The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is shifting into a higher gear on food security, launching a $40-billion push to reshape food systems across Asia and the Pacific after surpassing its earlier $14-billion target ahead of schedule.

The bank reported that its food security initiatives from 2022 to 2025 had already exceeded $14 billion, directly supporting around 62 million farmers and generating more than 500,000 jobs.

Long-term agriculture reforms

With these gains in place, ADB is now moving to expand its efforts toward long-term reforms in agriculture, focusing on productivity, rural incomes and climate resilience.

“Food systems in Asia and the Pacific are at a turning point,” ADB president Masato Kanda said at the Asia and the Pacific Food Systems Forum 2026 now ongoing in Manila until 19 March.

The bank now plans to channel an additional $26 billion in financing between 2026 and 2030, while drawing in more private investments and expanding partnerships. The goal is to mobilize a total of $40 billion by the end of the decade and extend support to more than 190 million smallholder farmers.