In a rapidly changing climate, ensuring sustainable food systems is more urgent than ever. On 19-20 February 2025, the ASEAN Climate Leadership Program III (ACLP III), through Module 2, provided an overview of the key principles, criteria, guidelines, and protocols for climate-smart agriculture (CSA).
The module provided an overview of the key principles, criteria, guidelines, and protocols for climate-smart agriculture (CSA). It also highlighted the importance of CSA in achieving food systems and nutrition resilience in the context of climate change. Experts stressed the urgency of scaling CSA, bridging climate-nutrition policy gaps, and fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration. To mainstream CSA in ASEAN, stakeholders must tackle financial, technological, and policy barriers while strengthening networks, public-private partnerships, and leadership to drive lasting change.
The ASEAN CSA Guidelines
Dr Romeo Labios, an agronomist and farming systems specialist from the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, discussed the ASEAN Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) Guidelines. He highlighted that agriculture, forestry, and land use contribute to about 24% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. With Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand facing severe climate-related disasters in recent years, he stressed the urgent need to adopt CSA strategies.
Dr Labios defined CSA as an approach that boosts productivity, strengthens resilience, and reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while ensuring food security. CSA is built on three core pillars: productivity (sustainably increasing yields to improve food security and livelihoods), adaptation (enhancing resilience to climate change and extreme weather), and mitigation (cutting GHG emissions and promoting carbon storage in agriculture).
While CSA offers many benefits, its adoption faces challenges such as limited financial incentives, slow uptake of digital agriculture technologies, and challenges in measuring carbon credits. However, Dr Labios emphasised that these challenges also create opportunities for collaboration in research, policy development, and knowledge-sharing among ASEAN Member States. Dr. Labios also shared an overview of the ASEAN CSA guidelines, which have been developed since 2015 as a critical tool for advancing the agriculture, forestry, and food security agenda across ASEAN Member States (AMS). The guidelines aim to streamline national policies and governance while promoting regional goals and outcomes.
Three volumes of the CSA guidelines have already been published
-Volume 1 (2015): regional cooperation on CSA practices and technical guidelines on scaling-up prioritised CSA practices
-Volume 2 (2017): details the principles of regional cooperation to scale-up CSA practices
-Volume 3 (2023): scaling-up of climate change programmes for agriculture, land use and rural development
CSA’s Role in Food and Nutrition Security
Dr Bruce Campbell, Chief Innovation Strategist at Clim-Eat, highlighted the deep links between climate change, food security, and nutrition. He pointed out a major gap in addressing these issues, as 60% of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) fail to connect climate adaptation with nutrition. He underlined that climate change impacts essential aspects of life—water, health, sanitation, and diets—ultimately affecting nutrition security.
To bridge this gap, Dr Campbell recommended integrating nutrition into climate policies and vice versa, diversifying agricultural production systems, and building resilience among vulnerable populations. He stressed the importance of social protection programs like school feeding, early warning systems with nutrition indicators, and better data integration. He also highlighted the need for strong policies, institutions, and information systems to support CSA practices.
Private Sector’s Role in Advancing CSA
Ms Chrissa Borja of Grow Asia illustrated the private sector’s key role in scaling up CSA. Grow Asia, a multi-stakeholder platform by ASEAN and the World Economic Forum fosters resilient and sustainable food systems through partnerships with 700 organisations.
- ASEAN Green Recovery Project – Showcasing women-led CSA initiatives in Cambodia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
- GrowHer: Kakao – Promoting gender-inclusive investments and women’s leadership in sustainable agriculture.
- GrowRight Responsible Investing – Encouraging investments aligned with ASEAN Guidelines for climate resilience.
- GrowBeyond – Supporting smallholder farmers with blended financial models for climate adaptation.
Ms Borja pointed out that private sector engagement, responsible investing, and knowledge-sharing are vital in accelerating CSA adoption. She also highlighted the need for innovative financial models to support small-scale farmers in implementing climate-resilient agricultural practices.
Leadership Exercise
Module 2 also focused on leadership development and stakeholder engagement through Theory U. Mr Andre de Witt, ACLP III Facilitator and Dean of the Amsterdam Leadership Academy, guided participants through the Seven Leadership Capacities for their Personal Change Plans (PCPs). Participants practised 3D sculpting of their PCPs to visualise their stakeholder landscapes and develop holistic strategies.
Module 1 : ACLP III Kicks Off: Shaping Climate Leaders in ASEAN
Photo: SEARCA
The ACLP III is jointly organised by the ASEANEU-German Climate Action Programme (CAP) and Promotion of Sustainable Agricultural Value Chains in ASEAN (ASEAN AgriTrade II), with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the European Union (EU), implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The program is coordinated with the ASEAN Secretariat, specifically the Food, Agriculture, and Forestry Division (FAFD) and the Environment Division (ED). The SEAMEO Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) provides technical and knowledge management support.
