The impact of Feed the Future in the Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA) will vary from country to country over the next five years. Please refer to individual country profiles for more detailed information.
To meet its objectives, Feed the Future RDMA is making core investments in two areas:
- Public-private dialogue to encourage greater participation and input into regional trade policy reform
- Regulatory and administrative reforms and the harmonization of relevant policies to improve trade efficiencies
- Building the ASEAN Secretariat’s technical and management capacity
- Strengthening food security information systems, sharing and transparency
Potential engagement with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) or other South Asian regional bodies will employ a similar approach to improve regional food security. The strategy will also foster South-South cooperation, information sharing, and exchange of best practices to improve access to innovative agricultural technologies.
2. Increasing Partnerships and Private Sector Engagement in Regional Agriculture. Feed the Future will help establish a regional framework and work plan for private sector engagement in the region to encourage private investment in key commodity supply chains. It will also support South-South cooperation while strengthening integrated food security information systems and early warning systems. Additionally, Feed the Future will promote access to new agricultural technologies.
Highlights
Strengthening Multilateral Institutions. Development assistance at a regional level focuses on transnational constraints and challenges that require multiple-country consensus, coordination and cooperation. Feed the Future RDMA will deepen and expand engagement with the most important regional government bodies in Southeast and South Asia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
Maximizing Agricultural Revenue through Knowledge, Enterprise Development, and Trade (MARKET). Feed the Future will promote the role of the private sector and encourage public-private dialogue on regional food security policies in Asia through the MARKET program. MARKET also aims to strengthen food-related trade efficiency and information technology systems within ASEAN member states. In addition to MARKET, Feed the Future will strive to increase private sector investment in the regional food trade regime and to enhance regional collaboration on food commodity trade.
Natural Resources and Climate Change. Increasing knowledge of environmental impacts will help producers, processors and distributors understand that environmentally-destructive practices undermine long-term profits. Feed the Future will encourage more responsible trade through knowledge sharing and capacity building, specifically targeting sectors and policies that will demonstrate positive impacts in sustainability. This approach will build on the already-successful USAID Responsible Asia Forestry and Trade program, using lessons learned to build responsible food trade. Additionally, RDMA will work with the private sector to leverage new technologies to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change, thus supporting long-term food security.
Gender. Feed the Future will engage with regional organizations on gender issues that impact women’s access to land, knowledge and capital in Southeast Asia. RDMA plans to develop gender best practice guidelines with ASEAN within the first year of implementation and will do the same with other partners. These guidelines will inform how policies, sectors and partner organizations are selected for Feed the Future focus and how reforms are crafted and implemented.
