On 17 April 2023, Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, Deputy AFSIS Manager, attended the ASEAN Conference on Strengthening Food Security Integration in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The objectives of this conference were to discuss and solicit inputs from related ASEAN bodies in formulating the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on Strengthening Food Security and Nurition in Times of Crises and stock-take policy recommendations from relevant sectors in strengthening the region’s food security in times of crisis and efforts in building the resiliency towards future unprecedented situations as well as discuss the outline of the Zero Draft Declaration.
The participants of the event were representatives of ASEAN bodies and relevant sectors; ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF), ASEAN Senior Transport Officials Meeting (STOM), ASEAN Senior Economic Officials Meeting (SEOM), ASEAN Food Security Reserve Board (AFSRB), ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Reserve Board (APTERR) Secretariat, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), representatives from Agriculture, Economic, Transport Sector of Timor-Leste, and ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) Secretariat.
During the conference, AFSIS Secretariat presented the activities under a collaboration between ASEAN+3 countries and the AFSIS Secretariat which aim to enhance human resource capacities and commit to the development of the food security system in the region for the readily use towards situations as well as support the policymakers and relevant organizations in strengthening food security in current and future emergencies of the ASEAN region.
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.
