What Can We Expect at the Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit 2021?
From November 16-18, more than 800 international delegates will get together, virtually and in-person in Singapore, for the 4th annual Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit. The event will bring together food producers, entrepreneurs, investors, retailers, and policymakers to confront the challenge of sustainable food production in Asia-Pacific.
For anyone concerned with food systems in Asia-Pacific, the Summit is a must watch. Simply, it is the seminal event of the year for a region presented with both great challenges and great opportunities.
Here’s what to expect at the Summit this year.
Sustainable agriculture is the future
Crucial to the Summit will be an exploration of strategies for more sustainable food systems. This includes carbon neutral farming and aquaculture, alongside an expected deep dive into plant-based meats; it includes digital solutions to improve farm productivity, and the use of new data to inform decisions from “farm to fork.”
Throughout, the overarching theme will be innovation. In fact, one of the most exiting portions of the Summit is the start-up showcase, where up-and-coming entrepreneurs will pitch their innovations to a global audience.
At the 2020 Summit, this showcase introduced the world to Village Link, a groundbreaking company from Myanmar which provides agricultural and meteorological data, as well as enhanced market access, to small farm holders across the country through mobile technology.
It also introduced Chilibeli, an online “social commerce” platform in Indonesia which empowers female entrepreneurs and connects communities across the country.
What pioneering entrepreneurs will 2021 introduce? Finding out will be one of the best parts of the Summit.
Supply chain resilience is a clear and present danger
Also vital to the Summit will be a discussion of how to “crisis-proof” food systems in Asia-Pacific. The COVID pandemic exposed the fragility of the current system, revealing it to be a “multitude of fragmented supply chains” which did not respond well to shocks. With climate change set to increase such shocks around the world in the form of extreme weather events, the importance of building resilience has become paramount.
Accordingly, the Summit will seek to shorten and connect supply chains by promoting the growth of regional relationships and facilitating partnerships between investors and entrepreneurs, as well as policymakers, international organizations, and corporate entities.
The key theme is collaboration – on investment and innovation, on regulatory frameworks and funding initiatives, on data and research. A more connected and collaborative food system is a more resilient one, and this, at its heart, is what the Summit seeks to facilitate.
Success is Possible
The success of Asia-Pacific food systems will come down to innovation and collaboration. This is why an event like the Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit is so vitally important; it is all about networking and partnerships, about stimulating innovation towards transformative change.
What can be expected at the Summit is the future, or a chance at one at least.
