NEAT Working Group on
Enhancing the East Asian Food Security Mechanism:
APTERR’s contribution to Food Security and Disaster Prevention

Final ReportTokyo
27th July 2018

1. Background
In East Asia, regional cooperation and integration has been advancing in the areasof economy, money and education since the start of the ASEAN Plus Three (APT)
cooperation in 1997. The high growth of production, income and trade has continued andamplified the interdependence of regional economies. Such economic growth andintegration, however, masks the existence of common challenges and negative side effects.
The region is increasingly prone to natural disasters and climate changes. Poverty andhunger is still persisting among the lower tier of the society. The widening disparities ofeconomic conditions among different social strata are undermining the national cohesion
and social stability. Many concerns that the sustainable growth and the secure life of theregion is being challenged.
A typical area of common concern has been the stable supply of food and foodsecurity. After the World Food Summit in 1996, the cooperation for food security wasintensively discussed among the East Asian countries and the ASEAN Food Security
Information System (AFSIS) was established at the APT Ministerial Meeting on Agricultureand Forestry (AMAF+3) in 2001-2002, followed by the creation of the pilot project of East
Asia Emergency Rice Reserve (EAERR) in 2004. The world food crisis in 2007-8 proved thatworld food market was still vulnerable against unexpected shocks and speculations, which
paved the way to the establishment of the ASEAN plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve(APTERR) and made the AFSIS a permanent mechanism in 2012.
The APTERR is a unique program materialized under the APT cooperation. Itaims at strengthening the food security and poverty reduction in the APT countries, mainly
through the specific rice reserve mechanisms to prepare for large scale disasters or otheremergency cases. Since its establishment in 2012, a considerable amount of rice wasreleased from the APTERR stockpiled emergency reserves to the areas damaged by thetyphoon, drought and other emergencies.
Nevertheless, these cooperation mechanisms for food security, in particular APTERR,
have many limitations and challenges to address more effectively and swiftly the complex
issues of food security and poverty reduction in the APT region.

12. Objective
This WG has been set up to review the current food security cooperation
mechanisms in the APT region with a particular focus on the improvement of APTERR’s
framework and operations so that all parties share the need for, and the benefit of, suchcollective regional food security mechanism. The WG was expected to identify the major
challenges, examine possible areas to improve or further develop and prepare
recommendations to the APT Summit from the standpoint of Track II diplomacy.

3. Challenges
Food security has long been a high priority agenda in the national policy of
populous East Asia. The situation has little changed even after the decades of economic
success because supply of sufficient food at reasonable prices is critical for thesocio-political stability. However, region’s food security is now being challenged by two
new world trends. Inward-looking policies taken by world leading countries are making
international food supply more unpredictable and unreliable. Climate change seems to becausing more frequent floods, drought, and heat damages to crops and animals in a muchlarger scale.
Food security in the APT countries could be better achieved through the collective
and concerted actions, and more ideally, by the creation of a common agricultural policy.
In this context, the foundation of the APTERR program and the AFSIS mechanism was atiny but important first step towards that goal.
In the APT region, the stable supply of rice, which is the common staple food, iskey to food security and thus APTERR’s efforts center on rice reserves. All parties
committed to earmarking certain quantity of rice to meet emergency requirements of APT
members totaling 787,000 tons. Since its inception, nearly 19,000 tons of stockpiled reserve
rice have been made available for emergencies under the Tier 3 mechanism. Although
being greatly appreciated by the recipients, the current program has many challenges to be
one of the most important and effective mechanisms of regional cooperation for foodsecurity.
First is to enhance the awareness of the program and fetch full support fromgeneral public, international communities and policy makers. By nature, international
2emergency food reserves hardly attract people’s attention at normal times. But at a time ofglobal food shortages such as in 2007-8, regional reserves can work as a social safety net byassuring a supply of pledged food and reducing the pressure of rising prices. Despite that
the APTERR is a unique inter-governmental mechanism pledging quantitative contribution
to food security and has delivered a considerable amount of rice in number of emergency
cases, it is not well known by ordinary citizens and policy makers. Efforts should be madeto let the important role of, and necessity for, such emergency reserves broadly
acknowledged.
Second challenge concerns the earmarked reserves which are the core of theAPTERR program. The earmarked reserve and its use (Tier 1 and Tear 2) constitutes acentral part of food security mechanism in the APTERR. It is a powerful tool to physicallytackle food insecurity and the existence of such reserves itself should exert considerable
tranquilizing effects on politics and markets. However, the actual use has been so far very
limited. This may be largely the reflection that no serious food shortages emerged during
this period but may be partly attributable to the rules and conditions stipulated in theprogram. It may be worth reviewing the current rules and conditions from the standpointof recipients so that the earmarked reserve can be readily utilized by the countries in need.
Third challenge is to use the undelivered stockpiled rice (Tier 3 rice) for broader
purposes. The APTERR has a mechanism to contribute to poverty reduction through theuse of undelivered stockpiled rice after the laps of the reserve period. The use for the Foodfor Work (FFW) program or school lunch program was a good example. But theundelivered rice may be used for other purposes, at other occasions or in different
frameworks. Because the APTERR is mostly used in the event of disasters, the APTERR
mechanism can be associated with training and education that will help people prepare forand manage various disasters such as tsunami, flood and typhoon, and it could also be
considered to be used in wider areas or for other international cooperation frameworks.

