On 20 August 2025, the AFSIS Secretariat participated in the Special Senior Officials Meeting of the 24th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry Plus Three (SSOM-24th AMAF+3), hosted by Myanmar via video conference. The AFSIS Secretariat was represented by Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, AFSIS Manager.
During the meeting, Dr. Sumanya presented the progress of AFSIS activities for 2024–2025 (Q2), the future work plan, and also introduced a new initiative to be implemented in the coming year, the AFSIS Geospatial Information System (AFSIS-GIS) project. She further highlighted that AFSIS will begin discussions on strengthening its financial sustainability, based on the joint understanding reached at the upcoming Special Workshop in Japan this October.
The Meeting noted the AFSIS progress report for 2024–2025 (Q2), which covered the implementation of financial sustainability measures in line with the joint understanding. The report also included updates on administrative functions, human resource development activities, food security information development, and cooperation projects with Plus Three countries and other relevant organizations, emphasizing the importance of agricultural statistical data and information management in ASEAN.
Furthermore, the Meeting recognized the importance of ensuring AFSIS’s sustainability to strengthen its role, functions, and long-term operational capacity. Member States also reaffirmed the importance of AFSIS and acknowledged the necessity of enhancing its sustainability to further reinforce its roles and capabilities in the long term. They expressed their commitment to actively participating in the upcoming discussions to contribute to strengthening the self-reliance and long-term sustainability of AFSIS. The Meeting expressed its anticipation of continuing discussions on this matter at the Special Workshop in October 2025.
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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.
