2025 Agricultural Policy Trends Based on FFTC-AP platform publications
Mr. Khang Seuk Yong, Agricultural Economist, FFTC
2025.12.19
General Description
In 2025, FFTC-AP platform received a total of 53 papers from 15 contracted partners in 10 countries. Thirty papers have already been published, as of 18 November, fifteen are under reviewed or revised and seven papers were rejected. The cumulative numbers of article reach 1,415 since 2013, while that of website hits and registered members come to 19,865,296 and 27,046, respectively, with an increase of 4.0% and 4.0% compared with those of 2024.
FFTC analyzed the content of these thirty articles using ChatGPT and WordClouds to identify key agricultural policy trends for 2025. Below is a word cloud of the results of analyzing the key phrases of those 30 manuscripts. The core areas of agricultural policy in 2025 were climate change, food security with value chains, sustainable and smart agriculture, agricultural and rural development. Specific national policy tools to pursue these were discussed, such as coping with extreme weather, unstable food value chains, and sustainable agriculture.
This report briefly summarizes, based on articles from the FFTC-AP platform published in 2025, how each country is responding to these key issues.
Key-Issue Analysis
Climate change and environmental sustainability
Climate-resilient production
Across multiple studies, climate changes emerge as a central threat to agrifood systems in Asia. Singapore’s “30 by 30, food-resilience goal”, Taiwan’s adaptation strategies, Indonesia’s and Vietnam’s shift to greener growth, and Thailand’s biodiversity finance all stress climate-resilient crops, water management, and low-carbon farming practices.
Natural resource and ecosystem management
Sea-level rise and yield instability from typhoons, drought, floods, and rising temperature are major challenges. Historical Singapore deforestation case related to gambier farming and Indonesian gambier compost show how soil organic carbon (SOC) and erosion control are crucial; Taiwan’s rural resource management and Thailand’s biodiversity protection policies show the need for long term environmental investment and emphasize conserving ecosystems while sustaining livelihoods.
Food security with resilient agrifood systems
National food security strategies
Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Korea frame food security as a strategic issue, using long-term plans; Indonesia’s National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN), RPJMN-agriculture, Malaysian Food Security Action Plan, Korea’s top 10 agri-food issues, to manage climate, supply shocks, and demographic risks.
Nutrition and healthy diets
There is a significant emphasis on sustainable food value chains, regional cooperation, and adaptation of innovative technologies. Thailand and Korea push sustainable diets and dietary plans; Thailand focuses on healthy value chains and reducing malnutrition, while Korea’s 4th Basic Plan connects diet education with sustainability and local food systems.
Technological innovation in agriculture and logistics
Smart farming with digitalization
Singapore’s vertical farms, desalination-supported irrigation and high-tech Lim Chu Kang agrifood cluster, the National Innovation Program for Food Security (PINTAR) in Malaysia, smart farming in Taiwan, Indonesia, and Korea, plus AI parcel mapping in Taiwan illustrate rapid adoption of precision agriculture, IoT, and AI. Thailand is accelerating digital transformation, remote sensing, and smart farming as part of national strategies.
Nutrient recovery and circular technologies
Waste-to-resources technologies and recycled gambier residues in Indonesia show how nutrient recovery reduces dependence on synthetic fertilizers and supports circular economy.
Logistics with cold chain innovation
Taiwan and Thailand focus on logistics, cold chains, and hub strategies to cut waste, maintain quality, and improve competitiveness in agri-businesses.
Rural revitalization and institutionalchange
Aging farmers and regeneration
Indonesia’s census shows aging farmers and growth of smallholders; Malaysia and others respond with youth-oriented programs and corporate farming concepts.
Institutional reform and cooperative models
China’s resource allocation for rural revitalization, Indonesia’s cooperative / corporatization models, and Taiwan’s community-based approaches all highlight cooperatives, governance reforms, and integrated planning.
Trade and market diversification
Export strategies for niche products
Taiwan’s duck egg export upgrade (welfare standards, certifications), Myanmar’s export rice varieties, Taiwan’s halal industry, and Philippine Nypa cookies demonstrate efforts to move into higher-value and niche markets.
