During the period under review (1991-1992) notable progress has been observed in various regional cooperation in the field of Food, Agriculture and Forestry, despite the funding constraints. The 21st Meeting of COFAF, held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 3-6 September 1991, agreed to request the use of ASEAN Fund for the very high priority activities such as ASEAN Plant Quarantine Centre and Training Institute (ASEAN-PLANTI) for its future activities. The ASEAN Standing Committee however felt that it may not be possible to utilize the ASEAN Fund to finance future activities of the ASEAN-PLANTI and recommended that New Zealand be approached for such purpose. At the 11th ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue held on 16-17 June 1992 in Langkawi, New Zealand agreed to consider the proposal submitted by ASEAN.
On Food Security, the 12th Meeting of ASEAN Food Security Reserve Board, held in Singapore in December 1991 agreed to review and strengthen the present arrangement of the ASEAN Food Security Reserve, by approving the project proposal on Strengthening Food Security in ASEAN region which was submitted to the FAO for consideration. The FAO then formulated a Project Outline which was later approved by ASEAN. The project among others will (i) take a comprehensive approach when assessing food security policies based on policy driven models of the national food economies of each ASEAN member country, (ii) evaluate the present stage of development of national Early Warning Systems and develop programmes to strengthen these systems, and (iii) analyse the food security infrastructure (storage processing and transportation) in the context of facilitating the region's rice flows.
With regard to food handling activities, the ASEAN-EC Regional Collaborative Programme on Grain Post Harvest Technology terminated in December 1991, with the completion of the technical review on grain post harvest research and development work in ASEAN. However, the ASEAN-Canada Grain Post Harvest Programme will continue its activities in the efforts to minimize the losses of bulk grain handling and storage, up to July 1993. The ASEAN-Australia Post Harvest System Improvement Programme (AAPSIP) has started its preliminary activities since June 1991, which concentrate on improving post harvest handling of livestock products (meat and milk) and horticulture products (fruits and vegetables) in all participating ASEAN member countries. A Workshop on Management of AAPSIP was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 20-21 November 1991 with funds provided by Australia. The Workshop discussed, among others, the overall organizational structure of AAPSIP and its financial administration and technical arrangements.
For cooperation in crops, the Philippines has informed that the 9th ASEAN Orchid Congress which has been scheduled, would only be held in 1994, while the ASEAN Soil Conference, would be hosted by Malaysian Soil Science Society in 1993. On plant quarantine activities, ASEAN-PLANTI has made further progress in developing collaborative activities with various regional and international bodies in the field of plant quarantine. These actions were aimed at setting up harmonized standards of plant quarantine to facilitate trade of ASEAN agricultural products and to prevent the entry of exotic pests into the region. However, USAID assistance to ASEAN-PLANTI will terminate in June 1992.
On livestock activities, the ASEAN Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Study team had completed a study on the FMD Status in the four (4) island provinces of the Philippines, namely, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Batanes, in early 1991. In view of COFAF's favourable endorsement of the Study Team report and recommendations, the 13th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry, held in Chiangrai, Thailand, 31 October - 2 November 1991 approved the Philippines application to declare the above four island provinces as FMD Free Zones. Pursuance of Malaysia's application to declare itself as an FMD S Free Zone, an ASEAN Study Team coordinated by Singapore had been sent to Malaysia in February 1992 to assess the status of FMD in Malaysia.
The Ministers furthermore agreed to endorse ten new standards of vaccines and the revisions on the original 18 standards of vaccines, to facilitate intra-ASEAN trade and movement of animal vaccines. Furthermore, progress has also been observed on the activities of the ASEAN Poultry Disease Research and Training Centre (APDRTC). Following the JICA Appraisal Mission, assistance to the APDRTC had been extended to two years and the third country training programme to five years commencing April 1991.
In fishery, the implementation of the ASEAN-EC Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme (AADCP) was delayed due to the late release of donor funds caused by the resignation of the project coordinator. At present the project has been in full operation and good working relationship had been established between the ASEAN and EC institutes in the AADCP. The project activities consist of environmental study and coastal zone assessment for brackishwater aquaculture in Indonesia, aquaculture resource management of lakes and reservoir fish production in Malaysia, aquaculture technology verification and training in the Philippines, research and development of marine fish and shrimp feeds in Singapore as well as research in fish and crustacean genetics in Thailand. Other activities also progressed significantly by the signing of the Phase II activities for the ASEAN-Canada Fisheries Post Harvest Technology Project, between ASEAN and Canada in July 1991, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia that will support the five-year development project which will commence its activities in 1992.
