Regional: Building Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security in Asia and the Pacific (Phase 1)

Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agricultural production - Agriculture research and application - Agro-industry, marketing, and trade - Land-based natural resources management - Water-based natural resources management

Introducing innovative and best practices in addressing food and nutrition security issues appears to be a common interest of many DMCs. Many DMCs share the thrusts to (i) build resilience against climate change impacts in the agriculture and natural resources sector and (ii) agribusiness development and market orientation development of rural economy, which are reflected in Country Partnership Strategies (CPS).

The TA will introduce essential innovations, promising technologies, and new business and partnership approaches in three areas: climate-smart agriculture, inclusive and sustainable agribusiness value chain development, and knowledge partnerships.

It will support pilot innovations and technologies, sector analysis, evaluations and dissemination of knowledge and best practices to help address emerging food and nutrition security challenges under ADBs pipeline projects in the agriculture and natural resources sector.

To build sustainable food and nutrition security in DMCs and augment ADBs assistance in addressing the issue, innovations and novel investment and business approaches need to be brought into ADBs operations.

The TA will help accelerate ADBs efforts to implement the Operational for Agriculture and Natural Resources 2015-2020, Strategy 2030, and ADBs commitment to invest $2 billion annually in food security and agriculture in developing member countries.

The TA will develop knowledge solutions on climate-smart agriculture, and inclusive and sustainable agribusiness value chain development in DMCs through testing new technologies and innovative approaches in partnership with centers of excellence. Proven and promising activities will be up scaled under ADBs sector pipeline projects.

1. Climate-smart agriculture interventions tested and introduced

2. Approaches to develop inclusive and sustainable agribusiness value chain tested and introduced

3. Partnerships with centers of excellence developed for innovations and knowledge dissemination

1. Climate-Smart Agriculture

a. Climate smart on-farm practices combined (improved rice varieties for water scarce areas; alternate wetting and drying, sustainable cultivation practices) were tested in partnership with IRRI and 500 beneficiary farmers of L3135-BAN: Irrigation Management Improvement Project and resulted in increased water use efficiency (25-30%) without reduction in rice yield, while reducing estimated methane emission by 40%;

b. Four learning events on climate-smart agriculture were organized:

i. Workshop with FAO and the CGIAR Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Research Program (CCAFS) to discuss ways on how to make sector investments climate smart;

ii. Workshop with JAXA/PCRWR/University of Washington to discuss the use of IT to upscale precision agriculture among smallholder farmers;

iii. Seminar on the use of sensor technology and artificial intelligence to effectively reduce water and energy use while increasing crop yields in India and Pakistan as part of the 2018 Asia Water Forum; and

iv. Climate-Smart Agriculture Training for Practitioners with CCAFS in October 2018 to discuss how to upscale CSA and increase climate investments in 21 ADB project cases which was participated in by 39 ADB staff and counterpart project staff from Developing Member Countries; and

c. A draft national forestry development strategy in Timor-Leste has been prepared to ensure social and environmental sustainability , while leveraging private investments and expertise to accelerate inclusive and sustainable agroforestry value chain development.

2. Agribusiness Value Chain

a. Agricultural value chain analysis and inclusive agribusiness model development were undertaken to maximize value addition and development impacts of public sector investments in PRC.

b. An innovative agribusiness financing scheme to leverage investments and financing means to support agribusiness value chains development and farmers and SMEs in Nepal were designed.

c. The CAREC regional workshop in May 2017 discussed agribusiness value chain development strategy, analysis on agribusiness market and its growth prospects in the region, and innovative supply chain logistics practices.

d. At the 2018 Digital Development Forum, three digital technologies in agribusiness and their applications to ADBs pipeline projects in PRC and IND were presented (blockchain for food safety and traceability; digital agricultural platform and machine learning for data-driven and precision agriculture; and vertical integration of fruits and vegetable value chains to link farmer groups with online grocery).

e. A draft market study and value chain analysis for vegetable farming in Mongolia was prepared to inform future sector investments.

3. Partnerships

a. Activities in line with Output 1 continue to strengthen the ADB-IRRI Knowledge Partnership Agreement, signed in June 2016, which covers feasibility studies and pilot tests of climate-smart agriculture practices and technologies.

b. A partnership with CCAFS is being developed to organize a climate-smart agriculture training; provide scientific and technical advisory for project formulation; draft a guidance note on climate investment tracking for agriculture and natural resource projects; and undertake a scoping study to identify opportunities to develop ADB climate-smart agriculture project investments.

For Outputs 1 and 2, ADB will carry out relevant analytical works, pilot activities and monitoring, supported by international experts (25 person-months) and national experts (34 person-months).

For monitoring and evaluation of Outputs 1 and 2, ADB will recruit international experts (5 person-months) and national experts (18 person-months).