The Invitational Workshop on the Project for Establishing Real-Time ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) and Development Human Resources, hosted by the Korea Agency of Education, Promotion, and Information Service in Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (EPIS) with the collaboration of the AFSIS Secretariat, was held in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, on November 20–25, 2023.
On this occasion, Mr. Jung Yong Ho, Director, International Cooperation Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs South Korea (MAFRA), delivered the opening remarks to all participants. The workshop was attended by representatives from five target ASEAN member countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, and Vietnam, as well as the AFSIS Secretariat.
During the presentation session, Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, AFSIS Manager, and Mr. Charapon Chantorn, Statistician Senior Professional Level, gave the participants a presentation on the AFSIS project, current achievements, and study results for the implementation of the National Agri-Food Information System (NAIS) Phase 1 and Phase 2. In this regard, AFSIS will continue to support and collaborate with the relevant organizations for the development of human resources in the ASEAN region as well as the enhancement of the ASEAN Food Security Information System.
In addition, the workshop provided all participants with the great opportunity to visit following sites:
1. National Institute of Crop Science in Jeonju city: to visit the institute, which is in charge of technical support, testing, and research on the improvement of varieties of food crops, feed crops, and bioenergy crops, improvement of cultivation methods, preservation of the production environment and quality
2. Korea National University of Agriculture and Fisheries in Jeonju City: To visit the agricultural and Fisheries faculties and learn about precision agriculture. and drone technology for real-time use in smart farming in the Green House. All participants received a demonstration of the integrated smart farm control center, launched a drone, and practiced using the drone to spray insecticide.
3. National Agricultural Museum of Korea in SuwonCity: to learn about the Korean agriculture Inside the museum, there is an exhibition feature the fundamentals of Agriculture land, water, and seed, as well as the agriculture of the past and present that cultivates and harvests crops according to farming processed the use of livestock in the process and the current status of the livestock industry and the direction of changing agricultural technology.
The main purposes of the workshop were to report the results and future plans of the Establishing Real-Time AFSIS and Development Human Resources project and information on the operational guidelines for Phase 3 of ASEAN member countries participating in the project, Pilot Project on Strategic Crop Forecasting System for Food Security in Indonesia (2023-2025), including utilization of spatial information and the use of Big Data and AI in agriculture.
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.
