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 57 papers from 15 contracted partners in 10 countries. As of December 2, 41 papers have already been published, 7 are under reviewed or revised and nine papers were rejected. The cumulative number of articles 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 forty-one articles using ChatGPT to identify key agricultural policy trends in the Asian and Pacific region for 2025. Below is a word cloud of the results of analyzing the key phrases of those 41 manuscripts. The core areas of agricultural policy in 2025 were food security with value chains, sustainable and smart agriculture with digital technology, climate change, policy and governance, and markets with social inclusion.
Specific national policy tools to pursue these were discussed, such as coping with unstable food value chains, extreme weather and sustainable agriculture. This report briefly summarizes, based on the 41 articles from the FFTC-AP platform published in 2025, how each country is responding to these key issues.
Key-Issue Analysis
Food security with resilient agrifood systems
Enhancing national food security strategies
Many Asian countries are prioritizing strategies to increase local food production and reduce reliance on import and market volatility. 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), Singapore’s “30 by 30” food security strategy, Malaysian Food Security Action Plan, Korea’s top 10 agri-food issues to manage climate, supply shocks, and demographic risks.
Staple crop diversification and healthy diets
There is a significant emphasis on sustainable food value chains, regional cooperation, and adaptation of innovative technologies. Malaysia concentrates on strengthening its rice seed systems and Indonesia executes a major staple diversification policy, promoting crops such as cassava and sago. 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.
Smart farming innovation and digitalization
AI and smart agriculture application
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. Japan demonstrated targeted innovation through AI projects tailored to various farming types.
Technology-driven ecosystems and private sector innovation
Malaysia and Singapore are collaborating on food tech startups and smart floating fish farms in cross-border value chains. Indonesia has embedded a strong push for agricultural digitalization in its RPJMN 2025–2029. Waste-to-resources technologies and recycled gambier residues in Indonesia also show how nutrient recovery reduces dependence on synthetic fertilizers and supports circular economy.
Climate change and environmental sustainability
Climate-resilient and risk mitigation
Across multiple studies, climate changes emerge as a central threat to agrifood systems in Asia. Singapore’s climate-resilient infrastructure; water recycling and high-tech farming clusters, Taiwan’s adaptation strategies to implement a net-zero agricultural pathway, Indonesia’s and Vietnam’s shift to greener growth and circular agriculture initiatives, and Thailand’s biodiversity finance, and good aquaculture practice (GAP) standards in the sea grape farming 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. Singapore’s historical 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.
Agricultural policy reform and institutionalmodernization
Structural reforms and national development plans
Implementing structural reforms to align the agricultural sector with broader national economic goals: Indonesia is positioning agriculture as a driver of long-term economic transformation in its RPJMN 2025–2029. Thailand is fundamentally changing its agricultural extension model, transitioning from a “giver” to a “co-developer.” Indonesia’s census shows aging farmers and growth of smallholders. Malaysia and others respond with youth-oriented programs and corporate farming concepts.
Modernizing governance and farmer support systems
China’s resource allocation for rural revitalization, Indonesia’s cooperative / corporatization models, Korea’s 4th basic plan for dietary education and Taiwan’s community-based approaches all highlight cooperatives, governance reforms, and integrated planning.
Markets, trade systems and logistics
Export strategies for niche products
Taiwan’s duck egg export upgrade (welfare standards, certifications), Myanmar’s export rice varieties, Taiwan’s halal industry, Philippine Nypa cookies, sea grapes in Thailand and indigenous chicken meat in Myanmar demonstrate efforts to move into higher-value chain innovation and niche markets using local or indigenous resources. Vitenam’s 50-years agricultural success is attributed to its strong focus on export competitiveness.
Tariffs, SEZs and regional hubs
US Reciprocal Tariff impacts, Johor–Singapore special economic zone (SEZ), and Thailand’s logistics hub strategy for ASEAN show how countries manage tariffs, SEZs, and cross-border logistics to stabilize and expand agri-food trade. Myanmar, utilizing contract farming for certified rice, demonstrated strong benefit-cost ratios.
Rice distribution and information management
The study of "Reiwa Rice Riots" highlights the critical need for a fundamental revision of Japan's rice distribution policy to manage supply shocks and price volatility. Furthermore, it emphasizes the necessity for mass media to adopt a broader, less sensationalized perspective when reporting on rice, thereby improving the quality of public information and national discourse on agriculture.
Social inclusion, community, and consumer behavior
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. Community gardens in Malaysia (Klang Valley) emerges as a key social enterprise model.
