On 31 July – 1 August 2023, the AFSIS Secretariat in collaboration with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) of Lao PDR conducted the Workshop for the demonstration of INAHOR utilization for 2023 Rainy Season Rice in Vang Vieng, Lao PDR.
In the opening session, it was honored by Dr. Soulaphone Inthavong, Deputy Director General of the Department of Planning and Cooperation, MAF of Lao PDR, to deliver the opening remark. While the representatives of the AFSIS Secretariat were Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, AFSIS Manager, and Mr. Miyake Yasuhiro, AFSIS Japanese Expert, who attended the aforesaid workshop.
The workshop was under the rice crop monitoring project (INAHOR activity) in the Asia Pacific Regional Space Forum (APRSAF) Space Applications for Environment (SAFE) initiative to promote rice planted area estimation using space-based technologies, with the objective to demonstrate the INAHOR utilization and develop the training data in Lao PDR for the whole country in 2023. The participants were officials from the Center for Agricultural Statistics (CAS), and the Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) of Lao PDR.
During the workshop, there was a session for making training data for 2023 rainy season rice which grid points in country areas will be judged on Google Earth Pro in consultation with the training tutors, CAS staff, and provincial staff. The INAHOR analysis results from this project will be provided to CAS for further implementation.
In addition, all outputs of this workshop will be implemented with the AFSIS project entitled “Project for Strengthening ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) Function for Emergency" or SAFER project under its activity “Developing crop area estimation method using satellite image” which AFSIS also plans to conduct the training workshop related to INHOR activity this year.
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.
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On 13–15 January 2026, the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), Thailand, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Japan, and the AFSIS Secretariat, conducted the 1st Meeting of Japan–Thailand Expert Dialogue on Agricultural Statistics. The meeting was held at the Office of Agricultural Economics and field survey activities in Chonburi Province.
On 3–4 December 2025, the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) Secretariat participated in the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Table Top Exercise (TTX) held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam.
