On 11 September 2024, the AFSIS Secretariat participated in a meeting between the Korea Agency of Education, Promotion and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (EPIS) and the Korea Rural Community Corporation Global Project Office (KRC) from the Republic of Korea. The meeting aims to provide information on upcoming activities for 2025, with support from the Republic of Korea. The new project assigned to KRC by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs South Korea (MAFRA) involves the implementation of the National Agri-Food Information System (NAIS), which is scheduled to take place in Cambodia from 2025 to 2026.
The representative from the EPIS was Ms. Lee Jea-Eun, Deputy General Manager, EPIS, the representatives from the KRC were Mr. Son Hyeuk-Joon, Director of Korea Rural Community Corporation Global Project Office, Mr. Han Jung-Soo, Representative, KRC ODA Office in Cambodia, Ms. Song Ji-Yeong, Assistant Manager of Korea Rural Community Corporation Global Project Office and also AFSIS Staff
On this occasion, Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, AFSIS Manager, presented the cooperation activities between ASEAN member countries and the Republic of Korea conducted under the NAIS project facilitated by EPIS and suggested about work principle. She also provided suggestions regarding work principles and upcoming invitation workshops in 2025 of this collaboration.
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.
