Working together to achieve food security in ASEAN

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JAKARTA (ANTARA) – Last year, during Indonesia’s presidency of ASEAN, the theme of the meeting was “Growth Hubs” and member countries were invited to discuss several issues, one of which was food security.

The question comes in the wake of global food insecurity, with soaring food prices affecting many people due to economic challenges, climate change, geopolitical conflicts and supply chain disruptions.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), a total of 309 million people in 71 countries face chronic hunger.

In the latest report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme, there are 18 severe food insecurity hotspots in 17 countries or regions and one regional cluster.

At the same time, most ASEAN member states have large areas of agricultural land, but their rankings in the 2022 GFSI Food Security Index mostly fell from the highest 28th to the lowest 81st.

Despite being an island nation and one of the smallest countries in the world, Singapore is the highest-ranked ASEAN country in the 2022 Global Food Security Index, with an overall score of 73.1, ranking 28th.

Among other Southeast Asian countries, Malaysia ranked 41st (score 69.9), Vietnam ranked 46th (67.9), Indonesia ranked 63rd (60.2), Thailand ranked 64th (60.1), the Philippines ranked 67th (59.3), Cambodia ranked 78th (55.7), and Laos ranked 81st (53.1).

The index assesses the affordability, availability, quality and safety, as well as the sustainability and resilience of the food sector in 113 countries.

Regional cooperation

On August 8, 2024, ASEAN will celebrate its 57th anniversary.

When the organization was founded in 1967, its goals were to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region, to achieve a prosperous and peaceful community, and to promote cooperation and mutual assistance in various fields such as agriculture, industry and trade.

Cooperation among the ten ASEAN countries is crucial to addressing current issues such as climate change that affects food supply.

On August 6, at the 45th Special Senior Officials’ Meeting (SSOM) of the ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry held in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Indonesia called on ASEAN member states to take coordinated measures to improve the region’s preparedness to deal with food crises.

Among other initiatives, Indonesia has promoted the use of local food to bolster national food reserves among ASEAN countries.

Prihasto Setyanto, Acting Secretary General of the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture, elaborated that the initiative aims to implement the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Response to Crises, which was adopted at the 43rd ASEAN Summit held in Jakarta in September last year.

He stressed that the Special Summit on South Sudan had reached a number of agreements on cooperation in areas such as food resilience and security, fisheries, forestry and agriculture.

ASEAN countries also agreed to draft the ASEAN Sustainable Agriculture Action Plan and the ASEAN Food Security Action Plan 2026-2030.

This progress is in line with the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Food Security, which notes the importance of sustainable agriculture and food systems to ensure that food is available and affordable for all.

ASEAN leaders also called for action to prevent the global food and nutrition security crisis from worsening, including the risks and unprecedented shocks posed by global population growth to the region’s agriculture and food systems.

Therefore, in alleviating food insecurity, the leaders also stressed strengthening ASEAN’s key role in enhancing multilateral support to ensure better food production.

Global collaboration

As the food crisis has a global impact, ASEAN cannot deal with its threat alone.

On July 26, 2024, during the ASEAN-Canada Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in Vientiane, Laos, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi exchanged views with Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joy, encouraging ASEAN and Canada to strengthen cooperation on food security.

Marsudi said that food security remains an urgent challenge facing the world and the region, and therefore she stressed the importance of close cooperation among countries to ensure food supply, accessibility and affordability.

She explained that cooperation could be implemented through the establishment of an ASEAN-Canada mechanism to ensure various agricultural needs, such as fertilizers during crises, or through collaborative agricultural technologies to increase the sustainability and resilience of agricultural systems.

In addition, at the 50th anniversary celebration of ASEAN-Japan friendship and cooperation held in Tokyo in December 2023, Japan agreed to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN on food security by using technology to improve food productivity and supply chains, supply fertilizers, and coordinate agricultural product standards.

In addition, at the ASEAN-Indo-Pacific Forum (AIPF) Leaders’ Meeting last year, Japan, Australia and Canada expressed their commitment to strengthening cooperation and support with ASEAN in various areas such as supply chain resilience.

ASEAN is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with a growing market and production population that will exceed 670 million in 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Therefore, ensuring food security in the region is urgent as the impact could be huge if not managed properly.

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