Vietnamese participants actively shared experience in ensuring food security at the 35th ASEAN Food Security Reserve Board (AFSRB) meeting held in Malaysia on June 3-5.

Delegates from the Southeast Asian country also contributed ideas to improve the board’s operational efficiency and seek international technical and financial assistance.

The annual event drew representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the ASEAN Food Security Information System and the ASEAN plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve.

Attendees discussed ways to stabilise food prices, increase production and seek trade opportunities among ASEAN countries in the long run.

They also exchanged information on food security in Southeast Asia and around the world as well as policies and programmes pertaining to national food security, production, reserve and consumption focusing on specific sectors such as rice, maize, soybean and sugarcane.

They discussed issues raised at the 35 th ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry meeting, the ASEAN Summit and Dialogue Partners and the Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security for the ASEAN Region (SPA-FS) in 2015 and 2020.

Participants also reviewed orientations to promote cooperation between ASEAN organisations with partners outside the bloc, such as the FAO, OECD and ADB.-VNA