The APTERR Secretariat, led by Dr. Choomjet Karnjanakesorn, General Manager of the APTERR Secretariat, welcomed representatives from the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), to its office on 28 June 2024 for a discussion of ERIA’s preliminary study for exploring ‘Local Resource-Based Food Reserve (LRBFR)’ mechanism in ASEAN Member States (AMS).
The representatives from ERIA consisted of Mr. Masanori Kozono, Senior Policy Fellow, Prof. Dr. Achmad Suryana, Lead Consultant of the project, and Ms. Siti Mustaqimatud Diyanah, Research Associate for Agriculture. In addition, the representatives from the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) Secretariat and the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand were also present in the meeting.
The ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Response to Crises in 2023 encouraged each AMS to strengthen its own LRBFR dedicated to emergency preparedness and response on food security and nutrition, the ERIA representatives presented the overall objective of the study. This study aims to propose the concept note containing possible options of establish the LRBFR. It involves assessing the existing food security mechanism at both regional and national levels, identifying the suitable and feasible options of each element of LRBFR, and confirming the obligation of related international rules.
GM of the APTERR Secretariat emphasised the significance of ERIA’s study contributed to strengthen food security in the region. The APTERR Secretariat would fully support providing information and sharing experiences of APTERR as the sole regional rice reserve.
Furthermore, other issues related agriculture and food security were also discussed. Dr. Sumanya Ngandee, Manager of the AFSIS Secretariat, presented insights into AFSIS’s operations while Ms. Pasinee Napombejra, Expert on Public Sector Development (Acting) from OAE, introduced Thailand’s Provincial Crops Calendar for Food Security and Nutrition Programme.
This meeting underscored a commitment to collaborative efforts in addressing regional food security challenges through shared resources.