Agenda: Accelerating Climate Resilience and Nutrition in Asia

A warm welcome to the 2024 Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit. Hear from the Rethink Events team on the key themes for this year’s summit, and what you can look forward to over the next three days.

• With the stark realities of climate change increasingly apparent in the Asia-Pacific region, what can we do to accelerate adaptation strategies to protect food security in the region now, and for future generations?
• How have unpredictable weather events in the past year impacted harvests, and what have been the knock-on consequences for regional and global consumers?
• How can we foster multi-stakeholder partnerships across the agri-food value chain to develop solutions that will scale? Where is the potential for cross-border, multi-agency collaboration?

Speaker:
Dr. Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State, MINISTRY OF SUSTAINABILITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, Singapore

• How are companies integrating climate resilience into their long-term strategic planning? What scenarios and forecasts should be considered in planning for future climate impacts?  How can the agri-food community come together to boost the resilience of food systems against the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss across the Asia-Pacific region? How can we build greater resilience to environmental shocks?
• How could government policies better support the transition towards agricultural methods that not only increase yield with fewer natural resources but also prioritise nutrition, climate resilience, and the well-being of growers, producers, fishermen, and foresters?
• What are the opportunities for greater diversification across agri-food when we consider crop varieties, protein sources, animal feeds, and novel food technologies?
• With rising temperatures and fluctuating weather conditions impacting on food security, how might traditional agriculture lean on indoor agtech to support each other more, rather than existing in silos? What opportunities for partnership are we seeing?
• How are companies integrating climate resilience into their long-term strategic planning? What scenarios and forecasts should be considered in planning for future climate impacts?

Speakers:
Laurence Jassogne, Head of Nature and Climate Solutions, OLAM AGRI, Singapore
Diane Boogaard, Global Head of Food System Transition, RABOBANK, Netherlands
Ho Ren Hua, Director and CEO, THAI WAH, Thailand
Anuj Maheshwari, Head of Agri-Food & Managing Director, Investment, TEMASEK, Singapore

Speaker:
Nguyen Hoang Liem, Vice General Director & Chairman, MINH PHU SEAFOOD EXPORT COMPANY/ OTANICS TECHNOLOGY, Vietnam

• As aquaculture and blue foods gain recognition as a vital source of nutrition for the APAC region, how are governments and policymakers ensuring the development of sustainable, resilient, and productive aquaculture across Asia?
• What climate adapting actions have producers taken to implement sustainable, nature-based measures that benefit incomes, ocean ecosystem revival and food and nutritional security?
• How is innovation in this category working to limit negative externalities on production capabilities, whilst encouraging a restorative and rehabilitative impact on the blue ecosystem? How has spatial analysis helped to identify regions most suited to restorative aquaculture?
• What is the monetary potential and real industry expectations of a restorative seafood production system, and how important will government initiatives be in making sure these modes of production are effectively taken up?
• With a spotlight on multi-trophic aquaculture production, how can polyculture systems support in reducing carbon emissions, ensure higher yields and drive a more efficient, regenerative, and biodiverse ocean ecosystem?

Speakers:
Su-E Yap, Director of Corporate Engagement, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, Singapore
René Benguerel, Founder and CEO, BLUEYOU, Switzerland
Adam Brennan, Chief Sustainability Officer, THAI UNION GROUP, Thailand
Brian Tsuyoshi Takeda, Founder/ Advisor, URCHINOMICS/ KELP FOREST FOUNDATION, Norway

• Tackling the climate crisis in Asia will require a multi-pronged approach, including investing in nature. With 63% of APAC’s GDP at risk from nature loss, how are financial frameworks being adapted for investment in protecting, restoring, and growing land, and land-based natural capital?
• What partnership models promise to catalyse natural capital investment and green financing in the Asia-Pacific region? How is the private sector being empowered to use nature to protect and enhance its own assets by offering up capital for new nature-based ventures?
• How can we address policy barriers to investment? What investment vehicles are proving successful, while also mainstreaming nature into the investment agenda?
• What is the role of the carbon market in strengthening the investment case for nature? How does it provide a price signal to investors, and how accurate are those signals? How could the setting of metric standards support with this?

