Rural Development and Food Security Forum 2019: Transformative Changes for Rural Prosperity and Nutritious Food 28 to 30 October 2019 Philippines The Asia Pacific region has made significant progress in terms of reducing food insecurity. Despite the remarkable gains, the region is still faced with challenges such as the increasing demand, climate change, shrinking agriculture workforce, and unsustainable use of natural resources, among others. Promoting rural development is critical in helping solve food security issues and propelling economic development. The Asian Development Bank, through the Rural Development and Food Security (Agriculture) Thematic Group, organized the Rural Development Food Security Forum that served as a platform to exchange good practices, lessons learned, and innovative ideas on rural development and food security. The Forum built on the knowledge and learning gained from the 2016 Food Security Forum, 2017 Knowledge-Intensive Agriculture Workshop, 2018 Asia Water Forum, and the 2018 Digital Development Forum. The Forum also helped chart the strategic direction of rural development and food security as ADB’s fifth operational priority (OP5) in Strategy 2030 through the new Operational Plan for Rural Development and Food Security, 2019-2024. The Forum included plenary and breakout sessions and an innovation marketplace. Program and Learning Materials 28 October 2019 29 October 2019 30 October 2019 02 November 2019 31 October 2019 01 November 2019 Session / Activity Title Speaker(s) Opening Session Transformative Changes for Rural Prosperity and Nutritious Food - Welcome Remarks [Session Summary] [Opening Video] Welcome remarks by Takehiko Nakao, President, Asian Development Bank at the Rural Development and Food Security… Takehiko Nakao Session 1: Farming Crisis (Keynote) Keynote Speech on the Farming Crisis [Session Summary] Dr. Mekhala Krishnamurthy, Associate Professor of Sociology & Social Anthropology from Ashoka University, India delivers… Mekhala Krishnamurthy Session 2: Dysfunctional Agriculture Markets and Malnutrition Rising Levels of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Intensify Malnutrition [Session Summary] Malnutrition is multifaceted problem and solution requires several dimensions. Dr. Irakli Loladze, mathematical biologist from… Irakli Loladze Session 2: Dysfunctional Agriculture Markets and Malnutrition International Atomic Energy Agency Technical Coordination Program Majority of ADB's developing member countries are none nuclear power countries. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) rolls our various… Jane Gerardo-Abaya Session / Activity Title Speaker(s) Session 3: Rural Distress Tackling Rural Distress in the 21st Century: A New Trans-Disciplinary Multi-stakeholder Paradigm of Development [Session Summary] The large demographics facts – 3.4 billion today in rural population – will still be over 3 billion in 2050. People will still… Mihir Shah Session 4: ADB Knowledge Sharing and Experience on Climate Change, Gender Equity, High-Level Technology, and Natural Resources Management Mongolia’s Agriculture and Rural Development and ADB’s Assistance [Session Summary] Learn how ADB is mobilizing its resources to beef up agriculture and rural development in Mongolia. Qingfeng Zhang Session 4: ADB Knowledge Sharing and Experience on Climate Change, Gender Equity, High-Level Technology, and Natural Resources Management Efforts to Apply High-Level Technologies in Central and West Asian Countries This presentation showcases some of ADB’s innovative projects in Central and West Asia in the field of agriculture. It also highlights the lessons… Natsuko Totsuka Session 4: ADB Knowledge Sharing and Experience on Climate Change, Gender Equity, High-Level Technology, and Natural Resources Management ADB Knowledge Sharing and Experience on Climate Change, Gender Equity, High-Level Technology, and Natural Resource Management (Southeast Asia) This presentation showcases some of ADB’s innovative projects in Southeast Asia in the agriculture sector. It also highlights the lessons learned so… Srinivasan Ancha Session 5: Knowledge Sharing among Developing Member Countries Farmer Producer Organizations: Experience in Maharashtra [Session Summary] Check out how establishing farmer-producer organizations has helped farmers in Maharashtra, India. Anoop Kumar Session 5: Knowledge Sharing among Developing Member Countries Food Processing and Supply Chain Management Check out how Thailand is mixing social and environmental dynamics with new technologies to improve the country's food supply chain. Charoenchai (Charlie) Khompatraporn Session 5: Knowledge Sharing among Developing Member Countries Horticulture and Agri-food Business Development in Turkey Turkey is the world’s fourth largest producer of fresh vegetables and 7th largest producer of fruits. Learn how the agriculture sector is growing… Mustafa Erkan Session 5: Knowledge Sharing among Developing Member Countries Private Sector Initiatives in Agriculture This presentation discusses how Sri Lanka-based Silvermill empowers farmer communities. Cedric Wijegunawardene Session / Activity Title Speaker(s) Session 6: Financing Agripreneurs and Rural SMEs Financing Last Mile Communities [Session Summary] We cannot solve poverty without addressing financial inclusion; and we cannot bring about financial inclusion at any sort of scale… David Davies Session 7: Voices from the Field–Farmers’ Roundtable Discussion Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development [Session Summary] [Voices from the Field] Since 2002, the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development has been helping farmers help… Jose Romeo Ebron Session 8: Voices from the Field - Youth Perspectives Creating Opportunities for Rural Youth [Session Summary] [Voices from the Field] Ms. Sara Savastano, Director of the Research and Impact Assessment Division of the International Fund… Sara Savastano Session 8: Voices from the Field - Youth Perspectives Preliminary Agricultural Survey ADB’s Youth for Asia team ran a preliminary survey with farmers in Tarlac and Bulacan in the Philippines to assess the interest of youth’s interest… William Lucht Closing Session Session / Activity