On 31 July 2024, The AFSIS Secretariat participated in a significant meeting with the International Institute for Trade and Development (ITD), the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Secretariat, a professor from Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), United Kingdom, and experts from various fields. The purpose of the meeting was to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange among international experts, aiming to develop strategies aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and conduct a comprehensive global environmental strategic scan to analyze and assess emerging trends, risks, and opportunities relevant to sustainable development.
On the occasion, Mr. Suphakit Chareonkul, Executive Director of, the International Institute for Trade and Development gave the opening remark and warm welcome to all attendees and introduced the background of the project and the objectives of the project by Assistant Professor Dr. Awanwee Petchkongkaew, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the International Joint Research Center on Food Security (IJC-FOODSEC)
During discussions on the Global and Regional Trade and Food Industry secession about the possible futures or key driving factors that may affect people in the future and emerging trends are relevant to the food industry. Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, AFSIS Manager, participated in the discussion on this topic and gave information on the AFSIS objectives and operations, emphasizing the ACO EWI RGO Core Report published on our website, which garnered significant interest among participants.
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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.
