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On 14 November 2022, the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) Space Applications for Environment (SAFE) Initiative with the collaboration of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) of India, Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) of Thailand, Vietnam National Space Center (VNSC), and AFSIS Secretariat organized the online Training Program on Satellite-Derived Rice Planted Area Data for AFSIS’s Rice Growing Outlook (RGO) for Agriculture Management in the ASEAN which is the second training following the previous program in July 2022.
The representatives from AFSIS Secretariat attending the training were Dr. Waraporn Saelee, AFSIS Manager, Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, Deputy AFSIS Manage, Mr. Tanabodee Kheosipalard, Statistician, and Ms. Prodpran Lomthong, Project Coordinator.
There were 23 trainees from 9 ASEAN member countries namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
During the opening session, Dr. Waraporn Saelee delivered her opening remarks to welcome all participants, and expressed her appreciation to above-stated organizations for their contribution and cooperation to the training.
The training aimed to provide the trainees of the utilization of satellite derived agromet data which the content of the training was on the use of JAXA Rice Mapping Tool “INAHOR” on the Google Earth Engine (GEE). There were remarkable presentations from Mr. Shoji KIMURA, a RGO instructor, about the Improvement of Agricultural Statistics using INAHOR, and from Dr. Hashemvand Khiabani Pegah of RESTEC regarding the lecture on INAHOR program. The trainees learned step-by-step on how to prepare the required information and program, create the training data and estimate the rice crop area by GEE.
The training was successfully conducted as the trainees were effectively imparted with the knowledge of agromet data utilization which can be used as reference information for generating AFSIS’s RGO report and developing the agricultural information system in their countries.
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On 23 April 2026, the AFSIS Secretariat participated in the Ad-Hoc Senior Officials Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF), held via a virtual platform, to discuss the implications of recent developments in the Middle East on regional food security and to identify coordinated measures to enhance ASEAN’s food resilience, in preparation for the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) Meeting.
The agricultural sector plays a vital role in supporting food security and livelihoods across ASEAN, where diverse production capacities shape the availability of major agricultural commodities such as rice, maize, sugarcane, soybean, and cassava. This report examines the SSR patterns across ASEAN to emphasize regional strengths, structural imbalances, and the implications for food security and agricultural policy in the region.
The self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) is a key indicator of food security. It shows how well Southeast Asian countries can meet rice demand through domestic production, with the region overall remaining increasingly self-sufficient despite ongoing challenges.
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On 19 March 2026, the AFSIS Secretariat participated in the Asia and the Pacific Food Systems Forum 2026 under the theme “Feeding the Future, Sustaining the Planet” in Manila, the Philippines, organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) . The forum aimed to promote food security policies, review ADB’s related initiatives, and support long-term food systems transformation.
