Promoting the ASEAN Coffee Branding and Cooperation

13 November 2019, Lao PDR – The ASEAN Foundation with support from the ASEAN Centre for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives Focal Point Lao PDR, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, held the ASEAN Exchange Visit 2019 themed “Empowering the Coffee Cooperatives in Value Chain Management and GI Certification” on 11-14 November 2019 in Pakse, Lao PDR.

At the event attending delegates shared their insightful experiences on and initiated discussions about key issues and challenges faced by coffee cooperatives, such as access to market, best practices and lessons learnt of specialty coffee and geographical indication. Further, they also brainstormed ideas for ASEAN coffee branding andcooperation. The brainstorming session resulted recommendations from ASEAN Working Group on Agricultural Cooperative (ASWGAC), farmers’ organisations and private sector to continue its regional cooperation and the recommendation will be submitted to the next working group meeting in Manila. On the second day, all delegates had the chance to visit the coffee cooperatives in Paksong, with CPC being the first stop. There, the delegates got to learn about best practices on fair trade certification, cooperative management and international marketing. After CPC, the delegates stopped by at Jhai Cooperative's office to learn about youth involvement in coffee production and value added coffee product, like soap, lip balm and coffee jam. They also went to the cooperative's coffee farm to see the demonstration about the coffee soap-making process. The visit was concluded with a traditional Baci ceremony.

“Today's meeting is very important for all of us to exchange experiences and lessons learned as well as to identify challenges that hinder cooperative development in ASEAN countries. We will use this meeting as a momentum to come up with clear action plan, strengthen our collaboration and ensure a better access to market. We recognise that the cooperative work plays an important role in stimulating the socio-economic development of many countries and is considered as the key to reduce poverty and ensure sustainability,” Mr. Kongkeo Vongpaseuth, Director General of DRDC, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR, said.

About ASEAN Farmers’ Organisation Support Programme (AFOSP) Implemented since 2015, the ASEAN Farmers’ Organisation Support Programme has worked to improve livelihoods and food security for smallholder farmers across the ASEAN region. Funded through the European Union (EU) and the AFOSP has been implemented across the ASEAN region. The aim is to support ASEAN Framers’ Organisations to become: stable, performing, accountable organisations, capable of providing effective and sustainable services to their members, with the ability to influence policy and corporate processes on agriculture and food security issues at local, national, ASEAN regional and global levels. For more information, please visit: http://www.aseanfoundation.org/what-we-do/afosp

About ASEAN Foundation Three decades after ASEAN was established, ASEAN leaders recognised that: there remained inadequate shared prosperity, ASEAN awareness and contact among people of ASEAN. It was of this concern that ASEAN leaders established ASEAN Foundation during ASEAN’s 30th Anniversary Commemorative Summit in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia on 15 December 1997. ASEAN Foundation is an organisation from and for the people of ASEAN. The Foundation exists because of one vision: to build a cohesive and prosperous ASEAN Community. As an ASEAN’s body, the Foundation is tasked to support ASEAN mainly in promoting awareness, identity, interaction and development of the people of ASEAN. For more information, please visit: www.aseanfoundation.org