On 20 March 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries of Malaysia, the host country for the 22nd AFSIS Focal Point Meeting, and AFSIS Secretariat convened their first meeting to discuss the organization of the 22nd AFSIS Focal Point Meeting in 2024. The objective of this meeting was to provide information on the steps needed to prepare for the upcoming AFSIS Focal Point Meeting.
On occasion, Mr. Shahril Faizal Bin Abdul Jani, Malaysia's AFSIS Focal Point, extended greetings and introduced the Malaysia team members. These included Mr. Ahmad Fauzi Bin Idris, Mr. Mahdir Bahar (principal assistant Secretary), and Mrs. Siti Nuraini Binti Rusli (Assistant Secretary), who emphasized the collaborative effort from Malaysia's side. During the meeting, Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, AFSIS manager, delivered an overview and provided a brief introduction to the AFSIS Focal Point Meeting. This included reviewing the checklist of discussions from the initial meeting.
Following the meeting, AFSIS forwarded a summary of the discussions along with sample reference documents, such as invitation letters and registration forms, to Malaysia for further review and processing. Additionally, Malaysia expressed a preference for holding a second meeting in April to continue preparations
This initial meeting marks the beginning of collaborative efforts between Malaysia and ASIS Secretariat to organize the 22nd AFSIS Focal Point Meeting, which aimed at enhancing regional food security initiatives and information sharing within the ASEAN community.
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.
