We work on various programs to develop a climate-friendly and gender-responsive agriculture sector in the GMS and increase agricultural productivity, while reducing poverty and health risks among smallholder farmers, especially poor women farmers:
- Strengthening national and institutional capacity to promote climate-friendly agriculture through partnership instruments like the output-based Letter of Agreement, which seeks to improve government capacity for identifying, designing, implementing, and monitoring projects that are also linked to national agriculture development plans, thereby enhancing country ownership.
- Strengthening private sector linkages and green value chains through cooperation mechanisms like the Memorandum of Understanding between ADB and private firms as well as NGOs, whereby poor farmers can serve as suppliers of safe agricultural products that comply with government and international quality standards.
- Enhancing pro-poor market access through programs such as the participatory guarantee system (PGS), a community-based certification process promoting food safety and improved income generation for smallholder farmers.
- Pilot testing climate-friendly investment projects on green energy technologies such as biochar, biodigesters (for biogas and bioslurry), biofertilizers, and improved cook stoves, which include gender-based skills training for poor women farmers.
- Establishing climate early warning systems such as the Satellite-based Drought Monitoring and Early Warning System, a website-based tool that provides free, near real-time information on drought risk for any location in GMS countries.
- Developing the GMS Agriculture Information Network Service (GMS-AINS) as a common portal for the six GMS countries to share information on crop production, livestock, fisheries, and forestry and to transition this into an electronic trade platform.
- Building awareness and capacity through multimedia knowledge products and training activities on climate-friendly agricultural practices (such as those using reduced agrochemicals), nitrogen cycle and green water management, safe production, etc.