4. Discussions at the Working Group meeting
Twenty experts from APT countries, the APTERR secretariat and the sponsoringorganization, the Japan Forum on International Relations (JFIR), participated in a working
group meeting which was held in Tokyo on 26-27 July 2018. Discussions were made inthree consecutive sessions highlighting the experiences and challenges of APTERR from the3perspective of supplying countries, those of recipient countries and APTERR’s future
including the utilization of stockpiled rice in post reservation period.
Following the opening remarks of the Vice President of JFIR, in Session I the WG
discussed major concerns that the APTERR system has to tackle with, while admitting its
valuable role in regional food security. They pointed to the limited awareness among
general public and stakeholders and suggested the awareness should be raised through all
possible channels in particular through the improved web-site information on its activities,
rules/procedures and performances. The group addressed the concerns that earmarked rice
reserves under Tier 1 and 2 had been seldom utilized and discussed about alternative
pricing and funding mechanisms such as flexible interpretation of current prices,
repayment in kind, use of stand-by concessional loans. Regarding the use of undelivered
stockpiled rice, it was suggested that wider coordination with ministries, private sectors
and related complementary projects would resolve these problems. In this regard, theIntroduction of “Tier 3 guild book” was thought to be very helpful.
In Session II, recipient countries appreciated the support from the APTERR
especially for donating reserved rice to disaster-hit areas. The Session discussed on a wide
range of issues arising in the implementation stage of stockpiled reserve based on the pastexperiences. They include insufficient quantity for emergency relief, delayed delivery due
to slow office procedures, deterioration in rice quality during preservation, difficulty indelivery due to poor infrastructure and limited fund for logistical support. It was repeatedthat wider coordination among different institutions would be the key for smooth andtimely delivery. Suggestions were made including streamlining office procedures, proactive
rather than reactive commitments, technical assistance on rice storage, and storing rice
partly in the form of processed products or ‘ready-to-eat’. Some members also suggested
the necessity for the changes in relevant rules.
Session III discussed the future of APTERR including the use of Tier 3 rice after
reservation period and regional cooperation for food security. Experts proposed to broaden
the mode and scope of utilizing undelivered Tier 3 rice to such activities as school lunch,dietary/nutrition education, food for work, and training for disaster management. Experts
asked if Tier 3 rice, after the laps of reserve period, could be ‘monetarized’ (cashed) in themarket so as to mobilize it more effectively for these broader purposes. Other experts
hinted that part of Tier 3 rice could be ‘fortified’ with vitamins and released to schools orpeople suffering from malnutrition. They considered that full collaboration with various
4local and international agencies would be required. Finally, they all agreed that theAPTERR’s mechanism, though currently not well acknowledged, is an important step forregional food security cooperation which is supported by mutual trust by members. It wasalso suggested it could play a pioneering role in designing common food security policies.

5. Policy Recommendations
Based on the discussions above, the Working Group on “Enhancing the East Asian
Food Security Mechanism: APTERR’s contribution to Food Security and DisasterPrevention” summarized the following policy recommendations:
1.

(Enhancing awareness)
Make all possible efforts to raise the awareness of the APTERR and its role among

the concerned people and gain their full support for its programs by disseminating a wide
range of information through all possible channels including its unique intergovernmental
collaboration mechanisms focusing on rice, past performances and positive impact onregional food security, as well as its rules, operations and related statistics.
2.

