Two Years After the 2008 Rice Crisis

The 2008 rice crisis has definitely reaffirmed the importance of food selfsufficiency. Almost two years after the crisis, it is good to find out how Southeast Asian governments have delivered on their promises of prioritizing food security programs. It is an opportunity to determine the outcomes of their efforts. After all, what we ultimately want to see are increased capacities of countries to produce and provide food for their people, especially in rice, given that it is the region’s staple food and the world rice market is generally thin. This paper analyzes the results of the policies put in place in six ASEAN countries as a response to the crisis.