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7. Food Security in ASEAN
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Chapter
- Additional Information
148 Mya Than© 2001 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore Introduction The ASEAN Eminent Persons Group (EPG), in June 1999, decided to draft the following proposals for the ASEAN Summit in 2000. They included the ASEAN Vision 2020, and proposals related to Post-Asian Crisis Economic Scenarios, Food Security, ASEAN Monetary Fund, and Civil Societies. Among these, the food security issue has been a top priority subject in ASEAN for some time. The ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) oversee the co-operative efforts in the area of food, agriculture, and forestry in the region. It has established several priority areas: to promote the food, agriculture, and forestry sectors. Among them, strengthening food security in the region has been given top priority. This is because the incidence of malnutrition in Asia, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates, accounts for nearly two-thirds of the chronically undernourished in the world. It further indicates that by the year 2010, Asia will account for one-half of the world’s malnourished population (FAO 1998, p. 1). This suggests that food security is an issue that needs to be addressed urgently, and it will continue to be an important issue in the future. For the purpose of this study, the definition of “food 148 7 Food Security in ASEAN MYA THAN ISEAS DOCUMENT DELIVERY SERVICE. No reproduction without permission of the publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 30 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, SINGAPORE 119614. FAX: (65)7756259; TEL: (65) 8702447; E-MAIL: publish@iseas.edu.sg Food Security in ASEAN 149© 2001 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore security” will be borrowed from the FAO. According to the FAO, “food security is generally understood as access to adequate food to all households at all times to enable them to lead a healthy and active life” (FAO 1998, p. 79). Hence, the objective of this chapter is to review the food security situation in the region in the framework of the economic and social environment and to explore ways and means to ensure food security in the region in the short-term and long-term perspectives. The first section will analyse the economic and social performance of the region in general and the salient features of Southeast Asian agriculture in particular. The second section will address the status of food security in the region in terms of adequacy, stability, and the quality of food. The third section will discuss the software issues, such as macro policy reforms, agricultural development policies, and programmes related to food security. The impact of the regional crisis on food security will be discussed next. The conclusion will sum up the findings of the study and discuss the problems and challenges of the region with regard to food security. Macroeconomic and Social Performance, and Agricultural Situation in ASEAN Despite rapid urbanization and industrialization in the region, nearly three-quarters of the population continue to live in the rural areas where most of them depend on agriculture for meagre employment and income. Hence, agricultural and rural development is closely related to food security and a key component of poverty alleviation in the region. This is the reason why this section will explore and analyse the agricultural situation in the ASEAN member countries. Southeast Asia is a large geographical region composed of ten countries all of which are members of ASEAN, as of April 1999. The region has diverse historical, geographical, cultural, ethnical, and language characteristics, with varied natural endowments and different levels of development. It can be divided into two subgroups based on income and development level (Table 7.1). The first subgroup includes countries with middle-level income, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand (ASEAN-4). Singapore and Brunei are excluded from this group as the agricultural sector does not play an important role in their [54.165.122.173] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 02:15 GMT) 150 Mya Than© 2001 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore TABLE 7.1 Socio-economic Indicators (1995) Population Area GNP($) Literacy Life CPI (mil.)* (‘000 km2 ) (per/cap) (%) Expectancy (%)# Cambodia 10.2 181 270 65 53 7.5 Indonesia 203.5 1,905 980 84 64 8.8 Laos 4.7 237 350 57 52 22.6 Malaysia 21.0 330 3,980 83 71 3.3 Myanmar 46.8 677 280** 83 59 26.4 Philippines 70.7 300 1050 95 66 9.8 Thailand 59.2 513 2,740 94 69 5.0 Vietnam 76.6...