Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 04/2014

Food Security Robustness: A Driver of Enhanced Regional Cooperation?

March 2014

S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies

Abstract

Food security encompasses multiple, inter-connected dimensions, from production-related concerns, to market and price dynamics, environmental trends and policy approaches. Given this, ‘robustness’, the ability to withstand disruptions to the various dimensions, is critical to food security. Yet, countries in Southeast Asia continue to be largely focused on domestic production alone, which is unsustainable in the long run. This Policy Brief suggests that, in order to increase food security robustness, countries could turn to regional-level action. Towards this end, an analysis using the Rice Bowl Index© is used to identify possible areas of cooperation and collaboration at the regional level.