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Two-thirds of the world’s one billion hungry live in Asia and the Pacific and the region accounts for two-thirds of all underweight children.
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Asia’s households spend more than half their income on food, with the poorest spending up to 70%.
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Global food prices registered new highs in 2011, and despite a recent pullback, prices are still 85% higher than their 2003 levels.
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Millions of people in the region are suffering from under-nutrition as a result of rising commodity prices and food shortages.
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An ADB study shows that an additional 112 million people could have escaped poverty in Asia had there been no increase in food prices during the second half of the 2000s.
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In SE Asia alone, up to 11 million more children will be malnourished by 2050 unless rising food prices and falling food output are reversed.
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60% of the region’s population will live in urban areas by 2025, requiring huge investments in food logistics.
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Stagnation in agriculture and fishing productivity, land and water constraints, and climate change are all increasing food security risks in Asia.
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Some countries are taking counterproductive short-term steps to counter food price inflation such as price controls and export bans.
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In the longer term, they must boost crop productivity, improve infrastructure, integrate markets, and strengthen regional cooperation.
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ADB provided nearly $2 billion a year from 2009-2011 for food security-related investments and will invest the same for 2010-2012.
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ADB is working with regional governments to establish an “ASEAN+3” food security strategy, including a regional emergency rice reserve.
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