Sub-Regional Workshop on Sustainable Rice Farming
An ASEAN agricultural workshop held in Hanoi on January 21–23, 2026 brought together 70 delegates from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam including senior government officials, researchers, private sector leaders and farming representatives to exchange experiences on low-emission and sustainable rice cultivation practices, including Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), improved nutrient management, and rice straw utilization. A key outcome was a stronger regional consensus around the need to build enabling, policy-backed systems to make climate-smart rice production bankable, supported by financing mechanisms and strengthened measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) frameworks. For U.S. food and agriculture companies, the workshop signals opportunities in technology deployment and best practice sharing. Firms offering precision irrigation, digital farm management platforms, MRV and data analytics tools, advanced inputs, and post-harvest technologies are well positioned to support ASEAN’s transition toward low-emission rice systems, while companies with expertise in sustainable supply chains, certification, and carbon markets can help develop credible, export-ready value chains and expand their presence in Southeast Asia.