JAKARTA: The Asean Food Security Reserve Board (AFSRB) convened a meeting on June 7 in Bogor district, Indonesia's West Java province, to address food-related challenges such as the food crisis, El Nino and food reserves.
During the two-day meeting, Arief Prasetyo Adi, the Head of Indonesia's National Food Agency (Bapanas), emphasised the critical issues raised by Indonesian President Joko Widodo regarding global food shortages and starvation as a consequence of climate change.
"Adi also highlighted how the conflict between Ukraine and Russia has further exacerbated problems in the agriculture sector," according to Vietnam News Agency (VNA).
The primary focus of the meeting was to gather and update information on the current needs of Asean countries and explore intergovernmental measures to tackle these challenges.
One proposed solution to enhance food security in the region is to strengthen the commitment of Asean member countries through the Asean Leaders' Declaration on Food Security. This declaration will be discussed during the AFSRB meeting before being submitted to the Asea Summit in September.
Adi emphasised that the declaration aims to develop mechanisms and unify the role of all relevant sectoral bodies within Asean, including those in agriculture, trade, finance, and transportation. The objective is to enhance food security and nutrition throughout the region.
Asean, comprised of ten member countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam, recognises the importance of collaborative efforts to address food-related issues and ensure the well-being of its member nations. -- BERNAMA