Tariffs, SEZs and regional hubs
US Reciprocal Tariff impacts, Johor–Singapore special economic zone (SEZ), and Thailand’s logistics hub strategy show how countries manage tariffs, SEZs, and cross-border logistics to stabilize and expand agri-food trade.
Social responsibility, diet, and indigenous niche resources
Agricultural social responsibility (ASR)
Taiwan’s ASR scale development aims to measure and guide farmers’ and organizations’ social responsibility behaviors, linking environment, society, and economy. Biodiversity finance gaps in Thailand highlights the long-term environmental investment.
Dietary education to change consumer behaviors
Korea’s dietary plan and Thailand’s healthy diet push show how education and community programs shift consumption towards sustainable, local, and healthier foods, linking food systems to SDGs and promoting social and economic mandate.
Indigenous and local resources
Nypa fruit flour cookies in the Philippines, sea grapes in Thailand, indigenous chicken meat in Myanmar, halal products in Taiwan, and diverse export crops in Southeast Asia showcase value-chain innovation using local or indigenous resources.
Asia’s Responses to the Issues
Asian countries adopt climate-smart agriculture, reforestation, soil conservation, and biodiversity finance. Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand integrate climate goals into national plans, promoting SOC-building practices (compost, residue recycling), protected areas, and greener growth trajectories.
Singapore (“30 by 30”), Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Korea treat food security as a strategic objective, using long-term plans, sectoral action plans, and targeted programs (e.g., aquaculture expansion, grain corn, diversification from rice) to stabilize supply, reduce import dependence, and address malnutrition.
Countries push industry revolution (IR4.0), AI, smart farming, and advanced logistics: Singapore’s urban vertical farms and rooftop gardens, Taiwan’s AI parcel mapping and disaster apps, Malaysia’s PINTAR, Indonesia’s smart-farming agenda, and Thailand’s logistics research all show strong tech-led strategies, often backed by R&D institutions and public–private partnerships.
China, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Korea use rural revitalization, cooperative strengthening, and institutional reform to address aging populations, smallholder fragmentation, and low incomes. Policies encourage modern cooperatives, corporate farming, youth participation, and place-based governance.
Several Asian countries design value-chain and trade strategies: Johor–Singapore SEZ aims for integrated supply chains; Taiwan targets premium export markets (duck eggs, halal products); Myanmar focuses on profitable export rice; and multiple states respond to tariff shocks (US Reciprocal Tariff Policy) by diversifying markets and upgrading standards.
Taiwan’s Agricultural Social Responsibility (ASR) framework, Korea’s dietary education plan, Thailand’s healthy diet initiatives, and Philippine indigenous product innovation all highlight social and behavioral approaches: measuring responsibility, educating consumers, supporting indigenous foods, and linking health with environmental sustainability.
Policy Recommendation
Based on the analysis, Asian countries could consider a strategic transformation to address future challenges.
First, governments need to prioritize climate adaptation through drought-resistant crops, improved water governance (e.g., desalination, recycling, watershed protection), flood-resistant infrastructure and regional climate-risk monitoring systems. They also need to integrate climate change into food and rural policy. Rather than relying on isolated programs, nations should adopt a coherent framework that unifies land use, water, biodiversity, and food security targets. This approach ensures that efforts in one sector do not hinder progress in another.
To build environmental resilience, the sector should deepen climate-smart and circular agriculture. This requires scaling up practices that build soil organic carbon, recovering nutrients from waste, and adopting low-carbon farming. These steps are essential to minimize erosion, greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on chemical fertilizers.
It is essential to invest in inclusive agri-tech ecosystems. Modernization must go beyond hardware to include farmer training and accessible finance. By combining AI and smart farming with autonomous farming technologies to offset labor shortage, improve productivity, and reduce environmental impacts, nations can ensure that smallholders and aging farmers can actually adopt and benefit from innovative technologies.
Economically, nations need to strengthen regional value chains and risk-sharing. Utilizing logistics hubs and regional agreements helps diversify markets and cushion against geopolitical shocks. This network also provides a platform to promote high-value products, such as halal goods and indigenous crops.
