The 44th Meeting of the ASEAN Food Security Reserve Board (AFSRB) convened on June 5-6, 2024 at the AMERI Hotel in Vang Vieng, Lao PDR.
In the opening session, it was honored by Mr. Bounchanh Kombounyasith, Director General of Department of Agriculture from Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Lao PDR. The session was attended by delegates from ASEAN Member States, including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand as well as representatives from related organizations, including the AFSRB Secretariat, the ASEAN Secretariat, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Secretariat, and the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS)Secretariat included. Sumanya Ngandee, AFSIS Manager, and Mr. Thanapat Chukaew, Agricultural Statistical Reporting Officer attended.
The objective of the meeting was to review the current status of food security, along with the challenges and opportunities faced by each country during 2023-2024. Key discussions centered on statistics related to the agriculture production, consumption, trade, and food reserves of primary crops such as rice, sugarcane, maize, and soybeans in ASEAN region, considering the impacts of climate change, rising agricultural input costs, and fluctuating supply costs.Furthermore, a presentation on the “Preliminary study on local resource-based food reserve (LRBFR)” by ERIA. The objective of LRBFR is related the increasing the overall productivity of agriculture and aiming to increase efforts to create cooperation among ASEAN member countries in sustainably maintaining food which proposes the concept note or discussion paper on the mechanism of LRBFR as proposed in the “ASEAN Leader’s Declaration on Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Response to Crises”.
During AFSIS's participation, Dr. Sumanya Ngandee presented the progress of the AFSIS activities for 2023 – 2024 (Q1). The report included updates on various initiatives and issues, the benefits of AFSIS data, and reports to member countries. Additionally, AFSIS informed about the future work plan, which includes a regional workshop and INAHOR activities on the SAFER project, aimed at collecting and sharing food security information of ASEAN member states and strengthening the AFSIS function emergency information sharing mechanism. Moreover, AFSIS is enhancing and progressing toward future sustainability, with the strengthening of existing roles and functions to establish AFSIS as a permanent mechanism to support food security information for ASEAN region.
The meeting concluded successfully with Mr. Bounsu Soudmaly, Deputy of Director General from Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Lao PDR delivering to closing remark and expressing a great appreciation to all participants.
The tropical cyclones that impacted the Philippines in November 2024, including Yinxing, Oraji, Usagi, and Man-Yi, have caused widespread devastation across several provinces, resulting in heavy rainfall, severe winds, flooding, and significant agricultural damage. These storms have left communities grappling with extensive losses, including damaged crops, disrupted livelihoods, and displacement. Despite the severe impacts, the government of the Philippines, along with international aid from neighboring countries and global partners, has mobilized resources for relief and recovery. The ongoing efforts to assist those affected highlight the resilience of the Filipino people and the importance of continued preparedness in the face of natural disasters.
On 26-27 November 2024, Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, the AFSIS Manager, participated in the 30th session of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-30), held in Perth, Australia. This event was co-organized by the Australian Space Agency (ASA), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The forum's focus was to bring together stakeholders from various space agencies in the Asia-Pacific region to address pressing regional issues through space-based solutions.
On Sunday, November 3, 2024, at 22:57 WITA, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, one of Indonesia’s 120 active volcanoes, erupted on the island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province, The eruption, lasting 24 minutes (1,450 seconds), was recorded with a massive amplitude of 47.3 mm. According to Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency, a strong eruption sent ash up to 2,000 meters (6,500 feet), affecting over 10,000 people. Smaller eruptions followed on November 5-6. In response, the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) raised the volcano’s alert status to “Awas” (Level IV), indicating a high danger level.
On November 12, 2024, Dr. Sumanya Nagdee, AFSIS Manager, participated in the Completion and Handover Ceremony for the project "Establishing Real-Time ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) and Development of Human Resources 3rd Phase – Pilot Project on Strategic Crop Forecasting System for Food Security in Indonesia." The event, which took place in Jakarta, Indonesia, was supported by the Government of the Republic of Korea and This meeting was chaired by Ms. Intan Rahayu, Director of the Center of Agricultural Data and System Information (CADIS) under Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture, and Mr. An Jaerok, Vice President of EPIS from South Korea, along with representatives from various sectors.
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