Heeding the Call for Collective Resilience in Regional Food Security

The recent 48th ASEAN Leaders meeting in Cebu, Philippines, saw leaders advocate a regional approach to common issues the bloc faces. Singapore PM Lawrence Wong’s call for “collective resilience” is especially important in the face of immediate challenges faced by all ASEAN Member States (AMS) like shortages of energy, fertiliser and supply chain disruptions.

The Gulf crisis has impacted ASEAN’s food security and highlighted the region’s high dependence on critical farming inputs like fertiliser. So, what are the options available for ASEAN to improve regional resilience in food security? A start would be to examine how much food is produced in the region using the Self-Sufficiency Ratio (SSR, Table 1). The data show that ASEAN can produce enough to meet its needs for three out of the four (most) important food items (rice, vegetables, fish). ASEAN also enjoys a surplus in vegetable oils, notably in palm oil. However, the region remains a net importer of meat and other oils like soybean, sunflower and peanut oil.

ASEAN can strengthen regional food security through a mix of food trade coordination, climate resilience, technology adoption and strengthened regional institutions. As ASEAN countries are highly interconnected, a regional approach is often more effective than individual country action.

Table 1. Self-sufficiency ratios (SSR) for 4 food items (by AMS), 2021-2024

Notes: Assessment notes based on: (1) ‘Import Dependent’ means low SSR but high IDR of > 50%; (2) ‘Almost self-sufficient’ means SSR > 80%; (3) Staple ‘import dependent’ means SSR < 80%; (4) ‘Exporter’ means SSR > or = 100%.

*For Myanmar, there is an overall surplus, although war-torn or conflict zones are facing deficits.

Keeping the food trade open, especially during crises, is important. Food shortages in recent years have been worsened by unilateral export bans and panic stockpiling. Intra-ASEAN trade needs to be maintained, as noted during the 46th ASEAN Leaders’ Summit. ASEAN could create binding agreements among AMS to avoid sudden export restrictions on staples like rice (like the Vietnam-Singapore agreement), improve transparency on grain reserves and production forecasts, and simplify customs procedures for emergency food shipments. These moves would help to avoid panic buying and reduce price spikes.

In addition to bilateral agreements, regional food reserves have been proven to work on rice, as exemplified by the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR). ASEAN could consider larger strategic food reserves beyond rice to include fertiliser and even animal feed, to improve regional resilience against shocks. Shared insurance mechanisms like parametric insurance could be considered for climate-related crop losses.  

The long-term challenge is moving from consultative cooperation toward more operational and reliable regional food security mechanisms without undermining national sovereignty.

Building climate-resilient agriculture will require time to show results. Southeast Asia is faced with severe weather events like floods, droughts and heat spikes. Improving the sharing of climate adaptation measures, such as drought or flood-tolerant crops, accompanied by regional climate early-warning systems, will ensure continued production. ASEAN has multiple regional programmes linking climate adaptation with food security, but these need greater financial support and political commitment.

Diversifying sources of food, feed and inputs is another approach with immediate payoffs. Many ASEAN countries rely heavily on imported wheat, fertiliser, animal feed and a small number of staple crops. Regional diversification should include supporting alternative staples such as millet, pulses and sorghum; expanding plantings of “neglected under-utilised species (NUS) of crops such as Adlai rice, also called ‘Job’s Tears’” (not related to commonly eaten rice but an alternative where rice cannot be grown); developing alternative protein sources; and encouraging urban farming.

Large crop yield gaps still exist in different crops. For instance, rice yields are only about half of what they can be. ASEAN can help farmers reduce these gaps through shared agricultural technology platforms, supportive policies and yield-enhancing technologies like digital precision farming. Partnerships with groups like the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), with its 15 research centres around the world, including the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), can accelerate innovation and adoption.

Further, ASEAN’s policies, frameworks and institutions aimed at improving regional food security cooperation need better coordination among the responsible implementing bodies. The ASEAN Integrated Food Security (AIFS) Framework is the region’s main long-term food security strategy to ensure a stable food supply. It encourages AMS to coordinate policies while maintaining national sovereignty and is supported by the Food, Agriculture and Forestry Sectoral Plan 2026-2030, which has a key thrust of encouraging partnerships. Implementation requires more urgent action through detailed plans by the sectoral groups.

As maintaining free trade is important for regional food security, the upgraded ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) can help reduce tariffs, simplify customs procedures and facilitate cross-border movement of agricultural products, which would lead to improved food security.

Despite existing food security governance over crops, fisheries and livestock, the effectiveness of ASEAN cooperation and coordination depends heavily on political trust, information-sharing and AMS’ willingness to cooperate during crises. Trust is essential because regional food systems work only when countries believe supplies will continue flowing during emergencies.

ASEAN already enjoys complementary advantages in food production, technology, logistics and finance. The long-term challenge is moving from consultative cooperation toward more operational and reliable regional food security mechanisms without undermining national sovereignty. The immediate challenge is turning national strengths into a regional food system with more resilience than any individual AMS could achieve alone. Only then, would the Singapore prime minister’s call for “collective resilience” in food security become a reality sooner.

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