Policymakers should also embed social responsibility and dietary education. By institutionalizing social responsibility tools in agriculture and expanding dietary education, countries can encourage sustainable consumption. This aligns the behaviors of both producers and consumers with broader sustainability goals.
Finally, countries must enhance governance, data, and evaluation. Success relies on robust monitoring systems, such as AI-based data and biodiversity tracking. Establishing clear feedback loops allows governments to continually refine policies and ensure real impact on farmers and ecosystems.
General Description
In 2025, FFTC-AP platform received a total of 53 papers from 15 contracted partners in 10 countries. Thirty papers have already been published, as of 18 November, fifteen are under reviewed or revised and seven papers were rejected. The cumulative numbers of article reach 1,415 since 2013, while that of website hits and registered members come to 19,865,296 and 27,046, respectively, with an increase of 4.0% and 4.0% compared with those of 2024.
FFTC analyzed the content of these thirty articles using ChatGPT and WordClouds to identify key agricultural policy trends for 2025. Below is a word cloud of the results of analyzing the key phrases of those 30 manuscripts. The core areas of agricultural policy in 2025 were climate change, food security with value chains, sustainable and smart agriculture, agricultural and rural development. Specific national policy tools to pursue these were discussed, such as coping with extreme weather, unstable food value chains, and sustainable agriculture.
This report briefly summarizes, based on articles from the FFTC-AP platform published in 2025, how each country is responding to these key issues.
Key-Issue Analysis
Across multiple studies, climate changes emerge as a central threat to agrifood systems in Asia. Singapore’s “30 by 30, food-resilience goal”, Taiwan’s adaptation strategies, Indonesia’s and Vietnam’s shift to greener growth, and Thailand’s biodiversity finance all stress climate-resilient crops, water management, and low-carbon farming practices.
Sea-level rise and yield instability from typhoons, drought, floods, and rising temperature are major challenges. Historical Singapore deforestation case related to gambier farming and Indonesian gambier compost show how soil organic carbon (SOC) and erosion control are crucial; Taiwan’s rural resource management and Thailand’s biodiversity protection policies show the need for long term environmental investment and emphasize conserving ecosystems while sustaining livelihoods.
Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Korea frame food security as a strategic issue, using long-term plans; Indonesia’s National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN), RPJMN-agriculture, Malaysian Food Security Action Plan, Korea’s top 10 agri-food issues, to manage climate, supply shocks, and demographic risks.
There is a significant emphasis on sustainable food value chains, regional cooperation, and adaptation of innovative technologies. Thailand and Korea push sustainable diets and dietary plans; Thailand focuses on healthy value chains and reducing malnutrition, while Korea’s 4th Basic Plan connects diet education with sustainability and local food systems.
Singapore’s vertical farms, desalination-supported irrigation and high-tech Lim Chu Kang agrifood cluster, the National Innovation Program for Food Security (PINTAR) in Malaysia, smart farming in Taiwan, Indonesia, and Korea, plus AI parcel mapping in Taiwan illustrate rapid adoption of precision agriculture, IoT, and AI. Thailand is accelerating digital transformation, remote sensing, and smart farming as part of national strategies.
Waste-to-resources technologies and recycled gambier residues in Indonesia show how nutrient recovery reduces dependence on synthetic fertilizers and supports circular economy.
Taiwan and Thailand focus on logistics, cold chains, and hub strategies to cut waste, maintain quality, and improve competitiveness in agri-businesses.
Indonesia’s census shows aging farmers and growth of smallholders; Malaysia and others respond with youth-oriented programs and corporate farming concepts.
China’s resource allocation for rural revitalization, Indonesia’s cooperative / corporatization models, and Taiwan’s community-based approaches all highlight cooperatives, governance reforms, and integrated planning.
Taiwan’s duck egg export upgrade (welfare standards, certifications), Myanmar’s export rice varieties, Taiwan’s halal industry, and Philippine Nypa cookies demonstrate efforts to move into higher-value and niche markets.
US Reciprocal Tariff impacts, Johor–Singapore special economic zone (SEZ), and Thailand’s logistics hub strategy show how countries manage tariffs, SEZs, and cross-border logistics to stabilize and expand agri-food trade.
