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Swisscontact at TARASA25: Toward Regenerative Agriculture

Cambodia
Sustainable agriculture
04.12.2025
Following TARASA23 in Cambodia, Swisscontact with regional and global experts, policy makers, and innovators come together in TARASA25 in Vientiane, Lao PDR, to address urgent challenges in food systems, climate resilience, and agricultural sustainability across the Asia-Pacific. Discussions about food systems transformations go together with discussions about pathways and approaches to more sustainable food systems.

Asia-Pacific remained home to the world’s highest number of people facing acute food insecurity. Millions of smallholder farmers remain vulnerable due to limited access to knowledge, technology, and finance. Against this backdrop, agroecology and regenerative agriculture have emerged as transformative pathways, offering integrated, science-based, and socially inclusive solutions to rebuild soil health, preserve biodiversity, and strengthen rural livelihoods.

"TARASA is more than an event, it's a commitment to reimagining our food systems through agroecology and regenerative agriculture, nurturing and scaling the seeds of change into coordinated action across the entire food system."
H.E. Yeou Asikin, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) & Vice Chair of Cambodia Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification Consortium (CASIC) Steering Committee

Building on the success of TARASA23, held in Cambodia in October 2023, brought together over 200 participants from 21 countries and 95 institutions, creating a regional milestone where the ASEAN Policy Guidelines for Agroecology Transitions were developed and subsequently adopted at the 46th ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry Summit.

"Swisscontact strongly supports agroecology and has been actively involved in advancing it, demonstrated by our significant participation in TARASA23 in Cambodia, and we continue this commitment at TARASA25 in Lao PDR. We remain dedicated to promoting sustainable agricultural practices and fostering multi-stakeholder collaborations that drive the transition toward regenerative agriculture and resilient food systems."
Dr. Daniel Nugraha, Country Director of Swisscontact in Cambodia

Swisscontact served as one of the co-organisers of TARASA25 and contributed as a presenter, sharing insights from the DeiMeas initiative and its role in supporting agroecology transitions in Cambodia.

The international workshop included a policy dialogue pre-event on the implementation of the ASEAN Policy Guidelines, followed by three days of intensive sessions on technology and innovation, evaluation and metrics, skills development, market systems, financing mechanisms, and public policy took place from November 24–27, 2025. TARASA25 brought together 235 participants from 23 countries and 115 institutions, emphasised the need for scaling agroecological adoption through multi-stakeholder partnerships and evidence-based investment models.

"TARASA25 drives change at scale toward food system transformation by addressing not only the technical dimensions but also the organizational and institutional aspects, creating strong and sustained momentum for systemic impact."
Dr. Estelle Biénabe, ASSET Project Scientific Coordinator, CIRAD

A central feature of TARASA25 was the Regional Innovation Fair, which showcased transformative practices and digital tools promoting agroecological transitions. The event also saw the launch of the ALiSEA Knowledge Hub, a major platform for knowledge exchange that connects practitioners, researchers, and decision-makers across Southeast Asia.

"The events foster strong partnership synergies by bringing together over two hundred participants from across the region, enabling meaningful collaboration and coalition-building toward advancing agroecology."
Mr. Sovann Pat, Regional Deputy Coordinator, Agroecology Learning Alliance in Southeast Asia (ALiSEA)

Throughout TARASA25, participants reaffirmed their shared commitment to accelerating the transition toward sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient food systems. By bridging regional policy, research, and practice, Swisscontact and its partners continue to position agroecology as a cornerstone of Asia-Pacific’s response to food insecurity and climate change.

TARASA25 was organized by the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE), DaLAM/LICA, Agroecology (TPP), Cambodian Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification Consortium (CASIC), Agroecology and Safe Food System Transitions (ASSET) project, Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD), GRET, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (CSAM) of UN-ESCAP, Swisscontact through Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture (ISA) project, and Agroecology Coalition. This event was held in collaboration with AFA, AsiaDHRRA, and APAARI , and received financial support from Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the European Union, and the Fonds Français pour l’Environnement Mondial (FFEM).

2025 - 2028
Cambodia
Sustainable agriculture
Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture (ISA)
The project promotes appropriate technologies and extension services for a sustainable agricultural production. This leads to reduced negative impacts on the environment including improved soil health that allows smallholder farmers to increase their productivity and income. 
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