BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 17. The Asian
Development Bank (ADB) has surpassed its $14 billion commitment to
strengthen food security in Asia and the Pacific for 2022–2025,
while setting out a broader $40 billion agenda to transform
regional food systems by 2030, ADB President Masato Kanda said,
Trend
reports.


“Food systems in Asia and the Pacific are at a turning point,”
Kanda said 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.”


From 2026 to 2030, ADB plans to provide $26 billion in
additional financing for food security, alongside expanded private
capital mobilization and strategic partnerships. The bank first
announced its ambition to mobilize $40 billion to support food
system transformation across the region in May 2025.


ADB’s new agenda moves beyond standalone sector interventions
toward integrated food systems solutions, aiming to strengthen
livelihoods, enhance climate resilience, support private sector
participation, and reach more than 190 million smallholder farmers
by 2030.


The forum highlighted ADB’s investments by subregion, including
$8 billion in Southeast Asia, $7 billion in South Asia, $3.5
billion in Central and West Asia, and $7.5 billion in private
sector operations. National transformation platforms discussed
included the Indonesia Food Systems Investment Platform, the
Philippines Agribusiness Investment Vehicle, and the India Rural
Prosperity and Resilience Program.







During the forum, Kanda witnessed the signing of cooperation
agreements with the World Food Programme on integrating nutrition
into food systems and with Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries to advance food system transformation across
Asia and the Pacific.


ADB will also sign a memorandum of understanding with the AIM
for Scale Initiative, in partnership with the Gates Foundation and
the UAE Presidential Court’s International Affairs Office, to
enhance weather and digital advisory services for farmers and
herders. A coordinated ADB–World Bank approach will be launched to
support agribusiness and fresh produce markets in Papua New Guinea,
along with 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,
integrating solutions such as landscape crop assessment into ADB’s
low-carbon agricultural portfolio, and establishing a regional
collaboration platform with the Food and Agriculture Organization
and other partners.


Founded in 1966, ADB is a multilateral development bank owned by
69 members, including 50 from Asia and the Pacific, and supports
inclusive, resilient, and sustainable growth across the region
through innovative financing and strategic partnerships.