ADB Bolsters Support for Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (19 March 2021) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has quadrupled its support for food systems development in the past decade from $409 million in 2010 to $1.2 billion in 2020 to help close the financing gap in ensuring food security.

“One of the most important lessons learned from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is the urgency of generating global awareness and building sustainable and resilient food systems which requires actions at many levels,” said ADB Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Bambang Susantono during the launch of the Sustainable Food Webinar series on 16 March. “We definitely need to scale up public and private investments in green business, such as ecological agriculture, circular bioeconomy, eco-tourism, and pollution control.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased food insecurity risks, lowered the nutritional status of vulnerable populations, and highlighted the weaknesses of food supply chains and the delicate connection between food systems and development challenges. A large financing gap, estimated at $140 billion per year, also poses a barrier in transforming food systems.

In response to the findings of a recent ADB study on sustainable and resilient food systems, ADB is diversifying its investment portfolio to include food systems transformation, leveraging on private and public partnerships, and providing innovative knowledge solutions.