Members and representatives of the Steering Committee of the ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems (ASEAN SAS) project recently met on 15 December 2017 in Bangkok, Thailand to discuss and establish common understanding on the project extension phase and its scope on crop insurance. The Meeting discussed and agreed on important issues, including project steering and implementation structure, implementation procedures and tentative project operational plan for 2018–2019.
The Meeting reviewed project achievements and discussed its future activities and indicators to be carried over for the 2-year extension phase. While the ASEAN SAS extension will focus on crop insurance, the Meeting agreed to find ways to support and implement the ASEAN Guidelines on Soil and Nutrient Management (SNM) at the national level. The ASEAN Guidelines on SNM was endorsed at the 39th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) in September 2017.
The Meeting also agreed to continue the compilation of Country Profile on Crop Insurance in ASEAN, which could be used as a basis for sharing information and experience among AMS and across relevant ASEAN bodies. This will also provide understanding on key challenges and needs that could serve as a basis for further exploring and promoting collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
The 10th Steering Committee Meeting of the ASEAN SAS Project (Extension – Crop Insurance) was attended by 7 ASEAN Member States, namely, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam. The ASEAN SAS project has been extended to include crop insurance until December 2019. The project will be working in close cooperation with the “Remote sensing-based Information and Insurance for Crops in Emerging Economies (RIICE)”.
