On 20 October 2023, the AFSIS Secretariat joined a webinar organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and APTERR Secretariat on the topic “Strengthening Food Security in Southeast Asia: Regional Cooperation, Market Development, and Policy Reforms”.
There were over 50 participants which were APTERR member countries and organizations. The representatives from the AFSIS Secretariat were Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, AFSIS Manager, Mr. Charapon Chantorn, Deputy AFSIS Manager, Mr. Yasuhiro Miyake, Japanese Expert, Ms. Worada Wongsud, Secretary to the Japanese Expert, Ms. Prodpran Lomthong and Ms. Chayanit Meelong, Project Coordinator attended the meeting.
The objective of the webinar was to strengthen food security in Southeast Asia by presenting an overview of the progress made by ASEAN in implementing an integrated food security framework over the past decade, providing insights into the regional cooperation framework for the emergency rice reserve system within ASEAN and its role in addressing food system challenges, and exploring opportunities for scaling up regional cooperation and market development among ASEAN countries, and developing an enabling domestic policy environment to strengthen food security.
The discussion was divided into three themes. 1) Developing Emergency Rice Reserve System: Lessons learned from ASEAN Regional Cooperation Framework 2) Fostering Rice Futures Market in Southeast Asia, and 3) Strengthening Food Security Policy: Country Case Study in Malaysia.
On this occasion, the AFSIS Secretariat had the opportunity to present in the first theme panel discussion by Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, introducing AFSIS’s background, activities, and ambition to become a sustainable mechanism in the near future to continuously enhance food security in the region by systematically collecting, analyzing, and disseminating food security-related information within member countries in the region and other organizations.
At the end of the webinar, delegates from relevant organizations also exchanged various perspectives on the earlier themes. For example, the World Food Programme focused on leveraging rice fortification throughout ASEAN and the progress that ASEAN has made to strengthen food security over the last decade in different dimensions.
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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)
The In-Country Workshop on Promoting Rice Planted Area and Production Estimation Using Space-based Technologies in Lao PDR was jointly organized by AFSIS Secretariat, JAXA, MAFF Japan, and MAE Lao PDR under the AFSIS-GIS and SAFE projects. The event was held in Vientiane with hands-on training on 9 February 2026 and a workshop on 10 February 2026.
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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.
