ASEAN Agrifood Investment and Partnership Forum - Ms Grace Fu

A very good afternoon.

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the inaugural ASEAN Agrifood Investment and Partnership Forum.

I would like to thank the ASEAN Secretariat, the Asian Development Bank, our ASEAN Member States, and all our partners for joining this occasion.

We meet at a time when food systems around the world are facing unprecedented challenges. Climate change is affecting agricultural productivity through more frequent floods, droughts, heatwaves and extreme weather events. Geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions have increased uncertainty in the availability and affordability of food and agricultural inputs. At the same time, growing populations, changing consumption patterns, and resource constraints are placing additional pressure on our agrifood systems. These challenges have reinforced a simple but urgent reality: food security cannot be taken for granted.

For ASEAN, these challenges are particularly significant. Agriculture remains central to our economies, livelihoods and rural communities. Millions of farmers and agrifood enterprises depend on resilient and productive food systems. Strengthening agricultural resilience is therefore not only about safeguarding food supplies. It is also about protecting livelihoods, supporting economic development, and ensuring a sustainable future for our region.

However, good policies alone are not enough.

The real challenge before us is implementation.

The AMAF Statement on Advancing Regenerative and Resilient Agriculture and the ASEAN Implementation Plan for Regenerative and Resilient Agricultural Systems provides a common regional pathway for enhancing productivity, sustainability, resilience and competitiveness across our agrifood sector. We are also looking to better understand where our vulnerabilities lie. Later, I am heartened that our partners from the Tropical Marine Science Institute will present on the ASEAN Agri Climate Impact Twenty study. They hold valuable technical insights on where targeted action is most needed to strengthen resiliency of our agriculture systems, and enhance productivity and sustainability.

Complementing these avenues, today’s inaugural ASEAN Agrifood Investment and Partnership Forum brings together ASEAN Member States, development and financial partners, agri-tech providers and research institutions to identify priority investment needs and explore practical financing and partnership arrangements. In order to transform aspirations into outcomes, we must mobilise financing, strengthen partnerships, scale innovation, and connect farmers and agribusinesses to the technologies, markets and resources they need. We must also look towards investable projects that can attract both public and private capital. This requires governments, development partners, financial institutions, investors, businesses and researchers to work together.

Over the course of this afternoon, I look forward to the productive discussions in examining the key investment gaps and barriers facing ASEAN's agrifood sector. The diverse mix of participants in this forum today is well-placed to explore financing solutions, risk-sharing mechanisms, and partnership models that can support aspirations towards more resilient and regenerative agricultural systems. Hopefully, through the discussions this afternoon, concrete pathways for collaboration and action could be identified and taken further, beyond the boundaries of this forum.

As AMAF Chair, Singapore is committed to supporting collective efforts that strengthen regional food security and resilience. We believe that ASEAN's diversity is one of its greatest strengths. By pooling our knowledge, resources and capabilities, we can build agrifood systems that are not only more resilient to future shocks but also more sustainable, productive and inclusive.

Let us therefore use this Forum to build the partnerships needed to translate ambition into action, and plans into tangible outcomes for farmers, businesses and communities across ASEAN.

Together, we can create a stronger, more resilient and food-secure future for our region.

Thank you, and I wish you all a productive and meaningful Forum.