Serpong, Indonesia - Enabling Environment for Custom Hiring of Agricultural Machinery was the central topic of the 2nd Regional Forum on Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization in Asia and the Pacific hosted by this Centre in collaboration with the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (IAARD) and FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, in parallel with the International Forum on Agricultural and Bio-System Engineering 2014 and with the support of the CECP funding.

Dr. Suswono, Minister of Agriculture in Indonesia, highlighted in his opening remarks that “agricultural mechanization is becoming one of the important factors and plays strategic role in Indonesia’s agricultural development, as well as in other Asian-Pacific countries...”

As a 1st meeting convened by a UN agency on this topic in many years, 50 participants from 15 countries and 4 international organizations and NGOs shared policies and practices of custom hiring of agricultural machinery in their respective country and organization, especially in the context of small and marginalized farming. Among the participants, private-sector representatives in the custom hiring business from 5 member countries shared their cases and stories with the Forum.  Lively discussions and dialogues were conducted on the how to create an enabling environment for custom hiring of agricultural machinery, and what could be done at the regional level to promote custom hiring of agricultural machinery and its potential greater contribution to sustainable agriculture.

Mr. Marc Proksch, Chief of Business and Development Section, Trade and Investment Division of UNESCAP, called for actions to the present participants to make a different either as government official, academic, or practitioner within their capacity based on the improved understanding through the deliberation of Forum. Country representatives expressed their determination and specific plans to move the discussion forward to concrete results.

As an integral part of the Forum, a mini machinery exhibition and on-site demonstrations were also staged on Sept. 11 in the Indonesian Centre for Agricultural Engineering Research and Development (ICAERD).