Mr. Peerapan Kothong, Secretary-General of the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), was assigned by the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives (Mr. Suriya Jungrungruangkit) to represent Thailand at the 11th APEC Food Security Ministerial Meeting (FSMM) on August 25, 2026, in Hangzhou, People's Republic of China. The meeting was chaired by H.E. Zhang Zhu, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China, and included ministers and representatives from 21 APEC economies. The participants exchanged policies and visions under APEC's 2026 theme, "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together," focusing on openness, innovation, and cooperation. This meeting provided a platform for APEC food security ministers to express their shared commitment to strengthening food security in the Asia-Pacific region through two key areas: driving high-quality agricultural and rural development, and food security driven by technological innovation and digital agriculture.

In agricultural development, Thailand prioritizes the application of Big Data, digital technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) to support decision-making and management from the production level to the policy level. It also promotes agricultural service providers based on the sharing economy concept, opening opportunities for farmers, farmer groups, and entrepreneurs with agricultural machinery to offer their services to other farmers. This increases access to modern technology at reasonable costs. Simultaneously, Thailand is working to link production to markets through production planning, value-added processing, and the development of farmer skills through reskilling and upskilling. It also promotes agro-entrepreneurship and strengthens cooperatives and farmer groups.

Regarding food security, Thailand, as a major producer and exporter of agricultural products and food in the region, prioritizes maintaining production capacity and improving the quality of agricultural products and food to continuously meet market and regional demands amidst an increasingly complex and uncertain food system. Therefore, it focuses on leveraging technology, innovation, and digital agriculture to increase production efficiency, support risk assessment, and utilize data and analytical tools to develop appropriate agricultural policies that are relevant to the situation and meet regional needs.

Go To Lead