The Invitational Workshop on the Project for Establishing Real-Time ASEAN Food Security Information System and Development Human Resources in Seoul, Republic of Korea

The Invitational Workshop on the Project for Establishing Real-Time ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) and Development Human Resources, hosted by the Korea Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (EPIS) with the collaboration of the AFSIS Secretariat, was held in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, during 10-14 October 2022.

On this occasion, Dr. Young-ki Hwang, the Director of EPIS and chairman of the workshop, delivered the opening remarks and Dr. Waraporn Saelee, AFSIS Manager who attended the workshop virtually delivered the welcome remarks to all participants. The workshop was attended by representatives from 5 target ASEAN member countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Philippines, and Vietnam, as well as the AFSIS Secretariat.

The main purposes of the workshop were to report results and future plans of each country’s National Agri-Food Information System (NAIS), conduct a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) to review the Real-Time AFSIS Projects’ accomplishments and discuss ways to further improvement, and share experiences in the utilization of spatial data and a forecasting model in the field of Food Security Information System.

In addition, the workshop provided all participants with the great opportunity to visit 3 following sites:

1. Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) in Daejeon city: to visit the institute that contributes to the research & development through a new exploration and technological advancements for aircraft, satellites, and space launch vehicles for the disseminationin the field of aerospace science and technology.
2. Southern Center of National Institute of Crop Science (NICS) in Miryang city: to visit and learn about the precision agriculture, and drone technology to use for the real-time application in smart farming. All participants were given the demonstration of an integrated smart-farm control center, drone shooting, and also drone station.
3. Agricultural Technology Center of Hwaseong-city: to learn about the Establishment and Application of an ICT-Based Integrated Information System and visit the grape farm where an ICT System for farm management has been applied.

During the presentation session, Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, Deputy AFSIS Manager, gave the participants a presentation on the AFSIS project, current achievements, and future expectations of the 3^rd phase of the Real-Time AFSIS project. In this regard, AFSIS will keep on continuing to support and collaborate with the relevant organizations for the development of human resources in the ASEAN region as well as the enhancement of the ASEAN Food Security Information System.