APRIL 22 — In the wake of the ongoing war in the Middle East, food security has become an increasingly serious issue. The concern of fertiliser shortages and supply chain disruption means that citizens of Malaysia and much of the South-east Asian region are now bracing for the coming impact of skyrocketing prices and food shortages. As the region works to mitigate some of the immediate economic concerns, long term changes also need to be implemented to address food security vulnerabilities.
For South-east Asia, increasing its regional and international cooperation towards enhancing the agricultural sector has been an ongoing effort for the last few decades. Food security has been mainstreamed as an Asean priority since the 1970s with the signing of the Asean Food Security Reserve in 1979. During last year’s 2025 Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Asean member countries agreed to the “2045 Asean document” where food security (alongside poverty eradication) was highlighted as a major goal for the regional organisation.
Overall Asean member countries face varying degrees of vulnerabilities when it comes to food security. According to the Global Food Security Index published in 2022, however, most Asean member countries do not score well in the aspect of sustainability and adaptability and these weaknesses that are becoming increasingly visible as the region endures a dry El Niño season and resource shortages linked to conflicts in the Middle East.
Taking all this into consideration, the challenges faced today should become the catalyst to push forward more comprehensive structural reforms within the regional food system. One of the ways forward means leveraging its cooperation with like-minded partners in order to improve the agriculture sector as well as food supply chain. Insights from a Korea Foundation supported research grant with Universiti Malaya for a book project on Asean–South Korea food security cooperation discussed current cooperative frameworks and untapped opportunities for collaboration South Korea has with selected Asean member states which includes case studies from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.
At the regional level South Korea has long been an active partner in the Asean Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve. South Korea, as recently as March 2026, donated some 3000 metric tonnes (MT) of rice was provided as assistance for the recent earthquake in Myanmar on top of another 3000 MT that was disbursed last year. Over the years, South Korea has also worked closely within the Asean framework to cover, not only sector specific issues, but also a broader multidimensional partnership aimed at assisting with Asean-led food security initiatives.
These include, for example, the Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (AFACI) which supports agricultural research for increased productivity and sustainable farming. South Korea has also worked in support of the Asean Food Security Information System (AFSIS) through the setup and training for ICT-based agricultural data management system known as the National Agri-food Information System (NAIS). This provides countries with the means to utilise digital technologies and geospatial information for monitoring their agriculture.
Within their bilateral cooperation framework, technology upgrading and agrotech have been a key focus for South Korea and its Asean member countries partners. For more developed partner countries like Singapore, South Korea becomes an important trade partner for diversifying import sources for food while allowing for collaborative research and testing in agriculture innovation. Of course, this has also been something that South Korea is exploring with other Asean member countries.
Emphasis has been on improving farming technologies and systems covering a range of aspects from more resilient crops and smart agriculture centres. For example, with Thailand, there are cooperation to introduce low-emission rice cultivation techniques. In Indonesia there are efforts to build smart greenhouses and improvement in cold chain logistic to curtail the issue of food loss.
Malaysia has not been left out in this movement either and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security Malaysia has signed an MoU with its counterpart in South Korea to explore further research and development into enhancing Malaysia’s agricultural sector. Among the initiatives pursued includes improving Malaysia’s livestock farming through better health monitoring technology as well as research into crop varieties.
Asean and its member countries should continue building on the strong foundation that has already been established. Enhancing cooperation with partner countries like South Korea is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and it paves the way forward to ensure the region can weather future challenges to food security.
* Dr Nurliana Kamaruddin and Dr Geetha Govindasamy are senior lecturers at the Department of East Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Universiti Malaya.
** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