Moderator:
Adam Anders, Managing Partner, ANTERRA CAPITAL, Netherlands

Speakers:
Hugh Bromley, Head of Food, Agriculture and Nature, BLOOMBERGNEF, Australia
Flora Ji, Global Vice President Nature Based Solutions, SHELL, Singapore
Martin Lemoine, Unit Head Agribusiness, ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, Singapore
Sanjiv Louis, Director, Investments, NEW FORESTS ASIA, Singapore

• As we strive to fulfil and maintain global food demand in the face of a rapidly changing environment and an expanding population, how are plant breeding disciplines and technologies advancing to produce stress-resilient and high-yielding crops?
• How has technology evolved? What’s the significance of genomics-assisted breeding (GAB) for improving biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, and how are new techniques such as CRISPR-Cas, SDNs, ODM, RdDM, agroinfiltration, synthetic genomics, cisgenesis and intragenesis performing?
• Is the legislation and investment landscape in gene-edited plant breeding ready for significant breakthroughs, and what potential outcomes might we anticipate from updated policy? How is regulation evolving?
• How are different countries across Asia-Pacific weighing up the pros and cons of GE and GM and what could this area of innovation look like in the future for the region?

Moderator:
Siang Hee Tan, Executive Director, CROPLIFE ASIA, Singapore

Speakers:
Bo Zhang, Associate Professor and Soybean Breeding Lead, VIRGINIA TECH, USA
Valasubramanian Ramaiah, APAC Genome Editing Policy Leader, CORTEVA AGRISCIENCE, India
Yvonne Pinto, Director General, IRRI, Philippines

• How are governments, industry stakeholders and research institutions collaborating to create a concise and harmonised dialogue to advance the commercialisation of novel food technologies?
• How can we ensure complementary learning amongst regulatory frameworks and bridge data gaps to accelerate approval timelines and smoothen pathways to commercial success for new proteins and novel ingredients?
• How are governments creating regulatory hotspots where companies can produce and test novel foods in safe and regulated environments to encourage consumer confidence?
• Where do current levels of public acceptance stand in the region and how important does the role of regulatory approval play in novel food reassurance and risk communication?
• To what extent do religious factors impact the future of novel food approvals? What has been the influence of the Islamic councils ruling of Cultivated Meat as Halal on consumer opinions and government assistance?

Moderator:
Megumi Avigail Yoshitomi, Director, JAPAN ASSOCIATION FOR CELLULAR AGRICULTURE, Japan

Speakers:
Ziva Hamama, Head of Food Risk Management Department, MINISTRY OF HEALTH, Israel
Dewi Suratty, Founder & CEO, DAWN HORIZON, Singapore
Eun Mi Kim, Head of the Medical Convergence, GYEONGBUK TECHNOPARK, South Korea

Speaker:
Frederieke Reiners, Vice President Business New Food, GEA GROUP, Germany

• What opportunities do precision fermentation and biomanufacturing offer the APAC region in achieving food security in a more volatile climate?
• What partnerships in the precision fermentation ecosystem are crucial to ensure collective scale and limit bottleneck challenges as demand for microbial based food production rises?
• As microbial technology becomes more refined and scaling production becomes a priority, how can industry stakeholders forge joint ventures to drive a holistic approach to precision fermentation in the region?
• How can prominent precision fermentation players across different sectors align narratives and connect to outsource work to ensure CapEx-friendly strategies?
• What role do CDMOs (contract development and manufacturing organizations) play in avoiding capital intensive distractions to scale? How are they improving operational efficiencies and optimising fermentation to drive yields and production?

Moderator: 
Mirte Gosker, Managing Director, GFI APAC, Singapore

Speakers:
Francisco M. Codoner, CEO, SCALEUP BIO, Singapore
Ian Roberts, CTO, BÜHLER, Switzerland
Bart Van Hooland, Managing Director, THIA VENTURES, Belgium
Joon Young Jung, VP, Head of Bio R&D, CJ CHEILJEDANG, South Korea
Troels Nørgaard, Chief Strategy Officer, SOLAR FOODS, Finland

• How can we overcome the significant adoption barriers of high implementation costs, technological complexity, and data management issues of precision agriculture, especially for small-scale and resource-limited farmers?
• How is the growing need to manage and monitor water impacting market demand for smart irrigation techniques in Asia Pacific? How are advances in wireless technologies contributing to market expansion, including the integration of Wi-Fi and cloud-based systems with soil moisture sensors for real-time field data, and the use of GPS for tracking irrigation machinery?
• What has been the role of drones in transforming the agricultural sector for the APAC region? How have advances in technology fuelled demand for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with advanced sensors and imaging capabilities?
• What advances are we seeing in sensor technology where soil moisture levels can be measured as well as weather tracking for improved crop management and yield?
• What advancements are we seeing in aerial crop management and carbon emission tracking? What opportunities does this open for vital monitoring and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture?