Taiwan’s ASR scale development aims to measure and guide farmers’ and organizations’ social responsibility behaviors, linking environment, society, and economy. Biodiversity finance gaps in Thailand highlights the long-term environmental investment.
Korea’s dietary plan and Thailand’s healthy diet push show how education and community programs shift consumption towards sustainable, local, and healthier foods, linking food systems to SDGs and promoting social and economic mandate.
Nypa fruit flour cookies in the Philippines, sea grapes in Thailand, indigenous chicken meat in Myanmar, halal products in Taiwan, and diverse export crops in Southeast Asia showcase value-chain innovation using local or indigenous resources.
Asia’s Responses to the Issues
Asian countries adopt climate-smart agriculture, reforestation, soil conservation, and biodiversity finance. Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand integrate climate goals into national plans, promoting SOC-building practices (compost, residue recycling), protected areas, and greener growth trajectories.
Singapore (“30 by 30”), Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Korea treat food security as a strategic objective, using long-term plans, sectoral action plans, and targeted programs (e.g., aquaculture expansion, grain corn, diversification from rice) to stabilize supply, reduce import dependence, and address malnutrition.
Countries push industry revolution (IR4.0), AI, smart farming, and advanced logistics: Singapore’s urban vertical farms and rooftop gardens, Taiwan’s AI parcel mapping and disaster apps, Malaysia’s PINTAR, Indonesia’s smart-farming agenda, and Thailand’s logistics research all show strong tech-led strategies, often backed by R&D institutions and public–private partnerships.
China, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Korea use rural revitalization, cooperative strengthening, and institutional reform to address aging populations, smallholder fragmentation, and low incomes. Policies encourage modern cooperatives, corporate farming, youth participation, and place-based governance.
Several Asian countries design value-chain and trade strategies: Johor–Singapore SEZ aims for integrated supply chains; Taiwan targets premium export markets (duck eggs, halal products); Myanmar focuses on profitable export rice; and multiple states respond to tariff shocks (US Reciprocal Tariff Policy) by diversifying markets and upgrading standards.
Taiwan’s Agricultural Social Responsibility (ASR) framework, Korea’s dietary education plan, Thailand’s healthy diet initiatives, and Philippine indigenous product innovation all highlight social and behavioral approaches: measuring responsibility, educating consumers, supporting indigenous foods, and linking health with environmental sustainability.
Policy Recommendation
Based on the analysis, Asian countries could consider a strategic transformation to address future challenges.
First, governments need to prioritize climate adaptation through drought-resistant crops, improved water governance (e.g., desalination, recycling, watershed protection), flood-resistant infrastructure and regional climate-risk monitoring systems. They also need to integrate climate change into food and rural policy. Rather than relying on isolated programs, nations should adopt a coherent framework that unifies land use, water, biodiversity, and food security targets. This approach ensures that efforts in one sector do not hinder progress in another.
To build environmental resilience, the sector should deepen climate-smart and circular agriculture. This requires scaling up practices that build soil organic carbon, recovering nutrients from waste, and adopting low-carbon farming. These steps are essential to minimize erosion, greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on chemical fertilizers.
It is essential to invest in inclusive agri-tech ecosystems. Modernization must go beyond hardware to include farmer training and accessible finance. By combining AI and smart farming with autonomous farming technologies to offset labor shortage, improve productivity, and reduce environmental impacts, nations can ensure that smallholders and aging farmers can actually adopt and benefit from innovative technologies.
Economically, nations need to strengthen regional value chains and risk-sharing. Utilizing logistics hubs and regional agreements helps diversify markets and cushion against geopolitical shocks. This network also provides a platform to promote high-value products, such as halal goods and indigenous crops.
Policymakers should also embed social responsibility and dietary education. By institutionalizing social responsibility tools in agriculture and expanding dietary education, countries can encourage sustainable consumption. This aligns the behaviors of both producers and consumers with broader sustainability goals.
Finally, countries must enhance governance, data, and evaluation. Success relies on robust monitoring systems, such as AI-based data and biodiversity tracking. Establishing clear feedback loops allows governments to continually refine policies and ensure real impact on farmers and ecosystems.