The agriculture sector, comprising farming, fisheries and forestry, is a key economic sector in Southeast Asia. It contributed to 10.5% of the region’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020, with the sector playing a much stronger role in economies such as Myanmar and Cambodia (Table 1). The sector is also a significant source of employment. In Cambodia, Myanmar and Lao PDR, the sector accounts for 33%, 50% and 45% of employment, respectively (ASEAN, 2021a). Agri-commodities also play a crucial role in exports, with agricultural products accounting for the largest share of total exports in Myanmar (24%), Lao PDR (23%), Indonesia (19%) and Thailand (14%) in 2019 (ASEAN, 2020).

The agriculture sector is an important driver of socio-economic development in the region. A key infrastructure input to enable growth in the sector is access to modern, reliable and affordable energy.

At each step of the value chain – from primary production to post-harvest processing, storage, transport and retailing – energy helps to increase yields, enable value addition, reduce losses and improve market access. It is also important in the face of rising climate impacts that particularly affect smallholder farmers. Adaptation and resilience measures to facilitate resource access (e.g. water) or enhance the adaptative capacity of farmers and agri-enterprises (such as through processing and storage) require access to energy, among a host of other infrastructure and soft supports.