Speakers:
Simone Barg, Senior VP, Agricultural Solutions Asia Pacific, BASF, Singapore
Sharon Tay, Director, Food Manufacturing and Agri-Technology, ENTERPRISE SINGAPORE, Singapore
Miguel de Andrés-Clavera, Group Product Manager, Partner Innovation, GOOGLE, Singapore
Abhay Swarup Mittal, CEO, AETOSKY, Singapore

• With climate shocks affecting food production across the world, how is the indoor agtech narrative addressing food security, water conservation, and biodiversity challenges collectively?
• How are precision technologies like AI, machine learning, and IoT supporting farmers to monitor and optimise lighting, temperature, humidity, nutrient concentration, irrigation, air exchange rate, and growth cycles? What is the effect on the economic efficiency and carbon footprint of operations?
• What is the impact of increasingly optimised growing conditions on the sensory properties and nutritional profile of produce? Does precision growing allow controlled environment agronomists and vertical farmers to tailor the characteristics of their products?
• How can we promote collaboration and data sharing across the indoor agtech sector in Asia-Pacific? How can we create a united industry voice?
• What steps can we take now to accelerate the indoor agtech movement in Asia-Pacific, and what is the anticipated scale-up timeline? What could be the impact of indoor agtech on the region’s long-term self-sufficiency?

Speakers:
Jay Desan, Co-Founder, BOOMGROW, Malaysia
Lyndal Hugo, Co-Founder, ORLAR, Vietnam
Ard Van de Kreeke, CEO & Founder, GROWY, Netherlands
Edwin Ong, Director/ Founder, ARIANETECH, Singapore
John Baker, Chief Farming and China Business Officer, PERFECTION FRESH, Australia

• Although funding levels dropped for agri-food tech startups in 2023, Asia-Pacific continues to be a hotbed for innovation. Which emerging technologies in ag biotech, alt-proteins and farm-tech are the new stars of the region’s agri-food tech sector?
• Digital tools are the most popular tech categories to invest in to support climate adaptation for smallholder farmers. How can we ensure that investment is targeted at projects and solutions that are technology-driven, environmentally sustainable, and impactful?
• How can we ensure that start-ups get the building blocks they need to scale up and commercialise their solutions? How are start-ups in the region scaling from Series-B to -C to -D? How can start-ups in this sector attract later-stage investment?
• How are investment levels faring across the different agri-food categories? What is the investment appetite in agriculture, aquaculture, indoor agtech, alternative proteins and nutrition?

Moderator:
Michal Klar, Founding Partner, BETTER BITE VENTURES, New Zealand

Speakers:
Leow Li-Vern, Director of Investments, SEVIORA CAPITAL, Singapore
Subhadeep Sanyal, Partner, OMNIVORE, India
Claire Pribula, Managing Director & Co-Founder, THE YIELD LAB ASIA PACIFIC, Singapore

Meet the early-stage start-ups from all areas of the agri-food value chain whose technologies drive us toward a more efficient, sustainable and food secure future. From Pre-Seed and Seed-Stage through to Series-A, we’ll showcase the start-ups showing most promise for scale-up and market adoption.

Following a busy first day of the summit, you are invited to relax and reconnect with industry colleagues and new faces over evening networking drinks. We will also announce the winner from the early-stage start-up pitching.

Welcome back to Day Two of the 2024 Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit, where we move our focus to how agri-food players implement new technologies, investment and sustainable practices to reduce emissions across the value chain.

• With food and agriculture accounting for a third of global emissions, and being highly vulnerable to climate shocks, how can we accelerate momentum on the commitments made by major agri-food players to reduce emissions from food and agriculture systems?
• At what points along the supply chain can the greatest impact be made, and how is the industry targeting investment at these opportunities?
• As pressure for carbon footprint declarations mounts, how are food brands and retailers using carbon footprint labelling and carbon tracking platforms to communicate their carbon reduction scores with consumers? How is technology supporting accurate carbon scoring?
• To what extent are metrics being quantified, tracked, measured, and compared regarding progress?

