Regional Cooperation for Food Security in East Asia : From Rice Reserve APTERR and Information System AFSIS to Common Agricultural Policy

During the transition to the 21st century, globalization increased investment and trade in East Asia and accelerated the interdependence of the Asian national economies. Under the worldwide food crisis, even with the global financial crisis and sluggish demand, rice prices have remained high. Food shortages in poor developing countries have worsened. Regional cooperation in food security has become a critical issue. The key to success here may be the East Asia Emergency Rice Reserve (EAERR) pilot project launched in 2004 and the ASEAN Food Security Information System (AFSIS) launched in 2003. Both were agreed to at the AMAF+3, the Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry of the ASEAN+3 (Japan, China and Korea), targeting food reserves and aid in the event of disasters and famine. First Part of this paper focuses on the East Asian Emergency Rice Reserve (EAERR), which evaluate the evolution over time from the ASEAN Emergency Rice Reserve (AERR) to the EAERR. The paper discusses the goals of the EAERR’s dual rice stock system (earmarked and physical stocks) and describes the mechanisms of the four rice release programs (Tier 1, 2, 3 and PAME). It also explores the conversion of EAERR into ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) as a permanent organization following the conclusion of the EAERR pilot project in 2010.Secomd part of this paper advances proposals related to regional cooperation and Asian common agricultural policy towards the East Asian community; for example, policy cooperation for development assistance, common policy on trade and tariffs including food safety, Asian Common Agricultural Policy (ACAP), and supply-demand and structural adjustments in common agricultural policy.