On 12-13 December 2023, AFSIS Secretariat with support from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan held the 2nd Regional Workshop on the Project for Strengthening ASEAN Food Security Information System Function for Emergency (SAFER) at The Berkeley Hotel Pratunam, Bangkok, Thailand.
The workshop was honored by the following distinguished representatives which were Mrs. Benjawan Siribhodi, Expert on International Agriculture Economic Policy of OAE from the MOAC of Thailand delivered the opening remarks and opened the event, Mr. Hosaka Masahiro, Deputy Director of the Statistics Planning Division, Statistics Department from MAFF, Japan, Dr. Kei Oyoshi, Senior Researcher, Earth Observation Research center from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, AFSIS Manager delivered the welcome remarks.
33 participants from ASEAN Plus Three Countries which were Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan attended the workshop physically and online participants from the People’s Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea along with the observers from relevant organizations from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand. The workshop featured contributions from 6 lecturers representing JAXA, Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan (RESTEC), and AFSIS Secretariat.
The workshop aims to provide comprehensive knowledge and practical skills in the INAHOR software (International Asian Harvest Monitoring System for Rice) developed by JAXA using Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 (ALOS-2) to estimate the paddy rice planted area. There were presentations regarding the overview of SAFER project, overview of INAHOR software, and INAHOR training data preparation guidance. Additionally, there were hands-on training sessions for INAHOR operations during the workshop.
The workshop successfully ended with great collaboration from all participants and appreciation toward the AFSIS Secretariat and MAFF of Japan for organizing the 2nd Regional Workshop on the Project for Strengthening ASEAN Food Security Information System Function for Emergency (SAFER).
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On 5–6 March 2026, the AFSIS Secretariat participated in the 14th Meeting of the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Council via video conference, hosted by the Kingdom of Cambodia. The meeting brought together representatives from ASEAN Plus Three countries, the ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN Food Security Reserve Board (AFSRB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the APTERR Secretariat, and the AFSIS Secretariat to discuss key issues related to regional food security and emergency rice reserves.
On 18 February 2026, the AFSIS Secretariat participated in the international event Google’s “Impact of AI on Global Agriculture,” organized by Google.org at Roseate House, Aerocity, New Delhi, India.
On 12-13 February 2026, the AFSIS Secretariat, in collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan (RESTEC), Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Japan and the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), Ministry of Agriculture Cooperatives (MOAC), conducted a workshop conducted a workshop The Promoting Rice Planted Area and Production Estimation Using INAHOR and Space-based Technologies in Thailand at the Meeting Room 2, Innovation Building, 3rd FL, Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE)
The In-Country Workshop on Promoting Rice Planted Area and Production Estimation Using Space-based Technologies in Lao PDR was jointly organized by AFSIS Secretariat, JAXA, MAFF Japan, and MAE Lao PDR under the AFSIS-GIS and SAFE projects. The event was held in Vientiane with hands-on training on 9 February 2026 and a workshop on 10 February 2026.
