Summary Report: Focus Group Discussion on the Agribusiness Venture Arrangement (AVA) Issue Paper | 10 October 2025

The Focus Group Discussion (FGD) on the Agribusiness Venture Arrangement (AVA) Issue Paper was participated by 19 representatives (8 females & 11 males) from civil society organizations (CSOs) and people’s organizations (POs), including those from the Negros Occidental, Bukidnon, Quezon and Batangas provinces.

The development of the AVA Issue Paper is part of the Land Justice Initiative (LJI) project implemented by Kaisahan tungo sa Kaunlaran ng Kanayunan at Repormang Pansakahan (KAISAHAN) and Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC), with funding support from the European Union (EU). The paper aims to study the effect of AVAs on land rights and human rights of farmers, with the end-result of making AVAs more beneficial for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs).

The objectives of the FGD were to: a) gather insights on the findings and recommendations of the draft AVA Issue Paper; and b) gauge the need to develop a collective initiative/effort to address AVA issues and concerns.

Founded in 1979, ANGOC is a regional association of national and regional networks of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Asia, actively engaged in food security, agrarian reform, sustainable agriculture, participatory governance, and rural development.