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Validation Workshop on INFER Thailand: Enhancing Climate-Resilient Food Systems Planning

INFER Thailand Workshop

Background

Food systems across Asia and the Pacific are at risk of increasingly converging threats, including those related to climate change, health emergencies, socio-economic shocks, and environmental degradation. In response, the INFER (INsinghts on Food systEms Risk) assessment tool is developed to support countries in identifying, visualizing, monitoring and addressing these complex risks in a holistic and coordinated manner.

Building on the regional application of INFER, the Government of Thailand under the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, in collaboration with the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the United Nations Satellite Centre, hosted at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR-UNOSAT) are piloting a subnational version of INFER for Thailand, tailored to the country’s unique geographic, socio-economic, and ecological conditions, titled the INFER Thailand Subnational Food Systems Risk Assessment and Decision Support Tool (INFER Thailand). 

Drawing on national and provincial data from across ministries and sectors, this tool will provide a transparent, interactive dashboard that enables decision-makers and stakeholders to identify provincial-level risk and resilience gaps, design targeted adaptation strategies, coordinate shared visions and efforts across sectors and provinces, and align resources where they are most needed. 

Ultimately, INFER Thailand is expected to support the decision-making and implementation of Thailand’s key national frameworks and strategies, including the National Adaptation Plan, National Food Systems Transformation Pathway, 20-year National Strategy and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. It will be hosted by the Government of Thailand, building on data inputs from across ministries, agencies and organizations.

The Validation Workshop is a key step in the development of INFER Thailand. It will bring together key stakeholders from across government, academia, civil society, and the development community to review and validate preliminary results, provide feedback on indicator relevance, and guide refinements to ensure the outputs are context-specific and policy-relevant. It will also foster stakeholder ownership and pave the way for the integration of INFER insights into planning and decision-making processes.

 

Objectives

The specific objectives of the validation workshops are as follows:

  • Discuss INFER preliminary results: Share draft risk profiles and hotspot maps across the three dimensions—hazard and exposure, vulnerability, and adaptive
  • Validate indicators and outputs: Gather expert and institutional feedback on the relevance of indicators, structure of the framework, visualization outputs, and dashboard usability.
  • Identify refinement needs: Highlight data gaps, local and national priorities, and required adjustments to the model for finalization.
  • Shape a collective vision: Facilitate dialogue among stakeholders to build a shared vision and foster accountability for food systems resilience and transformation across sectors and levels.

  • Strengthen policy relevance: Explore how INFER Thailand outputs can support the implementation of local and national strategies on food systems transformation, climate adaptation, and related planning and decision-making processes.

     

Participants

The workshop brought together government representatives, including from the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC), Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE), Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE), National Statistical Office (NSO), Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as well as academic and research institutions, CSOs and NGOs engaged in food systems transformation, food security, agriculture, water resource management, environment protection, etc., and development partners.

 

Resources

Bangkok, Thailand