On 19 August 2026, the AFSIS Secretariat participated in the Special Senior Officials Meeting of the 25th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry Plus Three (Special SOM-25th AMAF Plus Three), hosted by the Philippines via video conference. The Meeting was attended by Senior Officials from ASEAN Member States, the Plus Three countries, and the ASEAN Secretariat. The AFSIS Secretariat was represented by Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, AFSIS Manager.

During the Meeting, Dr. Sumanya Ngandee presented the Implementation of AFSIS for 2026, highlighting the progress and achievements of AFSIS during 2025–2026 (Q2), the current food security situation in the ASEAN region, and AFSIS’s future work plan and direction. The presentation highlighted AFSIS’s continued provision of regional agricultural and food security information through its core reports, monitoring of major agricultural disasters, and development of its database and digital agricultural information platform. It also presented regional food security conditions, including production, import dependence, and food security indicators for major commodities, as well as the impacts of the Middle East conflict on ASEAN Member States.

The presentation also highlighted technical cooperation with Japan, including the SAFER Project and the ongoing AFSIS-GIS Project, which support emergency information sharing, agricultural monitoring, satellite-based crop area estimation, and geospatial information. In addition, AFSIS outlined its Future Work Plan for 2026–2027, including the continued production of core reports, enhanced regional monitoring and information sharing, and the exploration of new areas of cooperation in artificial intelligence, crop mapping, Earth observation, and forecasting models.

A key focus of the presentation was the long-term sustainability of AFSIS. The AFSIS Secretariat presented the proposed Sustainability Roadmap, which includes continued consultations with ASEAN Member States, a review of the Joint Understanding, and further discussion on financial mechanisms during 2026–2027, with the long-term goal of establishing AFSIS as a permanent ASEAN mechanism from 2028 onward. The Secretariat also sought policy direction and guidance from AMAF+3 to advance the institutionalization process in a structured, inclusive, and ASEAN Member-State-driven manner.

The Meeting acknowledged the important role of AFSIS in strengthening regional food security information and cooperation. The AFSIS Secretariat reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with ASEAN Member States, the Plus Three countries, the ASEAN Secretariat, and relevant partners to strengthen regional capacity to anticipate risks, respond to emerging food security challenges, and support evidence-based decision-making.