Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry
( COFAF )
Intra-ASEAN Cooperation in food, agriculture and forestry received added impetus when the
ASEAN Agriculture Ministers signed two Memoranda of Understanding - one on ASEAN Agricultural Cooperation in Agricultural Cooperatives and the other on Plant Pest Free Zones when they met
at their Sixth Meeting in Manila, 6 - 9 October, 1984. A number of projects were successfully
implemented.
The ASEAN Committee on Food, Agriculture
and Forestry (COFAF) also held its Fourteenth
Meeting in Denpasar, Bali Indonesia in December
1984.
ASEAN Food Security Reserve
The food situation in the region during the
year under review continued to be satisfactory.
The ASEAN Food Security Reserve (AFSR) Board
in reviewing the food situation in ASEAN at its
Fifth Meeting in Manila in January 1985, agreed
that the 1984 - 1985 production prospect of food
commodities of special concern to ASEAN namely
rice, corn, soybean and sugar was generally
favourable. In spite of the incidence of drought
and floods in some areas at the beginning of the
planting season, overall production of these
commodities was expected to increase somewhat.
This was mainly due to the extension of planted
area for those crops, the expansion of the application
of modern agricultural technology and high
yielding varieties, the continuous rehabilitation as
well as establishment of new agricultural irrigation
systems, and the continuing improvement of other
agricultural support services.
The year under review also saw satisfactory
progress in the implementation of the ASEAN
Crops Post Harvest Programme, a project under the
management and supervision of the AFSR Board.
Activities under the Programme in 1984
received fruitful cooperation from the ASEAN
Food Handling Bureau through the latter's
Australian and European Community supported
research and training programmes.
ASEAN Quarantine Ring
Activities under the ASEAN Quarantine Ring
programmes progressed satisfactorily. On Plant
Quarantine, an important development worth
noting was the signing of a Ministerial Understanding
on Plant Pest Free Zones during the Sixth
Meeting of ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and
Forestry (AMAF), which declared that with the
exception of certain limited areas, all ASEAN
territories were plant pest free zones.
The Plant Quarantine Centre and Training
Institute (PLANTI) activities continued to
progress. From July to September 1984, three
technical meetings were held in Manila, Philippines;
Serdang, Malaysia and Bogor, Indonesia respectively on:
(i) emergency action programmes for some
crops;
(ii) plant quarantine treatment panel; and
(iii) weeds of plant quarantine importance to
ASEAN;
During October - December 1984, PLANTI
conducted four short-term courses on:
(i) stored products pests and control
measures;
(ii) container inspection techniques;
(iii) plant and stored product units;-and
(iv) nematodes of plant quarantine importance.
In 1984, seventeen participants pursuing post
graduate Diploma and Certificate courses in Plant
Quarantine graduated from PLANTI.
To date, more than 150 ASEAN officials have
participated in the PLANTI courses which,
accordingly to a recent evaluation study, have been
very helpful in improving participants' job
performance.
On animal quarantine, it was noted that no
major outbreak of exotic animal diseases such as
Foot and Mouth Disease, Rinderpest and
Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia, had occured
during the year under review. At its Sixth Meeting
in Manila, October 1984, AMAF approved the
application of Malaysia to declare the state of
Sabah, Malaysia, as a Foot and Mouth Disease free
zone. Furthermore, the Ninth Meeting of the
ASEAN Animal Protection Programme held in
Brunei Darussalam, January 1985, reported that
positive steps had been taken to strengthen and
expand national animal quarantine facilities.
Food Handling
The ASEAN Food Handling Project
continued to progress satisfactorily with activities
aimed at improving the capability of the post
harvest handling of grains, horticulture, fish and
livestock products. Developments during the year
under review included:
(i) Inauguration of the ASEAN Horticulture
Packing House in Brastagi, North
Sumatra, Indonesia, in December 1984,
followed by several studies and work-
shops on post-harvest handling of fruits
and vegetables in packing houses;
(ii) selection and procurement of equipment
for strengthening fish quality control
laboratories in Indonesia, -Malaysia and
the Philippines;
(iii) production of films on farm-level drying,
storage and handling of grains;
(iv) a training course in laboratory meat
safety and quality control in Singapore
in late 1984.
Another project under the management of the
Sub-Committee on Food Handling, viz. the
ASEAN - EEC Regional Collaborative Programme
on Grains Post Harvest Technology, finalized
preparations for procuring and delivering post-
harvest equipment to all ASEAN countries. More
than ten consultants were hired, mostly on short-term
assignments, to assist member countries in
project preparation, workshops and seminars.
Additional training courses and workshops are
planned for the remainder of 1985.