• How are agri-food corporations assisting farmers in transitioning to regenerative methods? What steps are they taking to manage risks and provide financial support or incentives, considering the time required to observe results from this transition?
• What do the economics in transitioning to regenerative agriculture look like for growers? What new financial mechanisms are needed to catalyse action on the ground?
• What partnerships and collaborations are evolving between technology companies, growers and food brands to develop frameworks to monitor, measure and report impact?
• How are regenerative agriculture and sustainable agricultural practices sequestering carbon while addressing scope 3 emissions? How can we forge industry partnerships to unlock capital to accelerate implementation?
• What are the long-term objectives for major food corporations regarding regenerative agriculture, and how can they plan to integrate it into their R&D and business strategy? What does the sourcing strategy look like for regeneratively grown products and ingredients?

Moderator:
Perpetua George, Managing Director, Asia Pacific Sustainability – Biodiversity, PWC, Malaysia

Speakers:
Nana Kuenkel, Cluster Director Agriculture and Food, GIZ THAILAND, Thailand
Shailendra Mishra, Global Head of Sustainability: Grains, Oilseeds, Edible Oil, Wheat Milling, Feed & Freight, OLAM AGRI, Singapore
Ira Noviarti, Executive Vice President, UNILEVER, Indonesia
Stephan Weise, Managing Director for Asia, ALLIANCE OF BIOVERSITY INTERNATIONAL AND THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR TROPICAL AGRICULTURE (CIAT), Malaysia

• How are developments in data technology, such as deforestation mapping and AI-powered carbon measurement tools, accelerating progress towards more sustainable supply chains?
• How are technology partners providing companies with detailed data and insights on sourced ingredients, including their social and environmental impact? How is new regulation driving the market interest and adoption of these tools?
• How granular can does the data get, and how can famers on the ground in origin countries support data gathering?
• How are major food and beverage brands investing in this technology, and how does it support the sustainability credentials of their products?

Moderator:
Gary Scattergood, Editor in Chief, AGTECH NAVIGATOR, Singapore

Speakers:
Anita Neville, Chief Sustainability and Communications Officer, GOLDEN AGRI-RESOURCES (GAR), Singapore
Timothy Loh, Regional Director, S.E. Asia & Oceania, U.S. SOYBEAN EXPORT COUNCIL (USSEC), Singapore

One of the most interactive sessions of the programme, each roundtable discussion group is hosted by an industry expert on a specific theme offering you a valuable opportunity to network, brainstorm solutions and discuss ideas with your peers on shared areas of interest.

• Valuing Ocean Biodiversity: Ensuring Marine Protection and Productivity
  Host: Su-E Yap, Director of Corporate Engagement, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY, Singapore
• Cross-Sector Synergies: Unlocking Value from Natural Capital
  Host: Flora Ji, Global Vice President Nature Based Solutions, SHELL, Singapore
• Biomass vs Yield: Easing Precision Fermentation Bottlenecks
  Host: Francisco Codoner, CEO, SCALEUP BIO, Singapore
• Powering Climate Action: Who are you Partnering With and Why?
  Host: Adam Maine, Head of External Relations, CH4 GLOBAL INC, Australia
• From Farm to Fork: Balancing Sustainability, Food Safety & Nutrition
  Host: Philipp Fritschi, Director GF Food Technology Asia, BÜHLER GROUP, China
• Investment: Navigating An Uncertain Future of Cross-Sectoral Forces
  Host: Sarah Nolet, Co-Founder and General Partner, TENACIOUS VENTURES, Australia
• Master Planning of New Cities and Food Systems
  Host: Henry Gordon-Smith, Founder & CEO, AGRITECTURE, USA
• Weighing up the Trends and Challenges of Developments in Plant Biotechnology
  Host: Siang Hee Tan, Executive Director, CROPLIFE ASIA, Singapore
• Drivers and Barriers to Adoption of Regenerative Agriculture
  Host: Yujiro Okuni, Head of Agri-Innovation Unit, SUMITOMO CORPORATION, Japan
• Can Smallholder Rice Farmers Benefit from Carbon Markets?
  Host: Tobias Breunig, Advisor Agriculture Finance, GIZ, Thailand
• How Brands Can Capitalise on Gut Health
  Host: Jeremy Lim, Consultant Surgeon, Public Health Physician and CEO, ASIAN MICROBIOME LIBRARY (AMiLi), Singapore

• With agricultural biologicals gaining attention for their ability to sequester carbon in the soil, what are the latest breakthroughs in biological crop protection, including biopesticides, biofertilisers, and microbial inoculants?
• What are the main challenges hindering the implementation of biologicals, and how can collaboration between industry, academia, and regulatory bodies address these challenges?
• What key areas for advancement in biotechnology, genomics, and precision agriculture are needed to improve the effectiveness, sustainability, and affordability of biologicals?
• How is the use of renewable hydrogen decarbonising the fertiliser sector? What are the opportunities and challenges for this area of innovation?

