Collectively, the countries that make up East and South-East Asia are the most populous in the world and the region is recognised as an economic powerhouse. Ten of these countries are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and engage closely in terms of trade and investment with east Asian countries, including China.

Cambodia and Laos receive most of their investment and aid from China, so these countries will be most affected by a marked slowdown of economic growth in China. Vietnam is the only ASEAN member state integrated into supply chains with China and is experiencing supply disruptions. Since 2009, China has become the largest trading partner of ASEAN nations and is also one of the most important sources of investment.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, ASEAN economies were forecast to have some of the highest growth rates in the world over the next 5 years. The International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development had forecast an average of 5% growth per annum, a higher rate than some of the more developed economies of Europe and North America. After 5.5% growth in 2022, the ASEAN economy performed well with a combined GDP of A$4 trillion. Noting however, some exceptions such as Laos, which is experiencing high inflation.

Economic activity in 2022 was shored up by the continued reopening of many economies after the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthening domestic consumption and investment, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. China’s growth is expected to pick up, which will boost external demand for economies in the rest of the region.

With more than 100 million hectares of agricultural land, the ASEAN countries collectively are a major producer, supplier and exporter of various crops, grains (including rice) and livestock products. Although agriculture only contributes around 10% of total ASEAN GDP, it is the main sector for employment in most member states, accounting for approximately one-third of total ASEAN employment. Given its significant role, the development of the food, agriculture and forestry sectors in ASEAN countries is vital to ensuring equitable and inclusive growth in the region.

Food security, food safety and better nutrition remain priority concerns within the region. These priorities align with ASEAN’s goals of agricultural cooperation. Support for women’s economic empowerment, which has become a prominent approach to addressing gender gaps in economic spheres, including agriculture, continues to grow.

Drivers of regional collaboration

The principal driver of regional collaboration in the East and South-East Asia region is ASEAN, which for more than 50 years has addressed shared challenges and engaged trade and development partners, including Australia and China. Recently, regional collaboration has been driven by critical factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitics and transboundary concerns.

Trade and investment are the major drivers of economic growth in the region, aided by overseas development assistance. The ASEAN-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement came into force in January 2022 and is expected to help strengthen regional economic integration and provide access to a larger market, which will assist the post-pandemic recovery of the ASEAN economies.

In the agricultural research sector, ACIAR is supporting regional collaboration through support to the Asia–Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI). Cross-border challenges such as plant and animal biosecurity remain prominent and are driving efforts for regional integration. In the Mekong region, plant diseases have recently spread across borders, destroying crops of cassava and banana.

Shared concerns about imminent and increasing threats posed by climate change have resulted in ASEAN creating a ‘framework of ASEAN community building, with strategies and actions to enhance regional and international cooperation in supporting adaptation’. In the field of agricultural research for development, regional cooperation plays a significant role, particularly regarding increasing resilience and adaptation to climate change, natural disasters and other shocks.

The South-East Asia region is one of the most natural disaster-prone in the world. Natural disasters threaten food security and rural livelihoods and have economic consequences for the whole region, so disaster mitigation is a common interest among neighbouring countries. The ASEAN Declaration on ‘One ASEAN, One Response’ aims to increase the speed, scale and solidarity of disaster response in the region.

Regional ACIAR program

The ACIAR program in East and South-East Asia remains the largest across the 4 regions in which ACIAR operates. The nature of our engagement within the region is strongly bilateral, based on robust partnerships with national research systems, long-standing diplomatic connections, and sustained development collaboration with Australia. However, there is a growing trend towards regional collaboration between countries facing shared challenges. This is consistent with the research partnerships under ASEAN, which acknowledge that collaboration among member states is a sensible path towards addressing common challenges in the region.

The ASEAN drive towards regional economic integration and connectivity will increase demand from individual countries and regional bodies for research support that harmonises approaches to some agricultural issues across countries, including biosecurity, food safety and climate resilience. We contribute to this by funding regional research collaboration and through our support and chairing of APAARI.

Among our newer regional collaborations in the East and South-East Asia region are efforts to identify efficient biosecurity risk-management systems in the region to respond to prominent outbreaks affecting plant and animal health. For example, Indonesia, the Philippines and Laos are involved in regional research focusing on an integrated system to manage Fusarium wilt (Panama disease) in banana crops with components of biosecurity and disease management.

A series of projects continues throughout the region under the ACIAR–IDRC Research Program on One Health (AIRPOH). Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines and Timor-Leste will host a portfolio of interconnected projects supporting research that aims to promote new ideas and thinking on the relationship and management of human, animal and environmental health.

Trilateral collaboration and new partnership models are emerging for ACIAR in the East and South-East Asia region. Driving these new partnership models are greater capacities that can be achieved when resources are pooled. This is translating into substantial co-investment from partners such as Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. While bilateral relationships remain the predominant model for development cooperation in the region, trilateral collaboration is increasingly possible and desired by partner countries.

Opportunities for trilateral research collaboration with Australia in the region include varietal development to manage devastating new diseases in banana, cassava and citrus; machinery innovation for conservation agriculture among smallholder farmers; and research to develop perennial rice varieties.

The transformation of the Chinese economy has resulted in a reorientation of the ACIAR program in China. Building on decades of trusted research relationships, the ACIAR program in China has changed from bilateral research partnerships to partnerships based on substantial co-investment, either in the form of parallel investment or trilateral collaboration. Areas of current focus include rural transformation and disease management in citrus, with Australia and China both making research investments in partner countries.

ACIAR is not supporting any research collaborations in Myanmar in 2023–24. However, ACIAR continues to consult with international partners to identify potential collaboration consistent with Australian Government guidelines.

Our on-the-ground work in South-East Asia primarily occurs with 7 partner countries. However, we also work with development and coordinating organisations based in other countries in the region, collaborating on issues and programs of regional significance.

For example, in recent decades Thailand has transitioned from aid recipient to aid donor. Thailand hosts regional organisations of relevance to ACIAR programs, including APAARI, the Asian Institute of Technology and the FAO regional office. We also include Thai expertise on projects of regional significance when opportunities arise.

Image Region-wide cooperation on forest biosecurity In 2023–24, we have a regional project, ‘Building effective forest health and biosecurity networks in South-East Asia’ (FST/2020/123), that includes partners from Thailand and Malaysia, as well as partners from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam.

Current and proposed projects in the East and South-East Asia region, 2023–24