Food Security in Southeast Asia

Abstract

Food security, defined by the 1996 World Food Summit as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life”, has been identified as a major issue for Southeast Asian countries. In the majority of developing countries the most effective means of ensuring food security is broad-based economic growth in agriculture. Public support for agriculture has waned significantly since the mid-1980s. Australia has been a leader in the recent resurgence of aid investment in agriculture. This has involved lifting investment in agricultural research in developing countries, through ACIAR, and AusAID programs, in particular in the Mekong countries, South Asia and Africa.