Jakarta, 27 August 2024: ERIA organised the inaugural meeting of the preliminary study to explore the ‘Local Resource-Based Food Reserve (LRBFR)’ mechanism in ASEAN Member States on 27 August 2024, held virtually. The meeting was attended by representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) of Indonesia, the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Secretariat, the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) Secretariat, and food security experts from several ASEAN Member States (AMSs) and Japan.

The LRBFR initiative was proposed in the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Response to Crises in 2023. The LRBFR mechanism in each AMS is to be based on local food sources dedicated to emergency preparedness.

In his opening remarks, Dr Pham Quang Minh, Head of the Food, Agriculture, and Forestry Division of the ASEAN Secretariat, expressed the Secretariat’s support for the study. He hoped that the study would identify key challenges and opportunities for cooperation while highlighting the potential for advancing ASEAN LRBFR initiatives. He also acknowledged ERIA's support in following up on the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Response to Crises, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture of Indonesia, through a study engaging almost all AMS.

Dr Ade Candradijaya, Director of the International Cooperation Bureau at MOA Indonesia, explained the background of the study. He highlighted that the study aims to examine existing food reserve mechanisms in ASEAN and AMS, identify local food commodities for reserves, explore depositing mechanisms, and develop a quick release scheme for emergency situations. He reported that the study has been acknowledged by the ASEAN Food Security Reserve Board (AFSRB) and the SOM AMAF Leaders. He expressed gratitude to ERIA for collaborating with MOA Indonesia on this study and hoped it would foster a common understanding of the ASEAN LRBFR.

Masanori Kozono, Senior Policy Fellow and Project Leader, outlined the study project. Requested by MOA Indonesia as a follow-up to the leaders' commitment to exploring LRBFR, the study aims to assess existing food reserve mechanisms at regional and national levels and identify suitable and feasible options for each component of the LRBFR, considering relevant international rules. The study aims to propose a concept note containing possible options for LRBFR elements.

Dr Choomjet Karnjanakesorn, General Manager of the APTERR Secretariat, provided an overview of APTERR's role in strengthening food security within ASEAN. He also highlighted the challenges faced by the APTERR mechanism and suggested solutions that could be applied if the ASEAN LRBFR encounters similar issues in the future.

Several experts shared updates on their work. Prof. Achmad Suryana, Lead Consultant for the study, presented an outline of the country case study and examples of the structure for the country report. Following his presentation, Tetsuo Ushikusa from Aoyama Gakuin University, former chair of the OECD Agriculture Committee, explained the international rules that should be considered in developing the ASEAN LRBFR.

ERIA and the study team, in close consultation with the ASEAN Secretariat and MOA Indonesia, will continue the study and plan to present the findings at the AFSRB meeting and the SOM AMAF meeting next year.