AFSIS

The Regional Workshop on RGO and MGO preparation Guideline under SAFER Project

Update by Webadmin 2025-09-19 03:14:04

On 10-11 September 2025, the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) Secretariat, with support from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), convened the Regional Workshop on Rice Growing Outlook and Maize Growing Outlook preparation Guideline under the Project for Strengthening ASEAN Food Security Information System Function for Emergency (SAFER project). The workshop was held at Centre Point Plus Hotel Silom, Bangkok, Thailand.

On this occasion, the meeting was welcomed by Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, AFSIS Manager, with a keynote address, and was honored by the presence of Mr. Vinit Atisook, Deputy Secretary General of the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC), Thailand, and Ms. Sari Murai, Section Chief of the Statistics Planning Division, Statistics Department, MAFF, Japan, who delivered the opening remarks.

A total of 30 participants from ASEAN Plus Three countries attended the workshop, focusing on enhancing the capacity of officers in preparing the RGO and MGO reports. The objectives were to:

Strengthen the capacity of ASEAN Member States in collecting, analyzing, and interpreting rice and maize production data by utilizing meteorological information for efficient crop monitoring.
Enhance knowledge of producing standardized RGO and MGO reports, ensuring accuracy and comparability across ASEAN Member States.
Promote regional cooperation in sharing agricultural production data to better understand production changes and prepare for future challenges affecting food security.

These efforts represent not only technical improvements but also a significant step toward strengthening an integrated food security information system to meet the evolving needs of the ASEAN region.

The workshop concluded successfully, with participants expressing their appreciation to the AFSIS Secretariat and the MAFF of Japan for their excellent workshop and continued support in enhancing regional food security information systems.

Ad Hoc SOM-AMAF Preparatory Meeting for the Special AMAF on the Latest Situation in the Middle East

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.

Assessing Food Security in ASEAN through Self-Sufficiency Ratios: A Comparative Analysis of Major Agricultural Commodities

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.

ASEAN Food Security Information on the Self-Sufficiency Ratio (SSR) for Rice

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.

Asia and the Pacific Food Systems Forum 2026

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.