On 8 August 2022, Mr. Chantanon Wannakejohn, Secretary-General of the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), Ministry of Agricultural and Cooperative (MOAC) of Thailand had attended the Bilateral Meeting in Tokyo, Japan with Mr. KANKE Hideto, Director General, Statistics Department (SD), Minister's Secretariat, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan to discuss the effective and smooth implementation of AFSIS in the future.
The representative of Thailand are Mr. Vinit Atisook, Deputy Secretary General of OAE, Dr. Waraporn Saelee, AFSIS Manager, Mr. Somsak Vivithkeyoonvong, Minister Counsellor (Agricultural), and Mr. Sakon Wanasethi, Counsellor (Agricultural) as an interpreter in a meeting. Moreover, Mr. KIMURA Keitaro, Director of Statistics Planning Division, MAFF, Mr. Hosaka Masahiro, AFSIS Focal Point of Japan, and the Statistical Planning Division staff, MAFF, had attended this meeting as well.
The objective of this significant meeting is to exchange candid opinions in both Thailand and Japan for the future medium-long term framework of AFSIS and to form a common understanding of the general direction to be taken for solving the issue on the sustainability of AFSIS as a mechanism for food security in the ASEAN region.
During the meeting, Dr. Waraporn Saelee presented the current status of AFSIS, including the history and financial situation. In addition, the summary results of the proposed options for the future operational structure of AFSIS along with the discussion made in the 20th AFSIS Focal Point Meeting in June were presented in this meeting for further discussion.
The meeting was successfully ended with great collaboration from both sides to confirm their utmost attempt in order to support the continuity and progression of the AFSIS outcomes in the future.
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.
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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.
