On 28-29 April 2025, The AFSIS Secretariat participated in a two-day workshop. This workshop aimed at strengthening the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Mechanism. Held at the Innovation Building, Office of Agricultural Economics, Bangkok, Thailand
the event gathered representatives from the APTERR member countries (except Viet Nam, which was unable to attend) as well as representatives from relevant organizations including the ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN Food Security Reserve Board (AFSRB) Secretariat, the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) Secretariat, the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and the consultants from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The workshop, organized in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), focused on reviewing and enhancing the effectiveness of APTERR in light of new challenges facing regional food security. Participants engaged in discussions on necessary improvements to the mechanism and how it can be adapted for future projects, particularly through collaboration with ongoing studies and initiatives led by ADB.
Building on the findings and recommendations of ADB’s systematic review of the APTERR mechanism, this working meeting provided critical inputs to serve as key guidance for the APTERR Secretariat in formulating a strategic action plan to boost the mechanism’s responsiveness and effectiveness.
In addition, participants discussed the potential integration of three initiatives including ADB’s ‘Sub-Regional Hub’, P.R. China’s ‘Public Warehouse’ and Japan’s ‘Rice Storage Hub (Tier 3 FLEX), into a new comprehensive initiative, along with the potential inclusion of ‘wheat stockpile’ under APTERR proposed by the Republic of Korea. The participants further shared valuable insights for conducting the APTERR Tabletop Exercise, aimed at enhancing the APTERR mechanism’s emergency response capabilities. The ERIA also provided an update on its study on the ‘Local Resource-Based Food Reserve (LRBFR).
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.