(Coordination with other agencies and groups)
Strengthen the coordination with other national and international agencies, NGOs

and private sectors that are also conducting various activities that enhance food security inEast Asia. The APTERR, in close collaboration with AFSIS, can play a leading role in thearea of collecting, analyzing and disseminating information on rice stocks, reserves, andemergency food deliveries by extending its activities to the ones that are required at normaltimes.
3.

（More use of earmarked reserves under Tier 1 and 2）
Encourage the use of Tier 1 and Tier 2 reserves by finding appropriate measures

to reduce/detour bottlenecks including flexible pricing mechanisms which are more
attractive for both supplying and demanding countries and at the same time will not
disturb regional and international rice markets.

54.

（Strengthen Tier 3 mechanism)
Improve the quality and quantity of Tier 3 rice stockpiles to be ready forincreasing number and degree of emergencies, and expand the scope of their use after thelaps of reserve period for a wide range of activities for reducing poverty and malnutrition.
Technical assistance and collaboration with local experts should help improve reserved rice
quality and expand applicable activities. Examine the change of operational rules regarding
the partial encashment of stock piled rice after reserve period so that various activities canbe implemented more effectively.
5.

（Contribution to disaster prevention and management）
Plan and store partly the stockpiled rice reserves in a manner that can meet both

requirements for emergency release and for the use of post reserve period. The storage ofpre-cooked rice products would enable immediate consumption by people in disaster hit
areas and after the laps of reserve period they can be utilized for disaster management
training or dietary education.
6.

（Steps forward to common regional policies）
In the light of amplifying cross border economic activities and deepening

interdependence including food and agriculture, accelerate discussions among all
stakeholders how to reach a more collective and inclusive food security policy in the APTregion. The APTERR is a rare case that all parties commit in substance to a commonsecurity issue based on mutual trust. However tiny, its experience and institutional setting
would help conceptualize and formulate broader common food security policies as theEuropean Union eventually established.
[END]

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List of Participants
Cambodia
Chan PHALOEUN
Deputy Director General, General Directorate of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries
Cheth KIMNGOY
M&E Assistant, General Directorate of Agriculture,
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Dolla HOR
Official, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

China
ZHANG Bin
Project Officer,
Foreign Economic Cooperation Center, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs
CUI Haining
Associate Professor/Deputy Director,
Institute of Asian Studies, China Foreign Affairs UniversityIndonesia
Ratih Dyah KUSUMASTUTIHead of Management Research Centre,
Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia

Japan[WG Members]*Director of the WG
TSUBOTA Kunio*
Visiting Research Fellow, The Nippon Agricultural Research Institute
KOBAYASHI Hiroaki
Professor, Graduate School of Horticulture, Faculty of Horticulture, Chiba University

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KOYAMA Osamu
Vice-President, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
SUZUKI Kazuya
Deputy Director General, Rural Development Department,
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)[The Japan Forum on International Relations (JFIR)]WATANABE Mayu
Vice President, JFIRISHIGAKI Yasuji
Trustee, JFIRKIKUCHI Yona
Director/Senior Research Fellow, JFIRITO Masanori
Director/ Executive Secretary, JFIR
TAKEDA Yuki
Research Fellow, JFIR
Laos
Samlan PASEUTKHAMLA
Director, Division of Economic Integration, Department of Planning and Finance, MFA
Malaysia
Ainun JAABI
Researcher, Technology, Innovation, Environment and Sustainability Division,
ISIS Malaysia
MyanmarKhin Maung NYO
Senior Adviser, Institute of Strategic and International Studies, Myanmar
Singapore
Jiwei QIAN
Senior Research Fellow, East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore
8Thailand
Visith CHAVASIT
Faculty Member, Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol UniversityVietnam
NGO Minh Hang
Research Fellow, Center for Security and Development, Institute for Foreign Policy
and Strategic Studies, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam
In Alphabetical Order of Country Name
[Guest]APTERR Secretariat
Chanpithya SHIMPHALEEGeneral Manager, ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve Secretariat
TOEDA Yoshiharu
Japanese Expert, ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve Secretariat
Nitthi ATTAYOTHIN
Head of Administration, ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve Secretariat

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