The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has significantly increased its commitment to food and nutrition security across Asia and the Pacific, announcing an additional USD26 billion in support through 2030. This brings the institution’s total food security funding to USD40 billion over the 2022–2030 period.
Announced during ADB’s 58th Annual Meeting in Milan, the expanded initiative will finance a full-spectrum approach to modernizing food systems—from agricultural production and processing to distribution and consumption. ADB president Masato Kanda emphasized that escalating climate shocks such as droughts, floods, and resource degradation are compounding food insecurity and undermining rural livelihoods across the region.
“This expanded support will help countries alleviate hunger, improve diets, and protect the natural environment, while providing opportunities for farmers and agribusinesses,” Kanda said.
The additional funding includes USD18.5 billion in direct public sector support and USD7.5 billion in private sector investment. By 2030, ADB aims for private capital to contribute over 27 percent of the overall program, highlighting the pivotal role of private investment in transforming agricultural value chains and boosting resilience.
The program is expected to yield broad macroeconomic benefits, including job creation, improved rural productivity, and more efficient resource use. It targets underlying vulnerabilities in regional food systems—malnutrition, biodiversity loss, and environmental stress—which ADB warns threaten both long-term growth and regional stability. Food systems in Asia and the Pacific currently employ 40 percent of the region’s workforce and are responsible for 70 percent of global water use and 80 percent of biodiversity loss.
The initiative also includes the launch of a USD150 million Natural Capital Fund, designed to mobilize blended finance for sustainable agri-food projects, with anchor support from the Global Environment Facility.
This expanded commitment builds on ADB’s 2022 pledge of USD14 billion for food security through 2025, of which USD11 billion has already been deployed.