Moderator:
Ryan Rakestraw, Director, TEMASEK, Singapore

Speakers:
Renuka Diwan, Co-Founder & CEO, BIOPRIME AGRISOLUTIONS, India
Yujiro Okuni, Head, Agri-Innovation Unit, SUMITOMO, Japan
Rishita Changede, CEO & Founder, TEORA, Singapore

• What are the latest digital innovations and tools available for farmers to accurately and efficiently measure soil health? Which tools will help map terrains to better understand the characteristics of different soils of the Asia continent?
• What is the current state of adoption and measurement of soil health practices in the APAC region from both voluntary and compliance perspectives? What support systems are available for farmers to share best practices and engage in peer-to-peer learning?
• How do soil carbon prices in countries like India need to adjust to encourage wider adoption of conservation agriculture for carbon credit generation? Which methodologies are helping to measure and define the market opportunities?

Speakers:
Kazuki Sakamoto, Head of ASEAN Business, SAGRI, Japan
Tegan Nock, Co-Founder and COO, LOAM BIO, Australia

• How can we scale up solutions and technologies that have emerged to spearhead Asia Pacific’s low carbon rice transformation?
• To what extend can restructuring rice production systems alleviate methane reduction as well as enhance crop yields, improve grain quality and generate higher product value for farmers?
• Having reached an essential point where a move to low carbon farming is the imperative, what role does government policy play in catalysing a transition to decarbonised rice cultivation?
• Who is initiating the economic incentive and market demand drivers that are needed for low carbon rice farming to take off? How will multi-stakeholder, public-private partnerships help mobilise farmers to connect with the technology and innovation necessary to accelerate the transition towards decarbonising rice cultivation?
• With rice producers being amongst the most vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change, how can increasing the value of low carbon rice through official certification and premium prices allow farmers to access the full benefits of adopting low carbon systems?

Moderator:
Ling Min Hoon, Investment Director, GENZERO, Singapore

Speakers:
Dhruv Sawhney, CEO, RIZE, Singapore
Ezhil Subbian, Founder & CEO, STRING BIO, India
Dirk Jan Kennes, Head of Food & Agriculture Research Asia, RABOBANK, Hong Kong

• What is the crucial role of digital technology in the aquaculture industry in ensuring streamlined production and improved business function and efficiency?
• As the urgency for reviving ocean ecosystems increases, how is the region increasingly diversifying into land based, digitally controlled environments to minimise environmental impact and improve aquaculture yields?
• What is on the horizon for Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS), and what work needs to be done to expand their capacity in boosting land-based production of aquatic proteins?
• Amid difficult climatic ocean conditions, as governments look to adapt their tools to plug nutritional protein gaps, how can policymakers create an environment for a fluent transition to the land and the digital?
• In ensuring the risk of loses are not directly born to small holders, how are farming communities being supported with technology uptake and what barriers are slowing the rate at which these digital innovations are reaching the ground?

Speakers:
Shane Hunter, CEO, AQUABIOTECH GROUP, Malta
Karim Ghannam, Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer, 8F, Hong Kong
Thanh My Nguyen, Founder & Chairman, RYNAN TECHNOLOGIES, Vietnam
Rajamanohar Somasundaram, CEO & Founder, AQUACONNECT, India

• With just five years remaining for the world to halve its emissions to avoid the worst effects of climate change, how is protein diversification supporting the food industry in meeting its net zero targets? With South Korea, Japan, China, and Singapore among the top quartile of countries spending on R&D, does APAC look set to meet climate targets by 2060 through a transition to alternative proteins?
• As the plant-based market matures and reacts to sector turbulence, how are existing and new entry companies translating past learnings into new business models? How are fermentation and cultivated meat production technologies being leveraged to produce hybrid and blended plant-based products?
• With consumer pressure to employ more effective value-based metrics in plant-based products, to what extent can hybrid and blended meat succeed in improving product taste, texture, and nutritional performance?
• How could agricultural policies shift the focus from a limited range of crops, many of which are used for animal feed, to promoting a wider range of protein sources to contribute towards biodiversity enhancement?

