The 28th session of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-28) was held on 14 November 2021 in Hanoi, Vietnam. The event was attended by space agencies, governmental organisations, and private companies from across the Asia-Pacific region to discuss the latest developments and collaborations in the field of space.
APRSAF-28 featured several important sessions and workshops, including a hybrid event on “Satellite-Derived Rice Planted Area Data for AFSIS’s Rice Growing Outlook (RGO)” for Agriculture Management in the ASEAN. The training programme was organised in collaboration with SAFE, JAXA, VNSC, and AFSIS and demonstrated the use of INAHOR using PALSAR-2 data for rice planted area estimation with machine learning technology on the Google Earth Engine (GEE).
The main trainees for this training were agricultural statisticians working for the Ministry of Agriculture in ASEAN countries. Twenty-three trainees from nine ASEAN member states attended the training, which aimed to improve the utilisation of satellite-derived information to solve the common problems in agricultural information systems in each member state.
Other important sessions included a space industry roundtable, where participants discussed ways to foster collaboration between space agencies and private companies, and a session on international cooperation in space exploration, which emphasised the importance of regional and international cooperation in advancing space exploration efforts.
APRSAF-28 was a great success and demonstrated the continued growth and development of the space industry in the Asia-Pacific region. The event provided a platform for space agencies, governmental organisations, and private companies to collaborate and share their knowledge and expertise in the field of space, and to explore new opportunities for cooperation and development.