Sharing and Training of Extension Resources
The Council of the ASEAN Directors of
Extension (CADEX) at its Eighth Meeting in
Manila, November 1984, reviewed the progress of
its activities, including preparations to implement a
new project on strengthening and sharing of development
support communication resources in
ASEAN.
The year under review saw the expansion of
ASEAN cooperation in this field particularly under
the area of agricultural cooperatives. This was
marked by the signing of the ASEAN
Memorandum of Understanding on ASEAN Cooperation
in Agricultural Cooperatives by the
AMAF during its Sixth Meeting to be implemented
through:
(i) exchanges of relevant information and
experience among member countries;
(ii) education and training of personnel and
cooperators;
(iii) research and development programmes,
and
(iv) other project activities related to agricultural cooperatives.
Cooperation in Crops
The Coordinating Group on Crops held its
Fifth Meeting in Phuket, Thailand, in March 1985.
The Meeting agreed to incorporate the activities of
the ASEAN Soil Conference into the Experts
Group on Soil, Water Management and Land
Consolidation in order to facilitate the smooth
implementation of the ASEAN Soil Conference
Programme of Work. The Experts Group was
therefore renamed "The Experts Group on Soil
Science".
Cooperation in Fisheries
In the field of Fisheries, cooperation
continued to progress with regard to the implementation
of the ASEAN Ministerial
Understanding on Fisheries Cooperation. Necessary
follow up actions have been undertaken in line
with the prioritization agreed upon by COFAF at
its Fourteenth meeting.
On the ASEAN - Canada Fisheries Post
Harvest Technology Project, Canada agreed to
extend the time frame of the project to the end of
1987 and to increase the budget from C$1.5
million to C$2.5 million. The Agreement was
signed by ASEAN and Canada on 20th November
1984.
Cooperation in Livestock
The Eighth Meeting of the Coordinating
Group on Livestock was held in Bandar Seri
Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, February 1985.
Efforts -in livestock cooperation were enhanced
with the implementation of a programme of action
covering among others, activities such as animal
quarantine, livestock and animal feeds.
Several livestock projects are presently being
considered by third parties for cooperative implementation
including the following:
(i) ASEAN Poultry Disease Research and
Training Centre (APDRTC) to be located
in Malaysia; and
(ii) Pig Health and Production Resources
Centre (PHPRC) to be located in
Thailand.
Cooperation in Forestry
The Ninth Meeting of the Coordinating Group
on Forestry held in Chieng Mai, Thailand, January
1985, noted progress on the following:
(i) ASEAN - Canada Forest Tree Seed
Centre - Phase I of the project, which is
supported by Canada, was completed in
September 1 984 with preparations
underway to implement phase II.
(ii) ASEAN - New Zealand Afforestation -
A Note of Understanding on the implementation of phase 11 of the project
(1985 - 1987) was signed in Manila in
October 1984. The project, located in
Tarlac, Philippines, commenced in 1981
and its activities have focused on plantation development of species other than
those of the original forest.
A plantation of approximately 200 hectares
was established in the project area during the year
under review, consisting of various species of
plants. The seed requirements for the project were
partly donated by member countries, including
Acasia mangium seeds from Indonesia and Gmelina
Arborea seeds from Malaysia and Thailand.
(iii) ASEAN Watershed Project - Three
experts meetings and two training
courses were conducted during the year
under review. Ten scholarships on
watershed management, each for a two-
year study either in ASEAN or U.S.
Universities, . were granted under the
project. The project also supported in-
country research on watershed management conducted in each ASEAN
member country. The project steering
-committee approved one research
proposal for implementation in 1985,
namely, "Hydrology of Forested and
Non-Forested Watersheds in Malaysia."
Other member countries would submit
their research proposals to be implemented in 1985/1986.
(iv) ASEAN - EC Timber Technology Centre
- EC agreed to support the Centre to be
located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with
funding amounting to ECU 7,500,000;
and
(v) ASEAN - Canada Institute of Forest
Management - the Memorandum of
Understanding of the project was signed
on 4th February 1985. Canada is to
provide a grant amounting to
C$7,334,000 for this project.
ASEAN Agricultural Development Planning Centre
(ADPC)
Phase I (1980 - 1986) of the Centre's
programme of activities are scheduled for
completion by the middle of 1986. The programme
for Phase II has been prepared and submitted
to USAID.
For implementation of phase I, USAID had
contributed US$3 million. The Government of
Thailand contributed towards the physical development
of the Centre, consisting of an office building
which includes a. library, study room, and a
dormitory building, all located at Kasetsart
University in Bangkok.
For more information, please refer to project details