Mekong Institute (MI) in partnership with the Faculty of Agriculture of Khon Kaen University (AG-KKU) hosted a seminar on Regional Integration: Linking Farmers to Markets on May 20-22, 2015 at the MI Residential Training Center, Khon Kaen.
The seminar provided a platform for experienced development practitioners, business and civic leaders, and academic experts interested and involved in agricultural development along the East-West Economic Corridor and in Bangladesh, to share their experiences of market systems approaches, value chains, and SME development involved in agriculture development. They also discussed and deliberated on the key integration issues and challenges of linking farmers to markets in the context of regional integration. They took advantage of the opportunity to identify collaborative possibilities as well.
A total of 62 participants attended from various organizations such as Asian Development Bank (ADB), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Katalyst Project in Bangladesh, and United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The two and a half day event included a whole day for presentations on the first day, field visits on the second day, and ended with group discussions and a wrap up session. The attendees developed a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges regarding linking farmers to the market through the presentations shared. They also learned more about adapting to the new market needs.
