On 24-25 April 2024, the 12th Meeting of the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Council was conducted physically Beijing,People’s Republic of China.
The objectives of the meeting were to report the implementation of APTERR activities in 2023, discuss and propose the work plan and budget proposal for the fiscal year 2024, and the terminal report of the financial contribution to the APTERR Fund. Also, the Meeting was updated on the implementation under the Rice Discharge Mechanism, Program 3 (Tier 3 program) from the recipient countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Lao PDR, and Philippine
Attendees included representatives from the APTERR Council, ASEAN Plus Three countries (except the Philippines), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the APTERR Secretariat, and the AFSIS Secretariat.
On this occasion, Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, AFSIS Manager, had an opportunity to present the AFSIS Implementation in 2023- the 1st quarter of 2024, the future work plan in 2024 and works related to APTERR. AFSIS provides data on the demand and supply of rice for annual reports and the analysis of monitoring and evaluating food emergency situations (Food Emergency Monitoring and Information: FEMI). This emphasizes the importance of AFSIS in the collection, analysis, and dissemination of ASEAN food security information.
Furthermore, this meeting provided all participants with the great opportunity to visit Xiaotangshan National Research and Demonstration Base for Precision Agriculture, Changping District, Beijing, People's Republic of China. The research center has developed technology for precision agriculture. and modern agriculture by using 3S technology, including GIS, GPS, and Remote Sensing, to effectively manage farmland and resources. These technologies lead to maximum efficiency at the right time to increase agricultural production, both quantity and quality, including helping reduce production costs, and safe for farmers and the environment.
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The ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) Secretariat, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Japan, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan (RESTEC), and Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), conducted the 2nd Hands-on Training Courses for Agricultural Statisticians, the Final Workshop, and the 2nd Seminar for Executive Officials under the JAIF Project entitled “Improvement of Rice Paddy Area Statistics and Damage Assessment using Earth Observation Satellites for ASEAN” in Sriracha, Chonburi Province, and Bangkok, Thailand.
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On 23 April 2026, the AFSIS Secretariat participated in the Ad-Hoc Senior Officials Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF), held via a virtual platform, to discuss the implications of recent developments in the Middle East on regional food security and to identify coordinated measures to enhance ASEAN’s food resilience, in preparation for the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) Meeting.
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.