Speaker:
Bruce Friedrich, Co-Founder and President, THE GOOD FOOD INSTITUTE, USA

• As the need to diversify the food system increases in urgency, what novel products, ingredients and technologies might we expect to see by 2050?
• As the cultivated meat industry matures, how essential are marketing strategies in ensuring novel foods or cell-based products can be understood as inviting, mass-mainstream initiatives vital to food security and not just short-term technological developments?
• How are companies ensuring consumer perceptions of cultivated meat are not lost in technology? What are the strategies and commercial messaging helping accelerate pathways to adoption?
• What is the potential of premium, cultivated, meat products in offering the opportunity for consumer access to affordable guilty pleasures and eating luxury for less?
• As the cultivated meat industry enters a new wave of approvals, how are successful companies’ road mapping for the future to ensure commercial models can achieve long term scale?

Moderator:
Jennifer Woollford, Director and Founder, NEON LEADERS, UK

Speakers:
Jeff Tripician, CEO, MEATABLE, USA
George Peppou, Founder and CEO, VOW, Australia
Sam Perkins, CEO, CELLULAR AGRICULTURE AUSTRALIA, Australia

• As the need to dramatically reduce GHG emissions in the agri-food sector rises, what are the latest breakthroughs and innovations in animal feed that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
• How can seaweed be feasibly scaled to commercial levels for the animal sector and bring mass carbon reduction opportunity to the agri-food industry?
• How important are commercial partnerships in ensuring that the latest decarbonisation solutions can get to market in stable ways and to secure farmers access to the monetary benefits?

• As we work to accelerate the development of agri-food solutions with great impact potential, how is investment activity showing a renewed optimism within the sector?
• How are investors working to shore up portfolio investments? Where access to cheap capital may have papered over technology inefficiencies, how can entrepreneurs revise business models, setting a clear path for profitability?
• How is the process of “natural selection” accelerating the development of solutions that show the greatest promise? Which are the technologies that survived the turbulent economic climate of the past year, and came out stronger?
• What are the non-dilutive funding options that can be accessed to help start-ups commercialise? How can scale-up be enabled?

Moderator:
Sarah Nolet, Co-Founder and General Partner, TENACIOUS VENTURES, Australia

Speakers:
Marisa Soares, SVP (Innovation & Impact – Africa & Asia), YARA INTERNATIONAL, Singapore
Max Han, CEO & Managing Director, SOPOONG VENTURES, South Korea
Zachary Lee, Senior Investment Principal, THE RADICAL FUND, Singapore

Meet the later-stage start-ups from across the agri-food value chain whose technologies drive us toward a more efficient, sustainable and food secure future. From Series-A through to Series-D, we’ll present the start-ups showing most promise for scale-up and market adoption.

Join us for a morning of networking and discussion, featuring inspiring women leaders in the agri-food industry.

Open to all female delegates, this breakfast will feature informal hosted roundtable discussions and will be an excellent opportunity to connect, share insights, and celebrate the leadership of women in the agri-food sector.

Discussions will range from the crucial role of education, mentorship, and policy in advancing women’s roles in this sector, while also acknowledging the important role women have always played in advancing agri-food systems in the APAC region.

A warm welcome to the final day of the 2024 Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit, which will focus on access to nutrition. Hear from the Rethink Events team on the key themes coming up today and what you can look forward to.

• Looking at long-term strategies to strengthen food security for the region, what can individual countries do to buffer supply chain disruption? How can diversified import/export sources minimise the impact of local crisis?
• While innovation in novel food has boasted promising potential in augmenting localised food production, it has also been received with caution. How can we balance innovation with food safety and what more can be done to build consumer trust for novel foods?
• What progress have we seen in the furthering of science and technology in food? How are new approval frameworks driving the commercialisation of those technologies?
• When considering food security for countries across the APAC region, what work is being done to ensure that food programmes include nutrition, and quality of nutrition, as a key progress indicator?

Speaker:
XiuLing Guo, Chief Executive Officer, NURASA, Singapore

• As the pace of urbanisation quickens in Asia-Pacific, so too does the threat of urban food insecurity. What opportunities are there to innovate at multiple levels to transform urban areas for food security and nutrition?
• From high-intensity aquaculture, high-tech indoor and vertical farming to cultivated protein production and microbial fermentation: how are innovative agri-food industries helping to build resilience and improve the self-sufficiency of Asia’s megacities?
• What has been the effect on diet from rural-to-urban migration? How do food demand and consumer preference alter how, where and what food is produced, supplied, and consumed?
• Looking ahead, what do we anticipate the cities of the future to look like? How can policymakers develop an urban food agenda that considers infrastructure, transport, clean water and waste management?
• How are countries addressing localised food production? What are the challenges and opportunities to ensuring everyone has access to affordable healthy diets?

