Lower Mekong Food Security Database

Project Information

Background and Issues

Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

Food security in ASEAN requires national agrifood production systems that sustain the livelihoods and competiveness of local agriculture and supply sufficient staple food throughout the region.

Agrifood systems are sustainable if they are profitable along the value chain (including farmers, processors, traders and inputs suppliers) providing safe, healthy and affordable food to meet an ever increasing demand by people while, at the same time, protecting a shrinking natural resource base.

ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS) aims at providing solutions for long-term food security in the region through development of regionally-coordinated policies and strategies for sustainable agriculture. This also includes promotion of cross-border value chains in concert with public decision-makers, agricultural enterprises as well as farmers’ and private associations.

Based on pilot measures, concepts are developed how farmers are best supported in the implementation of resource-saving and environmentally-friendly production technologies and practices.

By this, the Project supports the realization of ASEAN and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015 and beyond.

ASEAN SAS is part of the ASEAN-German Programme on Response to Climate Change in Agriculture and Forestry (GAP-CC) commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and being implemented by German International Cooperation or Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Overall Objective

The project aims to enable ASEAN Member States to implement the ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS) Framework and its Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security (SPA-FS) by focusing on the promotion of sustainable food production at the national level.

Complementary Information

Areas of Intervention

Building upon the results and experiences of the ASEAN Biocontrol project (2011-2013), ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (2014-2017) comprises three intervention areas:

Policy Framework

• Development of regionally-coordinated policies, strategies and dialogue concepts for a sustainable agrifood sector.

Production Technologies

• Promotion of the use of sustainable inputs and crop management practices through capacity development.

Market Linkages

• Promotion of sustainable cross-border value chains in collaboration with the private sector.

Technologies & Concepts

Three crop sectors have been prioritized by ASEAN Member States, namely rice, fruits and vegetables. The technologies and concepts promoted across the intervention areas and the specific objectives include:

Integrated Pest Management and Biological Control

• ASEAN “Guidelines on the Regulation, Use and Trade of Biological Control Agents (BCA)” endorsed by ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Foresty (AMAF)
• Establishment of regional expert groups on the regulation and application of biological control
• Establishment of national expert fora on biological control in ASEAN Member States

Integrated Soil and Nutrient Management

• Establishment of a regional expert group on “Integrated Soil and Nutrient Management”

• Development of ASEAN Guidelines

Farm Economics

• Increasing economic understanding among farmers, government, and private sector towards improved efficiency and sustainability of agricultural production
• Field trials demonstrate efficiency and profitability of BCA and other bio-inputs

Project Locations

Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam