APO Reading Reflection｜Workshop on the Aging Agricultural Labor Population

This video presents key takeaways from the APO Workshop on the Aging Agricultural Labor Population, along with reflections on the challenges and solutions discussed.

Held online from May 10–12, 2023, the workshop was organized by the Asian Productivity Organization (APO), in collaboration with Taiwan’s Ministry of Agriculture, the China Productivity Center, and the APO Secretariat. A total of 33 participants from 12 member countries joined the program.

Key highlights include:
🗨️Aging trends in Asian agriculture: The average farmer is around 61 years old; most farms are small-scale, with limited youth participation.
🗨️Taiwan’s strategies: Establishing the Agricultural Human Resources Office, promoting farm mechanization and sharing platforms, youth farmer training, farmland leasing platforms, loans, and incubation programs.
🗨️India’s approach: Cross-ministerial policies for food security and resilience, capacity building, and the Millennial Farmers Program.
🗨️Thailand’s response: Adoption of smart agriculture, digital skills training, and models integrating elderly experience with youth innovation.

The workshop emphasized that tackling the dual challenge of an aging workforce and the need for higher productivity requires inter-ministerial partnerships, youth engagement, technology adoption, and lifelong learning for elderly farmers.