Workshop on Innovative Public–private Partnership Models for Improving the Sustainability of Food Supply Chains

Food-related business in Asia is increasingly becoming a more dynamic, complex, and highly competitive industry. Sociopolitical and environmental conditions, market forces, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic are compounding those challenges. To overcome them and stay competitive, food businesses must improve and sustain their efficiency and overall productivity.

Considering the complex, multifaceted challenges, the public and private sectors engaged in the food industry need to collaborate more closely and leverage their resources to enable greater synergy. PPPs have emerged as important mechanisms for pursuing various development projects around the world, particularly through the pooling of expertise and resources that might otherwise be limited. More cooperation through PPPs is needed to build productive, sustainable food supply chains from farm to fork to benefit both producers and consumers. Examples of potential areas of PPPs that enhance the productivity of the agrifood sector include promoting smart, digital agriculture and using quality agricultural inputs such as seeds and fertilizers.

Several countries have adopted the PPP model for food-sector development and advances in agribusiness which benefited small farmers. One successful example is the ASEAN PPP Regional Framework (2016–2025) for Technology Development in the Food, Agriculture and Forestry Sector that focuses on increasing collaborative investments in sustainable technology development, adoption, and dissemination throughout entire value chains (ASEAN, 2017).

In this workshop, the importance of PPPs for leveraging resources and generating investments for agribusiness support services and infrastructure will be explored. It will also assess the appropriate policy environment that creates the right conditions for mutually beneficial PPPs to flourish and bring together the interests of all parties in ways that are equitable, transparent, and sustainable.