On 7–8 October 2026, at the Amari Bangsaen Hotel, Chonburi Province, Mr. Peerapun Khothong, Secretary-General of the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), assigned Dr. Kanjana Khwanmuang, Deputy Secretary-General of OAE, to preside over the opening and participate in the Regional Workshop on Strengthening Food Security Information: Reports on ACO/EWI and Rice Yield Prediction Model Activity. The Workshop was jointly organized by the AFSIS Secretariat and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
of Japan (MAFF, Japan), with the objective of strengthening the preparation of Agricultural Commodity Outlook (ACO) and Early Warning Information (EWI) reports, data formats, and the enhancement of the AFSIS agricultural statistical database (AFSIS Database).

On this occasion, Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, Manager of the AFSIS Secretariat, and Ms. Morimoto Emiko, Deputy Director of the Statistics Planning Division, Statistics Department, MAFF, Japan, jointly delivered welcoming remarks to the participants, who included representatives from ASEAN Member States responsible for agricultural statistics and reporting to AFSIS.

On 7 October 2026, the AFSIS Secretariat presented approaches for data collection and the preparation of the ACO and EWI reports, as well as the procedures for reporting data into the AFSIS statistical database, and introduced the AFSIS website and newly developed Indicator Dashboards. Member States then exchanged methods and practices for compiling statistics on key agricultural commodities rice, maize, sugarcane, soybean, cassava, and laying hens. The Meeting also discussed challenges and recommendations for improving data reporting to AFSIS.

On 8 October 2026, participants learned about activities under the AFSIS-Geospatial Informatization Support (AFSIS-GIS) project and took part in the RESTEC Model Building Activity on rice yield prediction, applying geospatial information together with Member States’ statistical data, during the morning session. In the afternoon, participants undertook a study visit on smart agriculture to Kubota Farm, Chonburi Province.

The Workshop enhanced the quality, consistency, and timeliness of agricultural statistics reported to AFSIS, and promoted the use of geospatial and statistical information to support policy decision-making. It also provided participants with valuable insights into smart agriculture development, contributing to the sustainable advancement of agricultural statistics and regional food security