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Day One - Monday, 14 September 2009
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8am | Registration, Morning coffee and tea
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9am | Chairperson's welcome remarks
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| | Mr Hock Aun, Khoo , Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Cosmo Biofuels Group,
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| Leveraging on state regulation in developing regional agribusiness ventures |
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9.30am | Keynote speaker: Establishing the importance of agricultural fundamentals to urge government investments in the agribusiness sector
- Pinpointing the importance of investing in sustainable practices of food fiber production and establishing an ethical value chain to improve long term food security
- Outlining the effects of climate change and recommending policies that will ensure a steady supply
- Highlighting how improvement on infrastructure, water and waste management facilities will help develop the agricultural sector in emerging markets
- Examining how the government can promote ecologically sustainable agricultural industries while limiting market distortions in agricultural trade and provision?
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10am | Regulators’ panel: Examining why governmental initiatives are critical to sustaining the long term viability of agricultural investment
- Reviewing the effects of the governmental production and trading policies on the progress of regional agribusiness
- Addressing the responses and recommendations by the private sector towards government policies
- Analysing practical feasibility of entering into the agribusiness sector by selecting investment interest areas to pursue in
- Emphasising the benefi ts for the private sector to invest in agriculture
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| | Mr Sumiter Singh Broca, Policy Officer, Policy Assistance Branch, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Ms Thi Quynh Chi Tran , Vice Head of Science Management Division, Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam Mr Apichart Jongskul, Secretary-General, Office of Agricultural Economics, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives Mr Marriz Agbon, President, Philippine Agricultural Development and Commercial Corporation Moderator: Mr David Shearer , Agribusiness Research Program Manager, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
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10.30am | Morning networking refreshments
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| Outlining the risks and benefits of investing in agricultural funds |
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11am | Institutional Investors’ panel: Allocating to agricultural commodities in your investment portfolio
- What role does agriculture play in an investment portfolio - a good opportunity in its own right or as a means of diversification?
- Does agriculture offer an effective inflation hedge?
- How do environmental and sustainability outcomes influence the decision to allocate to agriculture?
- What investment vehicles are available for gaining exposure to agriculture and what are the benefits and risks of each?
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| | Mr Rodney Lake , Senior Investment Analyst , George Washington University Investment Office Moderator: Mr Tim Hornibrook, Division Director, Macquarie Agricultural Funds Management, Macquarie Group
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11.45am | Agri Fund panel: Generating portfolio profits through launching agrifunds in support of agribusinesses
- Selecting the best fund allocations by evaluating winning and losing crop classes
- Analysing the changing food patterns in light of Asia's increasing population and purchasing power
- Examining the strategies launched by US and European agricultural funds and the implications for Asia
- Which commodities will rise as staple products?
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| | Mr Detlef Schön , Chief Executive Officer, Aquila Capital Green Assets GmbH
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12.30pm | Networking Lunch
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| Investing in modern technology for sustainable production of agricultural goods |
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2pm | Using technological innovation to optimise resources and enhance farm productivity
- Mechanising selected production processes to eradicate operational inefficiencies
- Uncovering technologies that enable economical farm supervision
- Examining internal and external factors influencing farm production to justify allocation for technological and man power requirements
- Overcoming issues and challenges in implementing technology driven farm operations in order to determine the optimal input use
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2.30pm | Achieving sustainable agriculture and increasing farm productivity through plant biotechnology and crop protection
- Understanding the role of continuous research and application of plant science in developing seed technologies
- Increasing the level of education on crop protection products and natural resource management to increase crop yield
- Adapting to climate challenges by encouraging public-private research collaboration and integrating solutions
- Providing access to scalable information technologies for farmers to receive weather, crops, market alerts and early warning systems to help them make the right decision for sustainability and productivity
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3pm | Speed Networking
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3.15pm | Afternoon break
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| Examining ways to improve crop yield in order to meet increasing demands |
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3.45pm | Farm input showcase: Seeds, fertilizers and herbicides: Choosing products that increase efficiencies while minimising direct costs
- Understanding secondary market movements and developments to appraise the implications on agricultural economies and fi nancial markets
- Outlining strategies in selecting high yield variety to ensure the sustainability of farm inputs
- Determining when to integrate sections of the value chain to strengthen agricultural portfolios
- Enhancing the contribution of distributors in the improvement and expansion of the value chain
Seed generation:
Jen-Chyuan Lee, Director, Food & Fertilizer Technology Center for the Asian and Pacific Region, Taiwan
Biosecurity, diversity, and plant genetic resource: John Lovett, Chairman, Cooperative Research Centre for National Plant Biosecurity, Australia
Herbicide and crop protection: Andrew Guthrie, Head of Crop Protection for Asia Pacific, Syngenta, Singapore |
| | Dr Jen-Chyuan Lee, Director, Food & Fertilizer Technology Center for the Asian and Pacific Region Mr John Lovett, Chairman, Cooperative Research Centre for National Plant Biosecurity Mr Andrew Guthrie , Region Head, Asia Pacific Crop Protection, Syngenta Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
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4.45pm | Infrastructure Panel: Improving infrastructure facilities to meet the increasing demands from agricultural and food industries
- Summarising food security concerns to outline the requirements for agricultural and food infrastructure
- What are the infrastructures available and where are the investment opportunities?
