Regional Consultation of Asia-Pacific Member Countries Focuses On Collaboration To Tackle Major Challenges

28 February 2025, Asia: CABI has convened a three-day Regional Consultation of its Asia-Pacific Member Countries to review plans and progress under the global strategy it agreed with Member Countries in 2022.

The Regional Consultation, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is part of CABI’s efforts to engage and consult frequently with its Member Countries.

This mechanism helps CABI align its efforts towards national and regional needs, develop joint frameworks for activities with Members and set a path to ensure these are appropriately funded, resourced and translated into vital and effective programmes.

To open the meeting, Dr Daniel Elger CABI’s CEO, and Mr Johari Bin Abdullah, Deputy Director General, Department of Agriculture, on behalf of the Malaysian Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM), welcomed around 100 delegates from regional CABI Member Countries, partners, and the CABI team.

Member countries and stakeholders review CABI’s strategy and initiatives

The meeting considered CABI’s plan to refresh and extend its current 2023-2025 Medium-Term Strategy to 2028.

Progress made in the Asia-Pacific region under the Strategy was highlighted. Delegates also reviewed some of the key global programmes designed to deliver the Strategy, including the flagship food security programme PlantwisePlus, a proposed Landscapes Initiative based on the approach of integrated landscape management (ILM), and work under the Juno Evidence Alliance.

The CABI Regional Consultation Meetings being held in 2025 have a particular focus on the area of pesticide risk reduction. A series of presentations and workshops on this theme was led by Dr Ulrich Kuhlman, Executive Director, Global Operations.

The topic is highly relevant to health, livelihoods, trade and the environment. CABI already conducts significant work in this area and explored with delegates, who included experts in the field, how this could be further expanded through collaborations at all levels, from the farm to national regulation and policy and international cooperation.

Experiences and lessons from CABI Member Countries were shared and sessions were held to explore barriers and opportunities for the uptake of approaches such as Integrated Pest Management and the use of bioprotection products that can help to reduce pesticide-associated risks.

Opportunity for CABI to align its priorities with those of Member Countries

Dedicated sessions led by Dr Qiaoqiao Zhang, Director of Memberships, were held to consider more broadly how CABI can best address national/regional priorities by joint mobilization of resources and project development between CABI and its Member Countries and partners and by promoting more triangular collaboration and south-south co-operations.

Dr Babar Bajwa, CABI’s Senior Regional Director, Asia, said, “The Regional Consultation meeting was an important opportunity for CABI to align its priorities with those of our Member Countries in the Asia-Pacific region, on this occasion with a specific emphasis on pesticide risk reduction.

“This includes developing plans to adopt more Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices that encompass diverse, safer ways to manage pests alongside judicious and carefully managed use of appropriate chemical pesticides.

“By taking this approach, the risks posed by hazardous chemical pesticides to human health and the environment can be reduced.”

He added that CABI and Member Countries will collaborate on concrete plans to achieve pesticide risk reduction and how they can work together to secure external funding for this work.

Dr Dennis Rangi, Director General, Development, said, “Food security issues continue to both pile up and change, and this means changing tack and doing business differently.

“The power of partnerships and our ability to come together as a membership is what will get us out of this challenging situation. Our Membership is our superpower. It’s what makes us strong – it gives us the diversity that has kept us going for over 100 years. Not many organisations can say they have been around for over a century.”

Mr Johari Bin Abdullah, Deputy Director General, Department of Agriculture, Malaysia, said, “This regional meeting resonates deeply with Malaysia’s and other CABI Member Countries’ commitment to advancing innovation and sustainability in our agriculture sector.

“In a world where our agricultural practices face unprecedented challenges – from pest and disease threats to environmental changes – the need for innovative solutions has never been more urgent.”

CABI’s 2025 Regional Consultation Meetings

Other Regional Meetings of CABI Member Countries will take place during 2025. These include Africa from 11-13 June, taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, and The Americas from 16-18 September, to be held at Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago.

These will be followed in early 2026 by a CABI Review Conference of all Member Countries, which will also be focused on project collaboration and funding.

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