Writer: Wannipa Soda, ASEAN Sustainable Agrifood Systems
Scope of contents of the Guidelines on Soil and Nutrient Management was finalized at the 2nd regional meeting of the ASEAN Expert Group on Soil and Nutrient Management (SNM) in Singapore on 28-29 April 2015. The Meeting agreed to shape up the SNM Guidelines content to include: Chapter I: Properties and issues of soils in ASEAN Member States; Chapter II: Good soil management practices; Chapter III: Good nutrient management practices; Chapter IV: Standards, regulations and market information of fertilizer and supplements; and Chapter V: Recommendations on Soil and Nutrient Management.
Following the Singapore Meeting, the 2nd national consultation meetings in different ASEAN Member States (AMS) have been expected to be conducted. The consultation meeting aims at sharing and discussion of the key outcomes of the regional meeting. This includes planning of relevant activities and identify respective responsible for preparation of inputs contribute to writing up contents of the ASEAN SNM Guidelines. In Brunei Darussalam the national consultation meeting was conducted by the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood on 8 – 10 May 2015. In Vietnam, the consultation meeting was held by the Department of Crop Production (DCP) on 28 – 29 June 2015.
To steer the process on preparation of inputs, a monitoring process has been conducting through a status report form. Presently, only Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam provide feedback in this regard. Base on the status reports obtained fromAMS, Malaysia is the most progressive one followed by Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar.
AMS are being expected to submit completed draft of country inputs on subject matter by the end of October for consolidation. The contents received from the AMS will be reviewed by experts at the 3rd Meeting of ASEAN Expert Group on Soil and Nutrient Management to be held in November 2015 in Vientiane, Lao PDR.