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SEP 2017 FOOD FOCUSTHAILAND
SEE THROUGH
MARKET
at an increasing rate over the next five years –
fishandsugar, and their relatedproducts.What
goesunder the radar,however, is theproduction
of these foodsactuallyhasahugeenvironmental
toll, especially on the scale that is predicted.
For example, overfishinghasbeenaglobal
problem for a long timenow–25%ofworldfish
stocksareeither overexploitedor depletedand
half of it is currently fully exploited. At current
rates, this unsustainable practice will remove
important fish stocks within the next two
decades. In Southeast Asia, where coastal
communities are still verymuch prevalent, this
would greatly threaten food security for these
communities. This is just the tip of the iceberg
– marine ecosystems would be devastated,
leading to serious consequences if left
unaddressed.
Sohowcanweaddress theregion’s
growing environmental (and food)
concerns?
With such a dynamic food and beverage
landscape inSoutheastAsia, how canmarkets
then address this unprecedented demand for
food, while ensuring our production processes
are sustainable enough to conserve the
environment for our future needs?
Todate, the foodandbeverage industryhas
not optimally leveraged technology to
complement itssustainabilityefforts.As Industry
4.0 matures, technologies like the Internet of
Things, cloud computing and analytics have
provenbeneficial in this regard.Fromcollecting
andanalysinghistoricaldata, technologieshave
the capacity to help predict cycles, weather
patternsandhow thataffectssupply.Producers
canalso forecastdemand,andcorrespondingly
increaseordecreasesupply,ensuringminimum
wastage.
For instance, in the case of overfishing,
technology can help monitor natural fish
populations,andareas thatarebeingoverfished.
Actioncanbe then takenbeforesupplies reach
anunsalvageable level.Also,with theexpected
rise in sugar consumption, farmers can take
advantage of technology to understand the
ground they are growing on, the nutrients that
might bemissing for the growth of sugarcane.
Understanding weather patterns will also help
prevent mass loss of crops in the event of
droughts or floods.
However,given thatmanyASEANcountries
are still developing andmight not have access
the right technologies and the resources to
acquire them, this is an uphill challenge for the
region. Thereneeds tobea concertedeffort to
ensure that our rapidly expanding economy
keeps upwith demand sustainably.
So how can we work towards
attaining asustainable future?
The first step is acknowledging that a cocktail
of factors come into play when we talk about
howwecansecureasustainable future.Therefore, amulti-prongedapproach iscrucial, and
no longer an option.
Beginning with solutions already in place, we look to intergovernmental cooperation
efforts, theASEANEconomicCommunity (AEC).While thebenefitsofa ‘no-border’community
are clear and an ideal member nation areworking towards, it is simply not moving forth as
fastas it shouldbe.Thiscreatesa rippleeffect that channelsdown toevensmall businesses.
Private and non-profit organisations need to be the catalyst for their local governments to
push for the agenda for sustainable development. Only by working hand-in-hand, can we
achieve the common goal.
Understandably, the topicof environmental sustainability isadifficult one tobroach, and
knowing how long the environment will beable tohold out tomeet our needs is evenmore
difficult todetermine; butwith inter-and intra-national effortsworkinghand-in-hand, perhaps
we’ll be a step closer towards safeguarding the future of our food security.