Speakers:
Paul Gauthier, Professor of Controlled Environmental Agriculture, THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND, Australia
Eleanor Choong, Founder and COO, SUNWAY XFARMS, Malaysia
Meiny Prins, Executive Chairman, PRIVA GROUP, Netherlands

• How are development initiatives and coordinated programmes supporting regional rural development for sustainable agrifood system transformation and global food security?
• How can investment incentives promote better food production practices that in turn help to build climate resilience within the agri-food sector?
• How are public-private partnerships (PPPs) currently supporting the APAC agri-food sector? What has been their role in creating greater collaboration across the ecosystem? How can we work to strengthen PPPs to support emerging innovation and bring more solutions to market?
• How are frameworks like South-South Cooperation helping to narrow technical knowledge gaps to ensure food security across regions? What can be learned from projects like that of the Vietnam-Africa policy dialogue where a knowledge exchange for sustainable rice value chains was fostered?
• What is the role of women in building robust regional ecosystems? How are they being supported to drive forward development projects

Moderator:
Chisa Ogura, Co-Founder & General Manager, MEROS CONSULTING, Japan

Speakers:
Aravindan Srinivasan, Executive Director Climate Action, AVPN, India
Amy Melissa Chua, Head, Partnerships, GROW ASIA, Philippines
Binu Cherian, Country Manager, HARVESTPLUS, India
Dawn Chan, CEO, CENTRE FOR IMPACT INVESTING AND PRACTICES, Singapore
Shusaku Ogawa, Vice President Agriculture, Farmland, Forestry and Natural Capital Investment, DEVELOPMENT BANK OF JAPAN, Japan

• As attitudes around the importance of gut health become more mainstream, how can the food industry harness learnings from the health sector to ensure targeted and appropriate innovations in food solutions?
• How can medical and pharmaceutical practitioners educate key players in the health and nutritional food sector to utilise the most applicable functional ingredients?
• Focussing on child nutrition and healthy ageing, how can major food brands ensure notions of the gut-brain axis are considered? How will fortifying health, nutrition and medical aspects into products and diets not only optimise personal physical health but also for broader society welfare and development?
• Where lies the potential of medical voices in validating health based technological innovation and encouraging consumer uptake and investor confidence?

Moderator:
Kelvin Ng, Managing Partner Asia, GREEN BRIDGE PARTNERS, Singapore

Speakers:
Jim Flatt, Co-Founder and CEO, BRIGHTSEED, USA
Jeremy Lim, Consultant Surgeon, Public Health Physician and CEO, ASIAN MICROBIOME LIBRARY (AMILI), Singapore
Mona Manghani, Consultant Rheumatologist & Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician, TAN TOCK SENG HOSPITAL, Singapore
Charles Johnson,  Emergency Physician & Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician, HOPE MEDFLIGHT ASIA, Singapore

• What are the primary nutritional challenges in Asia and how are key stakeholders looking to tackle issues of stunting, wasting, obesity and malnourishment in the food system?
• How do varying nutritional needs coexist within regional populations, and how can we separate this spectrum into Asia’s triple burden, looking at overnutrition, undernutrition and hidden hunger?
• How are food and ingredient companies taking more targeted approaches to fortification and how are they innovating to ensure they can target both the served and underserved communities?
• With large companies containing the influence to shape the nutritional landscape of the agri-food system, what incentives do they have to ensure everyone has access to affordable healthy diets?
• What impetus should be placed on government bodies to improve affordable and accessible nutrition and how can public private partnerships help in paving a way towards a nutrition-centric food landscape?

Moderator:
Tingmin Koe, Editor, NUTRAINGREDIENTS-ASIA, Singapore

Speakers:
Corine Tap, President Asia, FRIESLANDCAMPINA, Singapore
Marco Michielsen, Vice President R&D AMEA, MONDELĒZ INTERNATIONAL, Singapore
Peemdej Utsahajit, Director of Open Innovation, CHAROAN POKPHAND FOODS, Thailand
Sze Tan, Executive Director SIFBI, A*STAR, Singapore
Toshiharu Tanaka, R&D Planning Specialist, KEWPIE CORPORATION, Japan

• With COP28 UAE acknowledging the growing health impacts from the climate crisis, how was nutrition written into a new breakthrough declaration?
• How could government policy incentivise dietary shifts and drive innovative sustainable practices at every stage of our food systems to support both nutrition and environmental goals? How can we improve diets for both human and planetary health?

