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.