The In-Country Workshop on Promoting Rice Planted Area and Production Estimation Using Space-based Technologies in Lao PDR was jointly organized by the AFSIS Secretariat, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Japan, and Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE) under the Project for ASEAN Food Security Information System – Geospatial Informalization Support (AFSIS-GIS) and the Space Applications for Environment (SAFE) Project. The event was held in Vientiane, Lao PDR, with a hands-on training session on 9 February 2026 and a workshop on 10 February 2026.
The hands-on training was officially opened by Mr. Phonsavanh Vanmixay, Director of the Division of Agricultural and Environmental Statistics (DAES), MAE, Lao PDR. The training aimed to enhance technical capacity of DAES staff in operating the INAHOR system for rice planted area estimation. Eight staff members participated in the training.
The workshop on 10 February 2026 was opened by Dr. Boundeth Soutthavilay, Director General of the Department of Planning and Cooperation (DOPC), MAE, Lao PDR, and Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, AFSIS Manager. The program included presentations on the overview of the SAFE Project and INAHOR as well as the 2025 rainy season rice planted area estimation results in Lao PDR. The workshop brought together regional representatives from 18 provinces to discuss working methods for validating district-level rice planted area and applying the results to provincial operations.
The event was successfully completed through the strong cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Lao PDR and relevant partner organizations, contributing to the effective use of space-based technologies to strengthen agricultural statistics and food security information systems in Lao PDR
On 18 February 2026, the AFSIS Secretariat participated in the international event Google’s “Impact of AI on Global Agriculture,” organized by Google.org at Roseate House, Aerocity, New Delhi, India.
On 12-13 February 2026, the AFSIS Secretariat, in collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan (RESTEC), Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Japan and the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), Ministry of Agriculture Cooperatives (MOAC), conducted a workshop conducted a workshop The Promoting Rice Planted Area and Production Estimation Using INAHOR and Space-based Technologies in Thailand at the Meeting Room 2, Innovation Building, 3rd FL, Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE)
.jpg)
On 13–15 January 2026, the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), Thailand, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Japan, and the AFSIS Secretariat, conducted the 1st Meeting of Japan–Thailand Expert Dialogue on Agricultural Statistics. The meeting was held at the Office of Agricultural Economics and field survey activities in Chonburi Province.
On 3–4 December 2025, the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) Secretariat participated in the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Table Top Exercise (TTX) held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam.
