The ComDev Asia Initiative’s Steering Committee convened for its year-end review, focusing on the initiative’s transition and institutionalization. Held last December 15 via Zoom, the meeting agenda addressed the presentation of key results, proposed three-year roadmap, and strategies for sustaining partnerships.

2025 PCP Updates

The Participatory Communication Plan (PCP) is a framework organizing ComDev Asia’s work across three priority lines of action: awareness raising and engagement, enhancing farmer organizations’ communication and ICT capacities, and advancing rural communication services through evidence-generation and technical assistance. Under awareness raising and engagement, the initiative featured stories covering governance and resilience in sustainable food systems, land ownership rights, climate finance, modern agriculture technology, the role of radio in climate action, perspectives on family farming, cooperatives and entrepreneurship, and the role of women and youth. These stories highlighted success stories, good practices, and events from both the UN Decade of Family Farming (UNDFF) and Steering Committee member organizations. The team produced newsletters distributed to more than 500 mailing list members and featured stories in ComDev Asia’s social media platforms.

In rural communication services (RCS), ComDev Asia was invited to present at two key family farming events, sharing expertise on the role of communications to enable smallholder farmers to access finance, and rural communication services and digital technologies for family farming Further, the initiative has three evidence generation studies: a field-based participatory co-design of a learning model for the Siargao Climate Field School for farmers and fisher folks in the Philippines; an ongoing desk study about inclusive digital RCS in Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam; and technical guidance on participatory rural communication appraisal (PRCA) for improving smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in Vietnam’s Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) program in Vietnam. Additionally, ComDev Asia provided technical assistance to family farming organizations, including a collaboration with the Asian Farmer’s Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) for the development of country case write-ups on smallholder farmer initiatives; and packaging and dissemination of regional cases on biodiversity, climate adaptation, and land restoration. Outreach support was also provided to the FAO Philippines field project Resilient Livelihoods Development for Women and Youth Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Maguindanao Phase II. 

Under capacity development, preparations are underway for a virtual training on participatory monitoring and evaluation of communication programs for sustainable rural development, scheduled for February 2026 via Zoom. This training will be open to participants from both Asia-Pacific and Africa regions, with invitations to be distributed to Steering Committee members for nomination of participants from their networks.

ComDev Asia Roadmap

Building on established priority lines of action, the proposed three-year roadmap is structured across three interconnected pillars. Pillar 1 focuses on evidence-based communication research in policymaking and advocacy; Pillar 2 addresses fostering knowledge sharing and awareness raising; and Pillar 3 concentrates on supporting the building of communication capacities, ensuring sustainability by strengthening partners’ and Steering Committee members’ skills to conduct effective communication activities and community engagement.

ComDev Asia is a regional initiative that promotes communication for development in agriculture and rural development in the Asia-Pacific Region. For the past six years, it has implemented activities within the UNDFF Global Action Plan (GAP) Outcome 4.4, which calls for inclusive rural communication services that support family farming policies and programs; improved producer organizations’ (POs) communication, ICTs and knowledge sharing capacities; and increased awareness on family famers’ roles and challenges.

Promoted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the ComDev Asia initiative is governed by its Steering Committee composed of the Asian Farmer’s Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), Self-Empowed Women’s Association (SEWA), World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters Asia-Pacific (AMARC-AP), Digital Green, and the UPLB College of Development Communication, which serves as facilitator.