The 11th Meeting of ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Council was conducted physically on 25-26 April 2023 at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul, Republic of Korea, hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) of the Republic of Korea.
Participants were from the APTERR members and related organizations such as the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) Secretariat, which was AFSIS Manager, Dr. Waraporn Saelee, and the ASEAN Food Security Reserve Board (AFSRB) Secretariat.
The objectives of the meeting are to report and discuss the outcomes of the work and budget for the fiscal year 2022, the terminal report of the second phase of financial contribution to the APTERR Fund, and to propose the work and annual operational budget proposal for the fiscal year 2023. Also, the Meeting was updated on the completed implementation from the recipient countries.
In addition, during the meeting this year, Dr. Waraporn had an opportunity to present the proposed option “To merge AFSIS to APTERR” for the future of AFSIS to discuss with the APTERR Council members. The result of the discussion, including recommendations and considerations from this meeting will be presented in the upcoming 21st AFSIS Focal Point Meeting on 17-18 May 2023 in Lao PDR and will be reported to the SSOM-AMAF+3 this year for further consideration and action in order to sustain the AFSIS in the future.
The next meeting, the 12th Meeting of APTERR Council, will be hosted by the People’s Republic of China and the date is still under consideration.
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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.