Consumer preferences and nutrition transitions.
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. The Malaysian market for plant-based meat and alternative protein shows growing and responding to evolving consumer preference.
Asia’s Responses to the Issues
Asian countries are not merely targeting food security and sovereignty but restructuring food value chains to enhance resilience. 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, crop diversification from rice and seed reforms) to stabilize supply, reduce import dependence, and address malnutrition.
Countries push industry revolution (IR4.0), AI, smart farming, and advanced technology: Singapore’s urban vertical farms and rooftop gardens, Taiwan’s AI parcel mapping and disaster apps, Japan’s Al demonstration projects, 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, integrating digital agriculture into national planning.
Asian countries pursue 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, and high-tech water systems), protected areas, and greener growth trajectories.
Many countries focused on institutionalizing innovation and empowering farmers. Indonesia’s RPJMIN, China’s rural revitalization strategy, Korea’s dietary plans, and Thailand’s agricultural extension reforms showcase a continental movement toward integrated governance frameworks and more coherent policy systems. 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); Thailand aims to become an ASEAN logistic hub; Myanmar focuses on profitable export rice chains 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, Malaysia’s social enterprise models, Thailand’s healthy diet initiatives, and Philippine’s 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, tidal barriers, watershed protection), flood-resistant infrastructure and regional climate-risk monitoring systems.
They also need to integrate climate change into food sovereignty and rural policy. Rather than relying on isolated programs, nations should adopt a coherent framework that unifies land use, water, biodiversity, staple crop diversification, 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 accelerate digital and smart agriculture: AI, remote sensing, geospatial intelligence, and robotics. 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. Public-private partnership should drive innovation deployment at scale.
Economically, nations should develop interoperable logistics data systems, cold-chain infrastructure, and multimodal transport networks 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 community-based innovation ecosystems. Asia must address aging farmer populations through incentives for young people, digital capacity-building programs, and profit-sharing cooperative models. Community gardens, agricultural social responsibility framework, and entrepreneurial cooperatives should receive long-term funding to promote inclusive rural development.
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.
Concluding Remarks
Asia’s agricultural transformation is shifting from reactive problem-solving toward strategic system redesign. The 41 studies collectively illustrate that resilience requires integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation, digital innovation, institutional modernization, diversified food baskets, and socially inclusive governance. Policy recommendations—such as climate-resilient infrastructure, staple diversification, advanced digital agriculture, logistics modernization, and rural human-capital investment—are not isolated actions but interconnected pillars of long-term food-system security.
Countries like Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, China, and Thailand demonstrate that sustained transformation emerges when technology, policy coherence, market competitiveness, and social inclusion converge. The conclusion is clear: Asia is not only responding to disruptions but actively constructing a future-ready agricultural paradigm capable of delivering sustainability, sovereignty, and equitable prosperity.
General Description
In 2025, FFTC-AP platform received a total of 57 papers from 15 contracted partners in 10 countries. As of December 2, 41 papers have already been published, 7 are under reviewed or revised and nine papers were rejected. The cumulative number of articles 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 forty-one articles using ChatGPT to identify key agricultural policy trends in the Asian and Pacific region for 2025. Below is a word cloud of the results of analyzing the key phrases of those 41 manuscripts. The core areas of agricultural policy in 2025 were food security with value chains, sustainable and smart agriculture with digital technology, climate change, policy and governance, and markets with social inclusion.
Specific national policy tools to pursue these were discussed, such as coping with unstable food value chains, extreme weather and sustainable agriculture. This report briefly summarizes, based on the 41 articles from the FFTC-AP platform published in 2025, how each country is responding to these key issues.
Key-Issue Analysis
Many Asian countries are prioritizing strategies to increase local food production and reduce reliance on import and market volatility. 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), Singapore’s “30 by 30” food security strategy, 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. Malaysia concentrates on strengthening its rice seed systems and Indonesia executes a major staple diversification policy, promoting crops such as cassava and sago. 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. Japan demonstrated targeted innovation through AI projects tailored to various farming types.
Malaysia and Singapore are collaborating on food tech startups and smart floating fish farms in cross-border value chains. Indonesia has embedded a strong push for agricultural digitalization in its RPJMN 2025–2029. Waste-to-resources technologies and recycled gambier residues in Indonesia also show how nutrient recovery reduces dependence on synthetic fertilizers and supports circular economy.
