This year annual meeting presented and discussed 3 priority research areas: Urban Food Systems And Sustainability; Developing Geographical Indications In Asia; Cooperatives – Organizational Models, Marketing Operations And Benefits To Farmers.

During the Session 1 in the morning, there were presentations on Urban Food Systems And Sustainability and Developing Geographical Indications In Asia. Researchers Sau Nguyen from FAVRI,  and Bruckert Michaël from CIRAD presented together an ongoing study towards sustainable food systems in Hanoi, provided information about drivers for change and impacts of urban-driven innovations.

Continuing the topic of Session 1, Ricardo Hernández from CIAT and Fred Unger from ILRI delivered their presentations on Retail Market Assessment of nutritious fruits and vegetables in low income urban and peri-urban areas in Hanoi and Pork safety assessment and first results from pilot interventions targeting slaughter and retail in selected provinces of Northern Vietnam.

Session 2 was about Geographical Indications in Asia. Dang Duc Chien from RUDEC delivered results of his study on the case of GI for Binh Phuoc cashew and Isabelle Vagneron shared her knowledge and experiences when doing GI certification in Laos.

Session 3 happened in the afternoon, and the program format changed to a panel discussion, brought to the table the topic of cooperatives, in particular organizational models, marketing operations and benefits to farmers.  It was an intense and quality discussion, thanked to the effective moderation of Guillaume Duteurtre from Cirad Montpellier and valuable contribution from 04 panelists, including Dr. Dao The Anh – Vice President of (VAAS), Dr. Hoang Vu Quang – Deputy Director of IPSARD, Dr. Oleg Nicetic – University of Queensland and Fue Yang – National University of Laos. There was a debate on support policies, respective roles of cooperatives versus farmer group. Participants were interested in this topic and have numbers of questions to the panelist.

After the panel discussion, there was a reflection by 2 stakeholders about the meeting. Ms. Thanh An - Country Manager of ACIAR found the meeting was very useful, and aligning with ACIAR’s strategy. However, she was expect to hear more about the environment and natural resources management as well as communication program to consumers. Other reflection by Ms. Le Thi Nga – Senior Project Manager of HealthBridge Foundation. Ms. Nga appreciated the opportunity of the collaboration between public health researchers and agricultural researcher and she would like to see more analysis based on user demand.

At the end of the meeting, Chitpasong from NUoL and Estelle from Cirad, facilitators of the Malica Platform expressed their thanks to the participants with the announcement of doing the Malica Annual Scientific Meeting again next year with follow-up on the comments and reflections after the event today.