- Outlining the critical factors in shifting to advanced infrastructures
- Identifying challenges and recommending solutions in establishing and upgrading agricultural infrastructures to facilitate investors in making informed business decisions
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| | Mr John Warda , Executive Manager, Group Operations, ABB Grain Limited Mr Leslie Cheong, Director, Food Supply & Technology Department , Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore Ms Gemma Gordon, President, SA Road Transport Association (& Macklin Transport)
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5.30pm | Interactive Roundtable: Examining essential investments to secure an independent farming facility
Table 1: Rice
Rajeev Raina, Head of Rice, Olam International Ltd
Table 2: Cocoa
Deborah Lim, General Manager, Arjamaro Commodities Fund
Table 3: Palm oil
Khoo Hock Aun, Managing Director, Cosmo Biofuels Berhad
Table 4: Agricultural technology (Knowledge and skills transfer)
Martin Gibson, Stewardship Director, Crop Life Asia |
| | Mr. Rajeev Raina, Senior Vice President and Head of Rice Division , Olam International Pte Limited Mr Hock Aun, Khoo , Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Cosmo Biofuels Group,
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6pm | Chairman’s closing remarks
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| | Mr Hock Aun, Khoo , Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Cosmo Biofuels Group,
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Day Two - Tuesday, 15 September 2009
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8am | Registration, Morning coffee and tea
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9am | Chairperson Welcome remarks
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| Maximising the potential of the projected surge in major Asian agricultural economies |
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9.15am | China Keynote Panel: Qualifying the resiliency of the Chinese agricultural economy to bridge the perception gap of their domestic markets
- Appraising government policies that strengthen investments and how this will attract more investments into China’s agricultural sector
- Building a strong domestic agricultural market by specifying mechanisms that help insulate the Chinese economic landscape from global agricultural trade
- Tapping into resources that define market opportunities based on fluctuating consumer needs
- Identifying Asian resource rich countries that will contribute to supplying the needs of the Chinese population
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10am | India Keynote Panel: Discovering untapped opportunities in the Indian agricultural sector: How can we maximise production with limited arable land?
- Mapping incentives and systems India need to implement to attract capital allocation from the Middle East
- Identifying land areas that will increase capacity and local expansion given the continent’s lack of arable land
- Examining how environmental issues such as limited access to arable land and water may jeopardise future investments in Indian agriculture
- Recommending areas in farm operation that may mechanise in achieving a steady progression to technological efficiency
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| | Mr Abusaleh Shariff , Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute - Asia Moderator: Mr Protik Guha , Vice President , Amira Foods India Limited
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10.45am | Morning networking refreshments
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| Promoting ecologically sustainable agricultural industries and community based enterprises in the Asian region |
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11.15am | Power panel of farm associations: Building the capacities of small-scale agricultural players by responding to the challenges of sustainable agro-based industries
- Determining the collective influence of smaller scale food producers in the import and export movement in Asian countries
- Investing in technology investments and providing financial support to increase the productivity of each unit of smaller scale agricultural players
- Resolving the challenges in developing human-capital that may adapt to the changing agricultural landscape
- Using agricultural sustainability to chart strategic and sustainable responses to solve problems on rural poverty, food insecurity and climate change
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| | Dr Sang Yang Koma, President, Cambodian Center for Study and Development of Agriculture Moderator: Ms Wen-Chi Huang, Associate Professor, Department of Agribusiness Management,, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology
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12pm | Ensuring sustainable agriculture by allocating control of natural production resources to smaller scale farmers
- Determining the effects of the global financial meltdown on collective market of small scale farmers and the Asian agricultural region
- Articulating proposals and solutions on food security for an equity-led trade that promotes the well-being and livelihoods of smaller scale farmers
- Suggesting policies that will aid the development of small scale farmers in the region
- Providing access for smaller farm operators to gain economic opportunities and a voice in the decision making processes by integrating agriculture in Asia
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| | Ms Esther Penunia, Secretary General, Asian Farmers Association For Sustainable and Rural Development
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12.30pm | Networking Lunch
