Building Food Security and Managing Risk in Southeast Asia
This report explores effective policy solutions to the current and future challenges
related to food security in the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN). While robust GDP growth, rising agricultural productivity and output, and
strong growth in agricultural incomes have all contributed to vast improvements in
the food security of the region, 60 million people remain undernourished. ASEAN governments
have therefore justifiably kept food security as a policy priority. The regional policy
architecture set out in ASEAN frameworks provides sound guidance, yet some of the
current policies adopted by members are not helping to address food insecurity and
its causes, including the formidable challenges related to climate change and the
need for continued growth in sustainable food production to feed growing populations.
This report puts forward a number of policy recommendations to ensure that the ASEAN
agricultural and fisheries sectors contribute effectively and efficiently to ensuring
regional food security.
1. Provide targeted support to vulnerable households
Improve access to food by poor households through conditional cash transfers or other targeted redistributive efforts such as food vouchers.
Provide training programmes to enable agricultural and fisheries producers to make better production and investment decisions, including through diversification to alternative activities.
2. Implement trade and domestic support reforms
Gradually reduce trade barriers with a view to creating an open and competitive regional market, for rice in particular, and pursue more open markets with greater private sector involvement among a wider set of international trading partners.
Reduce distorting forms of domestic support to fisheries and agriculture
3. Promote sustainable agricultural and fisheries productivity growth
Strengthen the enabling environment through improving environmental governance; regulations on land, water and biodiversity resources; investments in infrastructure, agricultural R&D and agricultural innovation systems; improving rural land market rights and access, and increasing access to credit for farmers.
Improve sustainable resource management of fisheries through the adoption of inclusively defined, science-based and measurable long-term management targets, for example.