Mr. Qingfeng Zhang is leading the newly established Agriculture, Food, Nature, and Rural Sector Office (AFNR) sector office at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The AFNR sector office spearheads bank-wide efforts for food security, including the ongoing $14 billion food security program (2022–2025), scales up investment in natural capital, promotes integrated river basin management, develops inclusive and green agricultural value chains, and pilots the integration of sovereign operations and private sector investment.
With over 20 years of experience at ADB, he has held positions such as Chief of the Rural Development & Food Security Thematic Group, Office in Charge for the Environment Thematic Group, and Director for the Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Division at the East Asia Department. His work has spanned various themes and sectors including water resources management, ocean health, air quality management, green agricultural value chains, efficient utilization of natural resources, climate-resilient agriculture, rural renewable biomass energy, healthy agriculture ecosystems, food safety, and integrating technology into agriculture. He is also the author of numerous publications on these topics.
Before joining ADB, Mr. Zhang served as a director at the State Environmental Protection Administration in Beijing, a Senior Environment Specialist at the World Bank, and a Research Fellow at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Mr. Zhang, a Chinese national, holds a doctoral degree in environmental engineering from Tsinghua University, a master’s degree in water resources management, and a bachelor’s degree in hydrology from Sichuan University. He has also completed the Executive Development Program at Harvard Business School.