Moderator:
Maarten Goossens, Founding Partner, ANTERRA CAPITAL, Netherlands

Speaker:
Gunhild Anker Stordalen, Founder and Executive Chair, EAT FOUNDATION, Norway

• How are retailers preparing for the economic shifts in food production in the advent of an increasingly stressed agri-food system? What do retailers need from the industry to adapt to a changing environment?
• With farmers and growers bearing a disproportionate share of the risk in food supply chains, how might business dynamics change? How will retailers navigate the challenges of spiralling production costs, and low market returns?
• As certain fruits and vegetables become increasingly more difficult to grow in warmer climates and to a consistently high quality, how will retailers navigate consumer demand and rising production costs? Can retailers afford to pay more for produce grown in high-tech environments?
• Looking ahead, how might retail have changed in 10-years’ time? What work can be done by retailers now to future proof their business and protect customers?

• How can we adapt traits for climate resilience, taste and nutrition allowing a more diverse set of crops to be grown in controlled-environment farms?
• What is the impact of increasingly optimised growing conditions on the sensory properties and nutritional profile of produce?
• Which specialty crops and varieties are allowing vertical farms and high-tech greenhouses to access new customers and increase revenues?
• For new crops being developed, how can growers build partnerships with buyers to ensure they are matching demand?
• How can farmers build profitability through selling their produce as an ingredient, producing their own end-product or partnering with established food brands to increase revenues from their produce?

Moderator:
Henry Gordon-Smith, Founder & CEO, AGRITECTURE, USA

Speaker:
Jamie Burrows, Founder and CEO, VERTICAL FUTURE, UK

• With clear commercial growth potential in the seaweed sector, how have research, innovation and investments into novel seaweed varieties opened the door to new unrealised markets?
• How are large corporates and food brands approaching the seaweed sector and where does their attention lie? How can seaweed be utilised in broader industries looking into bioplastics, bio stimulants, feed additives and alternative proteins?
• What are the core challenges facing the farming of seaweed in the region and what targeted innovations are available at the pain point of production?
• With the capacity of smallholders essential to the seaweed ecosystem, what work is being done to augment their capabilities to deliver and manage sustainable and efficient farm performance?
• How is legislation acting as a barrier to end-product uptake in emerging seaweed sectors? What are the market realities for novel biobased seaweed products and how can policy ensure legislation does not limit the scale and speed at which these products are adopted?

Moderator:
Lesly Goh, Senior Technology Advisor & former CTO, WORLD BANK GROUP, Indonesia

Speakers:
Utari Octavianty, Chief Sustainability Officer, ARUNA, Indonesia
Jang K Kim, Professor, INCHEON NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, South Korea
Simon Davis, CEO, SEADLING, Malaysia
Nelson Vadassery, CEO & Co-Founder, SEA6 ENERGY, India
Nick Hill, CEO & Co-Founder, COAST 4C, Australia

• When we consider the level of investment that has already gone into scaling technologies for sustainability and security in agri-food, how can we measure the impact of those investments?
• What are the challenges of measuring impact, and how can we set agreed impact indicators when navigating complex and dynamic systems, multiple and diverse stakeholders, and long and uncertain timelines?
• What are some of the best metrics and indicators for measuring impact? How can platforms develop for nature finance support with measurement, reporting and verification?

Speakers:
Patricia Chu, Managing Director, MANA IMPACT PARTNERS, Singapore
Marie Cheong, Founding Partner,WAVEMAKER IMPACT, Singapore

• What does the year ahead look like for companies across the agri-food tech sector as the dust settles after a period of investor cautiousness?
• As funding comes available, what are investors looking for when expanding their portfolios and what differentiation is important to see?
• What areas of the agri-food tech space hold promise and excitement, and what solutions are investors looking for?
• What kind of financing, other than VC dollars, is needed to help sectors such as indoor agtech or alternative proteins continue to mature and reach scale?

Moderator:
Adam Lyle, Executive Chairman, PADANG & CO, Singapore

Speakers:
Ritu Verma, Co-Founder and Managing Director, ANKUR CAPITAL, India
Phil Morle, Partner, MAIN SEQUENCE VENTURES, Australia
John Friedman, Asia Director, AGFUNDER, Singapore
Matilda Ho, Founder & Managing Director, BITS X BITES, China
Erich Sieber, Founding General Partner, PEAKBRIDGE, United Arab Emirates