Grow Asia received positive endorsement for an accelerated pathway for collaborative action at the 45th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) on 4th October, where Executive Director Beverley Postma reaffirmed Grow Asia's commitment to delivering public-private solutions for agricultural development.
As an Entity Associated with ASEAN, Grow Asia plays a leading role in delivering harmonized solutions across all ten ASEAN Member States and is proud to be recognized for its work on delivering the ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry. Earlier this year, Grow Asia teamed up with the Government of Japan, Cargill, and NTU Singapore to launch the ASEAN Academy on Responsible Investing as part of a wider body of work to support the implementation of the Strategic Plan for ASEAN Cooperation in Food Agriculture and Forestry 2016-2025.
This work was acknowledged during the 45th AMAF meeting by the ASEAN Secretary-General in his statement to the assembled Ministers and captured in the full press statement here.
“Thank you, Grow Asia, for the continued support in the implementation of the ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture, and Forestry (ASEAN RAI). We welcome Grow Asia’s initiative, the GrowBeyond Fund, and the promotion of agrifood innovation, women’s economic empowerment, responsible investment, and climate adaptation and resilience. Continue to engage with the ASEAN Member States and the ASEAN Secretariat to implement regional priorities as prioritized by the GrowBeyond Fund.” Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN
Looking ahead, Grow Asia reaffirmed its commitment to delivering on the priorities of the forthcoming Lao PDR Chairmanship of ASEAN, with a keen focus on supporting the ASEAN Secretariat and SOM-AMAF in the development of an Action Plan on Sustainable Agriculture as part of the Post-2025 Strategic Plan for ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry. This will include the design of harmonized Agriculture standards for Carbon Net Neutrality and innovative solutions for meeting the transitional financing needs of ASEAN’s 70 million micro and small and medium-sized enterprises.
In line with this, Grow Asia has launched the new GrowBeyond Public-Private Impact Fund, which aims to leverage up to USD 1bn of climate finance for Southeast Asia’s rural businesses through a unique blended loan facility.
Responding to Ms. Postma’s remarks, the Chair of AMAF thanked Grow Asia for its ongoing work and urged the assembled Ministers to work with Grow Asia on the next chapter of this journey:
“The untapped investments in the agrifood sector are critical for the region. I encourage all the ASEAN Member States to coordinate and work with Grow Asia.” Datuk Seri Haji Mohamad Bin Sabu, Chair of ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) and Minister of Agriculture and Food Security of Malaysia