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Download 'ASEAN BRIEFS: Promoting ASEAN BRIEFS Promoting Food Security in ASEAN Through Trade and Investment Alexander C. Chandra, Fina Astriana, Agustha L. Tobing Special Volume / Vol.1 / September 2017 ASEAN Briefs is a regular publication about About The Habibie Center current developments on ASEAN regionalism, especially in the Political-Security, Economic The Habibie Center was founded by Bacharuddin as well as Socio - Cultural Pillars. Jusuf Habibie and family in 1999 as an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organisation. The vision of The Habibie Center is The Habibie Center - to create a structurally democratic society founded ASEAN Studies Program ASEAN Briefs on the morality and integrity of cultural and religious values. The mission of The Habibie Center are first, Project Supervisor: to establish a structurally and culturally democratic society that recognizes, respects, and promotes Rahimah Abdulrahim human rights by undertaking study and advocacy of (Executive Director) issues related to democratization and human rights, and second, to increase the effectiveness of the Head of ASEAN Studies Program/Editor: management of human resources and the spread of A. Ibrahim Almuttaqi technology. Authors: Alexander C. Chandra About ASEAN Studies Program Fina Astriana Agustha L. Tobing The ASEAN Studies Program was established on February 24, 2010, to become a center of Finance and Administration: excellence on ASEAN related issues, which can Mila Oktaviani assist in the development of the ASEAN Community by 2015. The Habibie Center through its ASEAN Design and Publication: Studies Program, alongside other institutions working towards the same goal, hopes to contribute Rahma Simamora to the realization of a more people-oriented Tongki Ari Wibowo ASEAN that puts a high value on democracy and human rights. The objective of the ASEAN Studies Program is not merely only to conduct research and discussion within academic and government circles, but also to strengthen public awareness by forming a strong network of civil society in the region that will be able to help spread the ASEAN message. With the establishment of ASEAN Studies Program, The Habibie Center aims to play its part within our capabilities to the ASEAN regional development. About Talking ASEAN Talking ASEAN is a monthly public dialogue held at The Habibie Center in Jakarta. Covering a wide Check out our latest edition of array of issues related to ASEAN, Talking ASEAN ASEAN Briefs and download at addresses topics of: Economic Integration, Socio- cultural, & Democracy, human rights and regional http://thcasean.org/publication peace, among others. Featuring local and visiting experts, Talking ASEAN is one of a series of twelve dialogues regularly held each month and open to Cover Image: Food Security a target audience consisting of ASEAN officials, Blog Archive: Pak Food Magazine foreign ambassadors & diplomats, academics, university students, businesses, and the media. This particular edition of policy brief is supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Introduction: The link between trade and food security, which Countries (OPEC), which was seen by many ‘exists when all people, at all times, have physical and observers as a political threat that might hamper economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious regional cooperation.6 Notwithstanding ASEAN’s food [that] enables them to meet their dietary needs vast achievement in agriculture, trade in the sector and food preferences for an active and healthy life’,1 today is often subject to non-tariff barriers, such as is well established. Although, due to the sensitivity of discretionary permits and quotas. the agricultural sector in general (agriculture is even treated separately in the then General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT), the predecessor of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)) with measures such as Trade and food security nexus 2 subsidies and quantitative restrictions, agricultural Attempts to examine the nexus between international trade was already considered an important component trade and food security are not new. Whilst many of multilateral trade negotiations then. In fact, the studies have been dedicated to examine the difficulty for member states to reach an agreement implications of multilateral trade agreements on the on agriculture was the reason why the then GATT’s advancement of food security,7 others attempt to 3 Uruguay Round took so long to complete. Whilst look at the impacts of preferential trade agreements considered as a cornerstone of the present Doha on food security.8 Increasingly, however, the link 4 Development Round, agriculture remains a piece between the two variables is also being examined of the puzzle that continues to be a key stumbling in the context of global efforts to reduce poverty.9 block in the present multilateral agricultural trade Although international trade is only one of the factors negotiation. that affect food security, its absolute significance in Unfortunately, the present outlook of agricultural trade boosting countries’ efforts to attain their food security amongst the member countries of the Association objective is increasing, which is mostly due to the of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is not much rapid growth of global food trade. Generally speaking, different than that seen at the global level. Whilst the however, agricultural trade affects food security to the achievement of food security and the promotion of extent that it: (1) increases economic growth, creates open trade make up important components of the employment prospects, and increases the income Association’s integration initiatives, the attainment of earning capacity of the poor; (2) increases domestic food supplies to meet consumption needs; and (3) food security objective in the region is often pursued 10 at the expense of trade openness.5 When faced with reduces overall food supply variability. the 2007/08 global food crisis, rice producing nations When it comes to trade and trade policies, food in the region chose to seek economic gain from the security is usually defined in terms of either food self- rise of international food prices rather than fulfilling sufficiency or food self-reliance. Whereas the former the food security needs of other ASEAN Member emphasises the production of various food items States (AMS). Even worse was the idea amongst by domestic producers, and rules out imports as a these countries to set up the so-called ‘Organisation major of domestic food supplies, the latter focuses for Rice Exporting Countries (OREC), an agricultural on the availability of various food items for domestic cartel like the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Promoting Food Security in ASEAN Through Trade and Investment 2 Table 1. Key features, policies, and impacts of food self-sufficiency and food self-reliance Features Policies Impacts • All food consumed is • The banning of food Local crops tend to be produced within the exports and imports plentiful and cheap, borders of a country while other food items Food self- • The development • Advocates diets that are harder to obtain in sufficiency of small-scale are simple and natural the domestic market enterprises to boost that can be produced local food production domestically International trade as a A wide variety of food Food is bought wherever key component of food is available, but local cheapest, using the Food self- security policy (food is crops can be more international markets to reliance freely exported and / or expensive than those supplement domestic imported on international obtained from the food supplies markets) international markets Source: Chandra and Lontoh (2010: 2). consumption, and generally considers international produced foods, which would, in turn, undermine the trade as an essential component of a country’s market access of the poor and vulnerable. food security strategy.11 Countries that are keen to adopt the latter food security principle usually The state of food (in)security and support market liberalisation and export oriented agricultural trade pattern in ASEAN agriculture founded on a strong local market through ASEAN has been relatively successful in facilitating improvements in physical infrastructure and credit food security in the region. Over the past 20 facilities. years, robust economic growth, along with rising Neither food self-sufficiency nor food self-reliance, agricultural productivity, output, and agricultural however, are capable of generating equal benefits incomes, has increased the prominence of the 14 for everyone. Whilst food self-sufficiency tends region in global agro-food trade. Earlier, the Food to benefit the weak and poor, food self-reliance and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United benefits the rich and powerful.12 It is for this reason Nations also reported in its 2015 publication that that, at the multilateral level, the latter is generally the number of undernourished people in the region the food security stance adopted by rich and had been steadily declining, from 137.5 million in the powerful nations, whereas a food self-sufficient early 1990s to around 60.5 million more recently, a 56 policy, often associated with the concept of food percent reduction overall. Moreover, the prevalence sovereignty,13 is the common food security position of undernourishment has shrunk from 30.6 percent in of weaker and poorer nations. Many developing and the early 1990s to less than 10 percent recently, or a least developed countries often argue that such 68.5 percent drop. At
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