Global Best Practice Group’s expert was engaged by the Asian Development Bank to evaluate financing options for climate-friendly agribusinesses within the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), focusing on identifying the needs, gaps, and key challenges associated with funding for green infrastructure and technologies. The evaluation process involved extensive consultations with stakeholders and analysis of existing financial frameworks, leading to the identification of regional priorities for action over the next five years. This comprehensive assessment culminated in the development of a detailed paper that was presented at the GMS Climate Change & Environmental Sustainability Program and the GMS Sustainable Agriculture & Food Security Program Consultative Workshops. These workshops, attended by GMS country partners, served as a platform for discussing innovative financial mechanisms and resource mobilization strategies aimed at funding impactful projects. By presenting tailored solutions to enhance financial accessibility for climate-friendly agribusinesses, the expert contributed to fostering a more sustainable agricultural landscape in the region. This initiative not only aimed to promote environmentally sustainable practices but also seeked to bolster the resilience of agribusinesses against climate change, ultimately supporting food security and economic development in the GMS.

The NESAP is Cambodia’s road map for Sustainable Development. It provides a detailed analysis of the state of the environment in Cambodia and outlines priority policy and governance improvements and financing mechanisms that can help it to achieve environmentally sustainable economic improvements. Global Best Practice Group’s expert was retained by the Asian Development Bank under the GMS Core Environment Program to help draft the NESAP and specifically to prepare comprehensive project profiles and a compendium of environmental projects being implemented, approved but not commissioned, under active consideration, and those that were in the planning stages. Based on this data a US$ 263 million pipeline of current and planned environmental projects and programs were included in the NESAP. Each project was evaluated and referenced in terms of its contribution to achieve the nationally agreed Sustainable Development Goals. A detailed analysis of available funding streams and the financing gaps and opportunities for bridging the same was identified. NESAP was approved by the Royal Government of Cambodia in December 2018.

Global Best Practice Group’s expert was retained by the Asian Development Bank as an Adaptation Investment Specialist to develop a set of investment opportunities for financing under the Climate Investment Fund’s PPCR Competitive Private Sector Set Aside-funded activities. Our expert (i) Identified key agriculture sectors where the role of the private sector was relevant and/or required for the effective development of a value chain-based climate resilience project; (ii) Liaised with relevant stakeholders, local chambers of commerce, professional associations, potential private sector clients, and farmer communities through a combination of workshops and private meetings; (iii) Obtained responses regarding interest and involvement in specific climate adaptation project and program opportunities, and challenges and constraints experienced; and (iv) Developed a comprehensive Integrated Climate Resilient Rice Value Chain and Community development project as per PPCR guidelines. The project aimed to reduce the climate vulnerability of at least 50,000 smallholder farmers in the Battambang and Pursat provinces of Cambodia by increasing rice production and value, and improving access to extension services and affordable loans in addition to providing food and livelihood security. It covered all aspects of the rice value chain, from production to post-harvest and marketing, thus providing seamless support to SMEs whilst addressing climate risks, reducing wastage, increasing agricultural productivity and enhancing income.

The services of Global Best Practice Group’s expert were retained by the Asian Development Bank as a Business focused Resource Efficiency specialist for developing an Agriculture Rice Commercialization Sector Development Plan for Cambodia to support its Strategy on Agriculture and Water and the Rice Strategy by creating an enabling investment and regulatory environment. Tasks undertaken included: (i) Assessed the status quo of resource utilization by rice-related households/entities, their production capacity, constraints, operational bottlenecks, regulatory issues, and potential for improvement in efficiency and output by developing robust rice value chain initiatives leading to poverty reduction, inclusivity, and achievement of Cambodia Rice Policy goals and objectives. (ii) Proposed business focused climate change adaptation initiatives with regard to irrigation water efficiency, post–harvesting facilities and marketing strategies. (iii) Recommended innovative, financially self-sustaining and environmentally friendly initiatives to be developed as pilot projects on a PPP basis. (iv) Proposed value chain–based resilient agribusiness project investments and capacity building activities for inclusion in the Sector Development Plan with cost estimates and investment phasing.

The agriculture sector contributes nearly 23% to Cambodia’s GDP and is a source of livelihood and income for about 40% of its population. Poverty reduction, food security and productivity improvement remain the major objectives of the government and formed the basis for the Rice Sector Development Strategy. Cambodia is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change leading to extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. An Asian Development Bank loan together with grants from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program and the Strategic Climate Fund financed a Weather Indexed Climate Insurance (WICI) scheme to increase the resilience of rice farming households to climate and natural disaster risks. It is expected that through WICI, rice farm income losses caused by climate and natural disaster risk will be reduced and farmers will be able to replace seed without depleting their cash resources and procure better quality agricultural inputs. Global Best Practice Group’s expert was retained as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) specialist in a multidisciplinary team of consultants to evaluate previous crop insurance schemes, lessons learned, research successful international best practices for crop insurance and develop a comprehensive PPP agreement between insurance companies, farmers and the government. Tasks included: Obtained consensus on government subsidy, warranties, responsibilities of the parties and contract terms and conditions; Ensured transparent invitation processes and held detailed consultations with potential insurance PPP partners, legal advisors and related stakeholders; Guided national consultants to conduct training for officials and WICI awareness workshops for farmers; and Assisted in the selection of PPP partners, coordinated PPP implementation, and roll-out of the scheme.

The freight sector in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS comprising of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam) is dominated by road transport that ferries about 80% of all freight tonnage. Aging vehicles, poor fuel efficiency, inefficient fleet management and high operational costs contributed to increased Greenhouse Gas emissions. There was a need to develop an institutional framework in the road freight sector by bundling access to finance and fuel-efficient technologies and building driver and management capacity in an enabling policy environment. Global Best Practice Group’s expert was retained by the Asian Development Bank as a member of a multidisciplinary team to develop pragmatic and implementable pilot projects that have the approval, participation and support of the national governments as well as the freight operator associations and the SME operators. Following a review of the road sector freight scenario and an understanding of the areas of concern specific interventions were proposed for (i) Low Carbon technologies pilot; (ii) Vehicle Upgrade or low-cost loans pilot; (iii) Eco-driving training pilot for freight companies; and (iv) Logistics management pilot to reduce backhaul and increase fleet efficiency.