In forestry cooperation, ASEAN continued to develop a common stand to counter the Anti-Tropical Timber Campaign and agreed to send various missions to industrialised countries, with a viewing to expressing ASEAN's view on the global environmental issues related to forestry and reiterating tropical countries' concerns in the equitable sharing of responsibilities to face the challenges. ASEAN also emphasized the important role of non-tropical countries on issues related to deforestation, biodiversity and global warning, in order to shift the focus from merely tropical forest to global forest. At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), ASEAN developed a common stand with regard to issues on forestry to support a non legally binding authoritative statement of principles for a global consensus on the management, conservation and development of all types of forest.
Progress was also noted in the ASEAN. Cooperation in agricultural training and extension, particularly on the establishment of the ASEAN Rural Youth Development Centre (ARYDEC) in Bangkok, which would function as a coordinating unit for activities under the project on "Preparing Rural Youth for a Better Future in Agriculture". A workshop on agricultural cooperatives development was held in Jakarta, 13-18 May 1991, prior to the inauguration of the establishment of the ASEAN Centre for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives (ACEDAC). The workshop discussed the recent developments in cooperative legislation and policies in ASEAN member countries, as well as the specific recommendations on operational guidelines, nomination of ACEDAC Board members and the development of the programme for the period of 1991-1992. Under the direction of the Council of ASEAN Directors of Agricultural Extension (CADEX), the Second ASEAN Farmers Week was successfully conducted in Thailand in May 1991, while the Third ASEAN Farmers Week would be hosted by Malaysia on 6 - 14 August 1992 in conjunction with the National Farmers', Fishermen and Livestock Breeders Week 1992.
The ASEAN Agricultural Development Planning Centre (ADPC) most recently placed the need to boost planning capabilities in agribusiness and agro industries. In promoting ASEAN agricultural products, the Centre in cooperation with the ASEAN-CCI/Working Group on Food, Agriculture and Forestry, organized a Regional Roundtable Discussion on International Marketing and export promotion on non-traditional agricultural products in March 1992, with the objective of exchanging information and experiences among ASEAN member countries in regard to international marketing and export promotion of black pepper, cocoa, canned tuna and carrageenan and to provide recommendations to expand markets and increase exports of these agricultural products.

For more information, please refer to the project details

COOPERATION IN FOOD, AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY (COFAF)
During the period under review (1991-1992) notable progress has been observed in various regional cooperation in the field of Food, Agriculture and Forestry, despite the funding constraints. The 21st Meeting of COFAF, held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 3-6 September 1991, agreed to request the use of ASEAN Fund for the very high priority activities such as ASEAN Plant Quarantine Centre and Training Institute (ASEAN-PLANTI) for its future activities. The ASEAN Standing Committee however felt that it may not be possible to utilize the ASEAN Fund to finance future activities of the ASEAN-PLANTI and recommended that New Zealand be approached for such purpose. At the 11th ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue held on 16-17 June 1992 in Langkawi, New Zealand agreed to consider the proposal submitted by ASEAN. On Food Security, the 12th Meeting of ASEAN Food Security Reserve Board, held in Singapore in December 1991 agreed to review and strengthen the present arrangement of the ASEAN Food Security Reserve, by approving the project proposal on Strengthening Food Security in ASEAN region which was submitted to the FAO for consideration. The FAO then formulated a Project Outline which was later approved by ASEAN. The project among others will (i) take a comprehensive approach when assessing food security policies based on policy driven models of the national food economies of each ASEAN member country, (ii) evaluate the present stage of development of national Early Warning Systems and develop programmes to strengthen these systems, and (iii) analyse the food security infrastructure (storage processing and transportation) in the context of facilitating the region's rice flows. With regard to food handling activities, the ASEAN-EC Regional Collaborative Programme on Grain Post Harvest Technology terminated in December 1991, with the completion of the technical review on grain post harvest research and development work in ASEAN. However, the ASEAN-Canada Grain Post Harvest Programme will continue its activities in the efforts to minimize the losses of bulk grain handling and storage, up to July 1993. The ASEAN-Australia Post Harvest System Improvement Programme (AAPSIP) has started its preliminary activities since June 1991, which concentrate on improving post harvest handling of livestock products (meat and milk) and horticulture products (fruits and vegetables) in all participating ASEAN member countries. A Workshop on Management of AAPSIP was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 20-21 November 1991 with funds provided by Australia. The Workshop discussed, among others, the overall organizational structure of AAPSIP and its financial administration and technical arrangements. For cooperation in crops, the Philippines has informed that the 9th ASEAN Orchid Congress which has been scheduled, would