ADB expands food financing to $40B

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. 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.

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, 

ADB’s investment pipeline shows a strong regional spread, with up to $8 billion earmarked for Southeast Asia, $7 billion for South Asia, and $3.5 billion for Central and West Asia. Another $7.5 billion will be directed toward private sector operations to boost agribusiness and food supply chains.

Part of the strategy includes strengthening country-level programs such as the Philippines Agribusiness Investment Vehicle, alongside similar platforms in Indonesia and India. These initiatives are designed to attract funding, improve farm productivity and connect producers to markets.

At the forum, ADB also formalized new partnerships to support its expanded agenda. Agreements were signed with the World Food Programme to integrate nutrition into food systems and with Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to advance regional cooperation.

Further collaborations are underway with the AIM for Scale Initiative, backed by the Gates Foundation and the United Arab Emirates, to roll out digital and weather advisory services for farmers.

ADB is also working with global institutions, including the World Bank, CGIAR and the Food and Agriculture Organization, to support agribusiness development, promote low-carbon farming technologies and strengthen cross-border cooperation.