A total of 44 participants from State Universities and Colleges, National Government Agencies, the nonprofit sector, and PCAARRD personnel actively exchanged ideas and experiences during the two-day forum held on 25- 26 July 2024 at the Umali Auditorium, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).

The program on Day 1 included lectures from two international experts in the morning and four case presentations in the afternoon. The morning lectures discussed the Evolution of Coproduction and the State of Coproduction in Asia — the former discussed by Dr. Lorrae Van Kerkhoff of the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University and the latter by Dr. Eduardo Araral Jr. of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. In the afternoon, four Case Presenters covered PCAARRD's four-banner program: Policy Research and Advocacy, Strategic R&D, R&D and Research Utilization, and Capacity Building and R&D Governance. Each of them extensively discussed their studies / projects which brought out their experience and challenges. Concepts were further strengthened during the Q&A portions after each segment and the coproducers' (participants) reflection and insights were drawn out during the breakout sessions.

The breakout sessions brought out four groups, representing each of PCAARRD’s four-banner program, after each segment as well as the entire morning of Day 2. The coproducers were distributed according to their listed project and focus / expertise category which brainstormed ideas and principles of coproduction as well as the coproducers’ experiences in their respective AANR projects and how coproduction may have taken place. Here, the concepts, applications, and challenges were raised, clarified, and resolved.

This project led by Assoc. Prof. Dhino B. Geges, PhD — Developing a Framework on Co-production for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources (AANR) Projects — is expected to produce outputs in November. You may view the Coproduction Forum Facebook page for more documentation on the event.