only be held in 1994, while the ASEAN Soil Conference, would be hosted by Malaysian Soil Science Society in 1993. On plant quarantine activities, ASEAN-PLANTI has made further progress in developing collaborative activities with various regional and international bodies in the field of plant quarantine. These actions were aimed at setting up harmonized standards of plant quarantine to facilitate trade of ASEAN agricultural products and to prevent the entry of exotic pests into the region. However, USAID assistance to ASEAN-PLANTI will terminate in June 1992. On livestock activities, the ASEAN Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) Study team had completed a study on the FMD Status in the four (4) island provinces of the Philippines, namely, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Batanes, in early 1991. In view of COFAF's favourable endorsement of the Study Team report and recommendations, the 13th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry, held in Chiangrai, Thailand, 31 October - 2 November 1991 approved the Philippines application to declare the above four island provinces as FMD Free Zones. Pursuance of Malaysia's application to declare itself as an FMD S Free Zone, an ASEAN Study Team coordinated by Singapore had been sent to Malaysia in February 1992 to assess the status of FMD in Malaysia. The Ministers furthermore agreed to endorse ten new standards of vaccines and the revisions on the original 18 standards of vaccines, to facilitate intra-ASEAN trade and movement of animal vaccines. Furthermore, progress has also been observed on the activities of the ASEAN Poultry Disease Research and Training Centre (APDRTC). Following the JICA Appraisal Mission, assistance to the APDRTC had been extended to two years and the third country training programme to five years commencing April 1991. In fishery, the implementation of the ASEAN-EC Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme (AADCP) was delayed due to the late release of donor funds caused by the resignation of the project coordinator. At present the project has been in full operation and good working relationship had been established between the ASEAN and EC institutes in the AADCP. The project activities consist of environmental study and coastal zone assessment for brackishwater aquaculture in Indonesia, aquaculture resource management of lakes and reservoir fish production in Malaysia, aquaculture technology verification and training in the Philippines, research and development of marine fish and shrimp feeds in Singapore as well as research in fish and crustacean genetics in Thailand. Other activities also progressed significantly by the signing of the Phase II activities for the ASEAN-Canada Fisheries Post Harvest Technology Project, between ASEAN and Canada in July 1991, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia that will support the five-year development project which will commence its activities in 1992. In forestry cooperation, ASEAN continued to develop a common stand to counter the Anti-Tropical Timber Campaign and agreed to send various missions to industrialised countries, with a viewing to expressing ASEAN's view on the global environmental issues related to forestry and reiterating tropical countries' concerns in the equitable sharing of responsibilities to face the challenges. ASEAN also emphasized the important role of non-tropical countries on issues related to deforestation, biodiversity and global warning, in order to shift the focus from merely tropical forest to global forest. At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), ASEAN developed a common stand with regard to issues on forestry to support a non legally binding authoritative statement of principles for a global consensus on the management, conservation and development of all types of forest. Progress was also noted in the ASEAN. Cooperation in agricultural training and extension, particularly on the establishment of the ASEAN Rural Youth Development Centre (ARYDEC) in Bangkok, which would function as a coordinating unit for activities under the project on "Preparing Rural Youth for a Better Future in Agriculture". A workshop on agricultural cooperatives development was held in Jakarta, 13-18 May 1991, prior to the inauguration of the establishment of the ASEAN Centre for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives (ACEDAC). The workshop discussed the recent developments in cooperative legislation and policies in ASEAN member countries, as well as the specific recommendations on operational guidelines, nomination of ACEDAC Board members and the development of the programme for the period of 1991-1992. Under the direction of the Council of ASEAN Directors of Agricultural Extension (CADEX), the Second ASEAN Farmers Week was successfully conducted in Thailand in May 1991, while the Third ASEAN Farmers Week would be hosted by Malaysia on 6 - 14 August 1992 in conjunction with the National Farmers', Fishermen and Livestock Breeders Week 1992. The ASEAN Agricultural Development Planning Centre (ADPC) most recently placed the need to boost planning capabilities in agribusiness and agro industries. In promoting ASEAN agricultural products, the Centre in cooperation with the ASEAN-CCI/Working Group on Food, Agriculture and Forestry, organized a Regional Roundtable Discussion on International Marketing and export promotion on non-traditional agricultural products in March 1992, with the objective of exchanging information and experiences among ASEAN member countries in regard to international marketing and export promotion of black pepper, cocoa, canned tuna and carrageenan and to provide recommendations to expand markets and increase exports of these agricultural products. For more information, please refer to the project details