The fourteenth Session of the CSAM Governing Council was held on 30th November 2018 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and attended by all 9 members, namely Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

The Governing Council congratulated CSAM for the progress achieved by the Centre in 2018 for implementing its programmes towards promoting sustainable agricultural mechanization in the Asia-Pacific region. It also commended the Centre for the success achieved in engaging key stakeholders including policy makers, researchers and academicians, manufacturers, distributors, service providers, as well as the youth through its programmes. 

The Governing Council expressed appreciation to the Centre for its range of activities as an active regional institution of ESCAP, and for successfully playing the role of a regional platform on sustainable agricultural mechanization for countries in a region with vast diversity, while mobilizing additional resources including in-kind contributions from national and regional stakeholders for execution of its activities and events.

The Governing Council endorsed the Centre’s work report and financial status report for 2018, as well as the proposed work plan for 2019. Moreover, it provided a number of useful recommendations for further development of CSAM’s programmes on sustainable agricultural mechanization, such as enhancing technical assistance for strengthening agricultural machinery testing facilities, enabling mechanization solutions for the livestock, fisheries and forestry sub-sectors, and promoting precision agriculture. The Governing Council also recommended that CSAM leverage synergies with partners in areas like building resilience to climate change and supporting integrated straw management.