Plough $42b into farming by 2030

Asia and the Pacific nations, including Bangladesh, need to pump as much as US$42 billion into the agriculture sector by 2030 to eliminate hunger from the region, an authoritative study has reckoned.

And the investments will yield $1.1 trillion in economic output for the region, home to three-fifths of the world's population, estimated the study jointly conducted by the Asian Development Bank and the International Food Policy Research Institute.

"[Some] 517 million people are food insecure in Asia-Pacific," warned Woochong Um, director general of the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department at the ADB. But "farmers are aging as young people are not interested in farming."

His warning came as he unveiled a study that estimated investment requirements for ending hunger in Asia and the Pacific by 2030. The launch of the report coincided with the three-day Rural Development and Food Security Forum that opened here on Monday.

Of the total investments, Mr Um said rural infrastructure and agri-logistics sub-sectors alone would eat up almost half the money, with irrigation and farm research and development making up the remaining slice.

Even the fast-growing South Asia, which houses one-fifth of the global population, must sink almost one-third of $42 billion investments to achieve the zero-hunger goal, according to Mark Rosegrant, an emeritus research fellow at the IFPRI.

If sub-sectors are considered, research and development in agriculture has "the highest rate of economic returns and hunger reduction," followed by rural infrastructure and irrigation, Mr Rosegrant argued.

To buttress his point, the IFPRI researcher said R&D investments foster agricultural productivity growth, which in turn boosts gross domestic product and household income.

Such a capital infusion helps drive down food prices to consumers while raising food consumption, he added.

Putting money into rural infrastructure also pays off: it slashes marketing margins, post-harvest losses and ensures farm-level profitability.

Despite the potential gains in agricultural investments, the growing trend in farmers' ageing is something that deeply worried the ADB's senior executive.

Furthermore, the youths, even the children of farming families, are lured into urban areas for better opportunities, resulting in the aging of farmers.

For instance, in China, the Philippines, and Thailand, the average age range of farmers is 56 to 58 years. "This is a critical issue," Mr Um said.

The ADB senior official saw the light at the end of tunnel, insisting agriculture can be made more productive and less resource-intensive.

While agricultural resources are shrinking, the results of the joint research with the International Rice Research Institutes in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Nepal showed climate-smart practices can increase profits from rice production and make it less resource-intensive.

"These practices can result in lower water use, less greenhouse gas emissions, improved labour productivity, increased carbon sinks, and improved soil quality to enhance and sustain production," Mr Um said.

Depending on the country, climate-smart agriculture can cut back on water use by almost a third, labour by four-fifths, and the emission of greenhouse gases by two-fifths without harming rice yields, he said, referring to the studies carried out in three Asian countries, including Bangladesh.

However, to realise these benefits, the countries need to put in place supporting policies and an enabling environment for technology adoption, and affordable financing for farmers.

The farmers' lack of access to knowledge and technology could create roadblocks to the successful promotion and adoption of climate-smart agriculture, he predicted.

Mr Um held out the promise that the Bank and its key partners would continue to work on developing the appropriate approach, mechanism, and institutions to deliver the knowledge and technology to farmers.

Moving forward, agriculture projects need to follow a holistic and cross-cutting approach, he argued.

Sensing the urgency, his Bank is already financing operations that adopt integrated approaches, encompassing gender equity, climate adaptation and mitigation, water resources management, natural resources management, and the use of technology.

Three other reports launched on the second day of the Forum included "Climate-smart practices for intensive rice-based systems in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Nepal," "Policies to support requirements of Indonesia's food and agriculture development during 2020-2045," and "Application of information and communication technology for agriculture in China."

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