NFA ADMINISTRATOR CALLS ON ASEAN NATIONS TO IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY IN THE REGION

National Food Authority (NFA) administrator Jason Laureano Y. Aquino called on his counterparts in the ASEAN region to consolidate their initiatives and efforts to improve food security, nutrition and agricultural development, particularly in terms of innovation.

In his opening remarks as host of the 37th ASEAN Food Security Reserve Board (AFSRB) meeting in Makati City last April 26-27, Aquino said, "Much more effort and innovation will be urgently needed in order to sustainably increase agricultural production, improve the global supply chain, decrease food losses and waste, and ensure that all who are suffering from hunger and malnutrition have access to nutritious food."

AFSRB is an organization of 10 ASEAN nations who have committed a specific volume of rice stocks as food security reserve under the ASEAN Emergency Rice Reserve system to meet any emergency requirements among member-countries. These include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The Board meets every year to discuss developments about their respective countries' food security situation and review the food situation in the ASEAN region in general.

Aquino said the high vulnerability to wide fluctuations and instability of the region's food supply necessitates the ASEAN member states to "act together to strengthen the region's food security."

The Philippines has an existing earmarked rice stock of 12,000 metric tons under the ASEAN Emergency Rice Reserve program.