Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe M. Medalla on Tuesday, April 11, said the BSP and The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), will try to come up with a viable and sustainable agricuture systems in the region.
Medalla said the partnership with SEARCA is part of the BSP’s Sustainable Central Banking (SCB) Strategy.
“The central bank will continue to enhance its collaboration with knowledge platforms and research institutions, such as SEARCA, to unlock opportunities for sustainable finance and contribute to a better understanding of the complex issues surrounding this key topic,” he said Tuesday.
The two-part roundtable discussion (RTD) series will be held on April 18 and 19. The BSP said the RTD will gather Southeast Asia’s agriculture and rural development experts and practitioners.
“(The RTD will) discuss emerging issues and concerns, gaps, and opportunities related to the region’s sustainable food and agriculture systems” and the event will also serve as a platform for participants to share their respective insights, experiences, innovations, and best practices, said the BSP. The event will be streamed live via Zoom and the official BSP and SEARCA Facebook pages.
SEARCA Director Dr. Glenn Gregorio said the initiative will promote sustainable agriculture practices in the region. “Through this roundtable series, we hope to foster greater collaboration among key stakeholders to address the challenges faced by the region’s food and agriculture systems, as well as promote sustainable development in Southeast Asia," he added.
According to the BSP, the first part or the RTD series will focus on digital economies for the food and agriculture sector and their role in ensuring broad-based economic growth and “strong and flexible supply and value chains that can withstand economic shocks, extreme weather events, and other uncertainties.” The session will also highlight how digital technologies can improve financial inclusion and enable smallholder farmers to invest and participate in digital economies, said the BSP.
Meanwhile, the second part of the RTD series will cover talks on the region’s carbon farming in agriculture through regional cooperation.
The BSP said the discussion will include updates on the status of carbon farming, the gaps and opportunities in developing the carbon credit market and agriculture in Southeast Asia. “The discussion will also tackle available data, technologies, and approaches in both the science and practice of climate-resilient agriculture in the region,” it added.
The BSP said the RTD series is only the initial step in establishing a carbon farming center in the region. The discussion aims to collect and analyze data related to carbon farming in Southeast Asian countries.
Last January, the BSP launched its 11-point SCB Strategy. As for SEARCA, the RTD series is part of its 11th Five-Year Plan, on Accelerating Transformation Through Agricultural Innovation or ATTAIN.
The BSP’s SCB Strategy embodies the BSP’s commitment to the domestic financial system’s sustainability agenda.
Medalla said during its launch that climate change and other environmental hazards “impact the prices of goods and change the risk profile of financial institutions” and the BSP “are doing what we have to do in line with our mandates of promoting price and financial stability."
The SCB is a policy environment that is centered on sustainable finance adheres to the same standards set for supervised financial institutions in managing risks and in making environmentally and socially responsible investment decisions.
"The BSP is an enabler, a mobilizer, and a doer in championing sustainable finance. But we also recognize that climate action is a whole-of-society undertaking … We must take a long-term view that the things that are consistent with a better planet are also good for everyday life,” said Medalla.