On 10-11 September 2025, the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) Secretariat, with support from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), convened the Regional Workshop on Rice Growing Outlook and Maize Growing Outlook preparation Guideline under the Project for Strengthening ASEAN Food Security Information System Function for Emergency (SAFER project). The workshop was held at Centre Point Plus Hotel Silom, Bangkok, Thailand.
On this occasion, the meeting was welcomed by Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, AFSIS Manager, with a keynote address, and was honored by the presence of Mr. Vinit Atisook, Deputy Secretary General of the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC), Thailand, and Ms. Sari Murai, Section Chief of the Statistics Planning Division, Statistics Department, MAFF, Japan, who delivered the opening remarks.
A total of 30 participants from ASEAN Plus Three countries attended the workshop, focusing on enhancing the capacity of officers in preparing the RGO and MGO reports. The objectives were to:
These efforts represent not only technical improvements but also a significant step toward strengthening an integrated food security information system to meet the evolving needs of the ASEAN region.
The workshop concluded successfully, with participants expressing their appreciation to the AFSIS Secretariat and the MAFF of Japan for their excellent workshop and continued support in enhancing regional food security information systems.
















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.
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.
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.