ADB to provide $14 billion to address food security
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) to provide a $14 billion support to address food security in the next three years.
"Today I am announcing that ADB will provide $14 billion in support from 2022 to 2025 to address food security. Our response will be comprehensive?bringing into focus both the immediate and long-term aspects of food security," ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said at a virtual press conference on Tuesday as part of the 55th ADB Annual Meeting.
"Let me add that ADB has been working with our members and development partners on these challenges. And our work will build on the considerable food security support we are already providing in areas including countercyclical budget support, agricultural development, and climate action,," he said.
Asakawa said the "supply chain issues from the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have contributed to food prices that have soared to record highs this year."
He noted that "food insecurity is threatening to reverse decades of development progress in Asia and the Pacific."
For this year, the ADB expects to finalize commitments totaling about $3.3billion.
For its sovereign operations, Asakawa said the ADB "are repurposing funds from selected projects and strengthening countercyclical support in a number of countries for a total of approximately $1 billion."
"We also have at least $1.5 billion in our project pipeline related to agriculture, natural resources, and rural development. With the private sector: We are supporting trade and supply chain finance. We are providing financing to agribusiness and to farmers. And, ADB’s lending to financial institutions will support food and agriculture small and medium enterprises," he said.
"Private sector support from ADB resources is expected to reach $800 million in 2022. Second,let me highlight our plans for 2023-2025. We understand that food security requires food systems that are resilient. Our continued support for agriculture, natural resources, and rural development will contribute to this. We have programmed up to $10.7 billion in additional commitments from 2023-2025," he added.
Aside from food security, Asakawa stressed climate change as another crucial area where the ADB plans to focus its support as he noted that the "current food security crisis will get even worse if we fail to address climate change."
"Floods, droughts, heat, disease, and other factors affected by climate change will have an impact on food production. Disruptions to livelihoods will drive even more food scarcity, compounded by climate-induced migration. In light of the growing urgency surrounding food in security in our developing member countries,we have made this issue a top priority," he said.
"The climate impacts on the region are distressing. Asia and the Pacific is experiencing climate shocks and stresses... We know that the battle against climate change will be won or lost in Asia and the Pacific. And the region must act urgently to decarbonize energy systems and other sectors, and to invest in climate adaptation," he added.
In response to climate change, Asakawa said ADB has raised its "climate financing ambition to $100 billion between 2019 and 2030."
"We have withdrawn from financing new coal-fired power plants. We introduced our Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) to accelerate the retirement of existing coal power plants, and to promote a shift to clean energy while ensuring a just transition. We are also scaling up support for climate adaptation," he added.
Asakawa also mentioned that the ADB is adopting three strategies to build stronger, more sustainable, and equitable food systems.
These include "scaling up our climate mitigation and climate adaptation investments across the entire food and agriculture value chain"; "promoting digital transformation initiatives" which will "improve the efficiency of agricultural production and value chains, including fisheries and livestock; and "promoting nature-based solutions" to develop innovative financial instruments, attract capital that will build environment-friendly food systems, and to promote more balanced diets. Robina Asido/DMS