Across multiple studies, climate changes emerge as a central threat to agrifood systems in Asia. Singapore’s climate-resilient infrastructure; water recycling and high-tech farming clusters, Taiwan’s adaptation strategies to implement a net-zero agricultural pathway, Indonesia’s and Vietnam’s shift to greener growth and circular agriculture initiatives, and Thailand’s biodiversity finance, and good aquaculture practice (GAP) standards in the sea grape farming 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. Singapore’s historical 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.
Implementing structural reforms to align the agricultural sector with broader national economic goals: Indonesia is positioning agriculture as a driver of long-term economic transformation in its RPJMN 2025–2029. Thailand is fundamentally changing its agricultural extension model, transitioning from a “giver” to a “co-developer.” 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, Korea’s 4th basic plan for dietary education 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, Philippine Nypa cookies, sea grapes in Thailand and indigenous chicken meat in Myanmar demonstrate efforts to move into higher-value chain innovation and niche markets using local or indigenous resources. Vitenam’s 50-years agricultural success is attributed to its strong focus on export competitiveness.
US Reciprocal Tariff impacts, Johor–Singapore special economic zone (SEZ), and Thailand’s logistics hub strategy for ASEAN show how countries manage tariffs, SEZs, and cross-border logistics to stabilize and expand agri-food trade. Myanmar, utilizing contract farming for certified rice, demonstrated strong benefit-cost ratios.
The study of "Reiwa Rice Riots" highlights the critical need for a fundamental revision of Japan's rice distribution policy to manage supply shocks and price volatility. Furthermore, it emphasizes the necessity for mass media to adopt a broader, less sensationalized perspective when reporting on rice, thereby improving the quality of public information and national discourse on agriculture.
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. Community gardens in Malaysia (Klang Valley) emerges as a key social enterprise model.
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. The Malaysian market for plant-based meat and alternative protein shows growing and responding to evolving consumer preference.
Asia’s Responses to the Issues
Asian countries are not merely targeting food security and sovereignty but restructuring food value chains to enhance resilience. 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, crop diversification from rice and seed reforms) to stabilize supply, reduce import dependence, and address malnutrition.
Countries push industry revolution (IR4.0), AI, smart farming, and advanced technology: Singapore’s urban vertical farms and rooftop gardens, Taiwan’s AI parcel mapping and disaster apps, Japan’s Al demonstration projects, 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, integrating digital agriculture into national planning.
Asian countries pursue 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, and high-tech water systems), protected areas, and greener growth trajectories.
Many countries focused on institutionalizing innovation and empowering farmers. Indonesia’s RPJMIN, China’s rural revitalization strategy, Korea’s dietary plans, and Thailand’s agricultural extension reforms showcase a continental movement toward integrated governance frameworks and more coherent policy systems. 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); Thailand aims to become an ASEAN logistic hub; Myanmar focuses on profitable export rice chains 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, Malaysia’s social enterprise models, Thailand’s healthy diet initiatives, and Philippine’s 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, tidal barriers, watershed protection), flood-resistant infrastructure and regional climate-risk monitoring systems.
They also need to integrate climate change into food sovereignty and rural policy. Rather than relying on isolated programs, nations should adopt a coherent framework that unifies land use, water, biodiversity, staple crop diversification, 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 accelerate digital and smart agriculture: AI, remote sensing, geospatial intelligence, and robotics. 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. Public-private partnership should drive innovation deployment at scale.
Economically, nations should develop interoperable logistics data systems, cold-chain infrastructure, and multimodal transport networks 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 community-based innovation ecosystems. Asia must address aging farmer populations through incentives for young people, digital capacity-building programs, and profit-sharing cooperative models. Community gardens, agricultural social responsibility framework, and entrepreneurial cooperatives should receive long-term funding to promote inclusive rural development.
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.
Concluding Remarks
Asia’s agricultural transformation is shifting from reactive problem-solving toward strategic system redesign. The 41 studies collectively illustrate that resilience requires integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation, digital innovation, institutional modernization, diversified food baskets, and socially inclusive governance. Policy recommendations—such as climate-resilient infrastructure, staple diversification, advanced digital agriculture, logistics modernization, and rural human-capital investment—are not isolated actions but interconnected pillars of long-term food-system security.
Countries like Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, China, and Thailand demonstrate that sustained transformation emerges when technology, policy coherence, market competitiveness, and social inclusion converge. The conclusion is clear: Asia is not only responding to disruptions but actively constructing a future-ready agricultural paradigm capable of delivering sustainability, sovereignty, and equitable prosperity.