asia can further contribute, in particular through Agroecology, to enhancing the livelihoods of family farmers and developing their capacities to cope with increasing uncertainty caused by current shocks. It will aim to address universities’ and research institutions’ roles in: (i) promoting rural communities’ initiatives, and development and transfer of technologies; (ii) harmonization of regional policies and strategies to support family farmers; and (iii) strategies to reinforce the capacity and resilience of family farmers, especially women and youth, and their organizations to cope with shocks. Lastly, this event is considered as the first step towards a longer-term process aiming at conducting a participatory assessment of the different ARIs in the region and the development of ad hoc projects to support better inclusion of Agroecology and climate resilience in curriculum and research programs.
Ahead of this regional consultation and with the objective to frame the discussions, identify relevant speakers, key topics and experiences, the organizers are launch a Call for Communications opened to all relevant Academia and Research Institutions starting today with a deadline by the 25th of August.
Download here: Call for Communications: Regional Consultation on Engaging with Academia and Research Institutions (ARIs) (158 downloads)
