ASIATODAY.ID, MANILA — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has surpassed its $14 billion commitment to strengthen food security in Asia and the Pacific during 2022–2025, while advancing a broader agenda to transform the region’s food systems through additional funding and expanded partnerships.
“Food systems in Asia and the Pacific are at a turning point,” said ADB President Masato Kanda, at the Asia and the Pacific Food Systems Forum 2026.
“ADB delivered more than $14 billion from 2022–2025, reaching 62 million farmers and creating over 500,000 jobs. Now we are scaling up to a $40 billion agenda through 2030 to transform food systems so they nourish people, protect nature, and generate inclusive rural growth and employment.”
ADB will provide $26 billion in additional food security financing from 2026 to 2030, complemented by expanded private capital mobilization and strategic partnerships. ADB announced its ambition to mobilize $40 billion through 2030 to support stronger food systems in May 2025.
ADB’s food systems transformation agenda moves beyond standalone sector interventions toward integrated food systems solutions that will strengthen livelihoods, support private sector participation, and enhance climate resilience across agrifood value chains. It aims to reach more than 190 million smallholder farmers by 2030.
The food systems forum highlighted ADB’s investment programs in food security, including up to $8 billion in Southeast Asia, $7 billion in South Asia, and $3.5 billion in Central and West Asia, alongside $7.5 billion in private sector operations.
The forum discussed national transformation platforms, including the Indonesia Food Systems Investment Platform, the Philippines Agribusiness Investment Vehicle, and the India Rural Prosperity and Resilience Program.
At the forum, President Kanda witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements between ADB and the World Food Programme on integrating nutrition into food systems, and between ADB and Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to advance food system transformation across Asia and the Pacific.
During the forum, ADB will also sign a memorandum of understanding with the AIM for Scale Initiative, in partnership with the Gates Foundation and the International Affairs Office of the Presidential Court of the United Arab Emirates, to advance weather and digital advisory services for farmers and herders.
It will launch an ADB–World Bank coordinated approach to support agribusiness and fresh produce markets in Papua New Guinea. ADB will also issue a guidance note on natural capital to scale nature-positive investments.
Other initiatives include operationalizing the ADB–CGIAR Clearinghouse Facility, supported by the Gates Foundation, which is integrating solutions such as landscape crop assessment into ADB’s low-carbon agricultural portfolio; and a regional collaboration platform with the Food and Agriculture Organization and partners. (AT Network)
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