The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is allocating up to USD500 million for the Philippines under a new USD1.5 billion regional program aimed at transforming rice farming practices across the Asia-Pacific, with a strong policy focus on sustainability, climate adaptation, and food security.
Announced Monday in partnership with the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR) and the Gates Foundation, the initiative seeks to support smallholder farmers by modernizing rice production systems to address declining productivity, water scarcity, and greenhouse gas emissions.
ADB senior director Qingfeng Zhang said the Philippine share of the program will be directed toward irrigation, farm-level improvements, and agricultural logistics. He also emphasized the program’s alignment with carbon credit systems to provide new income opportunities for farmers.
“This new program will… help farmers capture carbon credit through the system,” Zhang said.
The initiative is part of ADB’s broader USD40 billion commitment to food systems transformation by 2030. CGIAR and the Gates Foundation will contribute research and funding support to help scale climate-resilient innovations across participating countries, which include Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, and Pakistan.
ADB warned that without decisive interventions, the rising challenges in rice farming will jeopardize food security and rural livelihoods, particularly for vulnerable farming communities in the region.