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| Emphasising the commitment to sustainability by introducing best practices on processes and distribution mechanisms |
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2pm | Agribusiness Panel: Defining best practices in standardising and organising large scale agribusiness farm operations
- Outlining changes in global agriculture and exploring human and technological factors that constitute to next generational farming
- Disconnecting fluctuating commodity prices from fundamentals by controlling technical factors such as fuel and infrastructure facilities
- Standardising main operations and referencing it to identify areas of improvement
- Balancing the need to integrate vertical processes with the core business objectives in deciding on viable business expansion
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| | Dr Harvey Glick, Senior Director, Scientific Affairs Asia, Monsanto Singapore Co (Pte) Ltd Mr Joseph Tek, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, IJM Plantations Berhad
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2.45pm | Examining facilities that ensure and efficient distribution and post harvest handling of agricultural products
- Choosing essential global operations that may be vertically or horizontally integrated to increase value for money but reduce costs for farm producers and retail consumers
- Looking into facilities for the transportation and processing of agricultural commodities
- Instilling mechanisms and assimilating best practices that guarantee a safe and steady supply of agricultural commodities
- Identifying crucial areas for collaboration for agribusinesses and distribution outlets to incorporate mainstream sustainability across all operations
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3.15pm | Afternoon networking reception
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| Achieving optimal efficency in meeting production and consumption potentials at a reduced cost |
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3.45pm | Supply Chain Panel Discussion: Resolving issues on supply
chain management for a more efficient production operation
- Reviewing areas in the supply chain operations that can reduce costs to increase capital value
- Finding ways to resolve issues on cost, deployment and execution in the plantation operations
- Reinventing technological and administrative mechanisms for a more efficient yield and productivity of soft commodities
- Case study: An example of production of high yield and high value agricultural commodities
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| | Mr. Rajeev Raina, Senior Vice President and Head of Rice Division , Olam International Pte Limited Moderator: Mr Ronnie Natawidjaja, Director, Center for Agricultural Policy and Agribusiness Studies, Padjadjaran University
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4.30pm | Summary Panel: Assessing the long term Asian agriculture outlook in light of the rising cost due to population increase
- Examining how farmers cope with the credit crunch and how it will affect Asia’s role in the global import and export market?
- Highlighting the importance of developing the Asian agriculture industry to ensure sufficient food supply for the future
- Outlining how climate change and biosecurity risk will impact the production and consumption of agriculture and agrobased industries
- Pinpointing technological trends and innovations that will increase local food, feed and fuel production for Asia to meet growing future global demand
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| | Mr Ho-Kyum Lee, Agricultural Economist, Food & Fertilizer Technology Center for the Asian and Pacific Region Dr Samarendu Mohanty, Senior Economist and Head of Social Sciences Division, International Rice Research Institute
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5.15pm | Chairman’s closing remarks
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5.30pm | Close of Conference
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Post conference masterclass - Wednesday 16 September 2009
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| Developing and managing successful integrated agribusiness ventures and projects |
Food supplies are diminishing that is why the public and private sectors are looking into Asian agribusinesses who can provide a long term supply. Business operations must ensure that current practices minimize input but deliver maximum output.
This masterclass lays out the guidelines on the agribusiness operations that investors and agribusinesses managers must evaluate before they allocate funds in their operations. It will include a practical discussion on managing large scale agriculture operations.
Registration is at 9.30am. The masterclass will commence at 10am. Lunch and refreshments are scheduled in the proceedings.
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10am | Masterclass Agenda:
- Setting the strategic objectives before allocating funds into an agribusiness venture or project
- Setting benchmarks to the progression and growth of the agribusiness venture from land matters, labour issues and market channels
- Instilling mechanisms for due diligence in order to manage and mitigate the risks involved in entering an agribusiness venture or project
- Evaluating the market environment and potential price trends
- Assessing the investor and agribusiness operators' specific needs to develop and efficient integrated agribruinss chain stemming from farm to table
- Considering sustainability issues and practices via case studies from South East Asia
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| | Mr Hock Aun, Khoo , Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Cosmo Biofuels Group,
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