Title Speaker(s) Publications Launch Rural Development and Food Security Forum 2019 Highlights and Takeaways Publications Launch Dysfunctional Horticulture Value Chains and the Need for Modern Marketing Infrastructure [Publication Launch Summary] These briefs present findings on agricultural wholesale markets in Viet Nam, Pakistan, and Nepal. They also provide… Publications Launch Climate-Smart Practices for Intensive Rice-Based Systems in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Nepal This publication presents the outcomes of initiatives promoting climate-smart agricultural practices and technologies in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and… Publications Launch Information and Communication Technology for Agriculture in the People’s Republic of China This report presents the findings of an assessment on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to improve food production and… Publications Launch Ending Hunger in Asia and the Pacific by 2030: An Assessment of Investment Requirements in Agriculture This report analyzes the impacts of agricultural challenges in Asia and the Pacific. It also identifies investments required in different subsectors… Publications Launch Policies to Support Investment Requirements of Indonesia's Food and Agriculture Development during 2020-2045 This report provides analysis and policy recommendations on the investments needed in Indonesia’s agriculture sector to boost food security and… Publications Launch Ending Hunger in Asia and the Pacific by 2030: An Assessment of Investment Requirements in Agriculture This presentation gives an overview of the joint publications of ADB and the International Food Policy Research Institute that assess the investment… Mark W. Rosegrant Publications Launch Keynote Address: Launch of Publications on Food Security Investment Requirements, Climate-Smart Practices, and Horticulture Value Chain Development This presentation provides an overview of the joint publications launched. These are the outputs from the joint research with ADB's long-standing… Woochong Um Session / Activity Title Speaker(s) Exhibitors Netatech Pte Ltd Netatech Pte Ltd developed CrowdFarmX, the world's first cooperative farming platform on the blockchain. The goal of CrowdFarmX is to overcome… David Tan, Daniel Wong Exhibitors AgUnity AgUnity is an Australian-based startup founded in 2016 with the ambition to help change the lives of over 1 billion smallholder farmers in the… David Davies Exhibitors Cropin CropIn's SmartRiskTM is an agri-ecosystem learning platform that utilizes advanced satellite imagery, extensive historical and real-time data… Arjun Dutta, Aakash Parekh, Jitesh Shah Exhibitors Eaglesensing EagleSensing provides aerial analytical solutions for tropical agriculture. They develop solutions for crop management problems in large scale… Exhibitors SatSure SAGE Banker by SatSure is a product suite for banks and financial institutions to increase financial inclusion of small-hold farmers, increase… Abhishek Raju Exhibitors Geora Geora’s open source technology bridges the gap between fundamental technical components and agri-supply chain participants, helping the community… Bridie Ohlsson Exhibitors Grain Pro GrainPro provides post-harvest handling and storage solutions for agricultural commodities. Their drying and storage solutions use modified… Tom de Bruin Exhibitors International Rice Research Institute The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) South Asia Regional Center (ISARC), in collaboration with national research organizations, has… Arvind Kumar Exhibitors King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi The STEAM Platform of Transformation, piloted at the King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) in 2018 in Bangkok, provides an… Lerwen Liu, Panitsara Nakseemok Session / Activity Title Speaker(s) Session 1 Rural Development and Food Security Forum 2019 - Resources (Session 1) The session describes the current challenges of farming and proposes transformative changes in policies and approaches to make farming profitable,… Session 2 Rural Development and Food Security Forum 2019 - Resources (Session 2) The session discusses the impacts of dysfunctional agricultural markets on profits, farm productivity, food quality, high prices for consumers, and… Session 3 Rural Development and Food Security Forum 2019 - Resources (Session 3) The session highlights the imbalance in rural-urban development and its significant negative impacts on national economic growth; rural employment;… Session 4 Rural Development and Food Security Forum 2019 - Resources (Session 4) The session showcases some of ADB’s innovative projects and highlights the lessons learned so that other countries may consider adopting similar… Session 5 Rural Development and Food Security Forum 2019 - Resources (Session 5) Some countries in the region have adopted creative and out-of-the-box initiatives on public policy for both public and private investments… Session 6 Rural Development and Food Security Forum 2019 - Resources (Session 6) Banks, venture capital firms, ICT and FinTech companies who have used successful models to serve rural areas will share their business models and… Session 7 No additional resource materials for this session. Session 8 Rural Development and Food Security Forum 2019 - Resources (Session 8) In this session, the youth representatives explain the challenges they face in taking up farming fulltime, and other non-farm employment… Disclaimer The views expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term “country” in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Event Coordinator/s Leah Arboleda Erin Lumanta-Sea Maria Angela Banaria ADB Organizer/s Agriculture, Food, Nature, and Rural Development Sector Office Read Also Rural Development and Food Security Forum ADB.org Event Page News Release Video Photo Gallery Making the Right Investments to Achieve Food Security in Asia and the Pacific Investments that Can End Hunger in Indonesia by 2030 Field-testing Climate-Smart Rice Farming in Three Countries Improving Farmers' Income in the People's Republic of China through E-Commerce Topics Agriculture and Natural Resources Climate Change ICT