Series: ADB Sustainable Food Webinar Series

Financing Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems in Asia and the Pacific

16 March 2021

Risks to food insecurity and deterioration of nutritional status of vulnerable populations have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused, among others, restrictions on people’s movement, interruptions in food production and processing, disruptions to supply chains, and increasing international commodity price. The pandemic has highlighted such vulnerabilities in the food sector as well as the interlink between food systems and development challenges, and this calls for an examination of the financing gaps needed to scale up private and public investments in promoting sustainable and resilient food systems.

This webinar examined and discussed ways to scale up private and public financing for food system transformation in the region, as well as emphasized the role of multilateral development banks and partners towards this goal.

Program and Learning Materials:

16 Mar 2021

Date	Session / Activity	Presentation Material	Speaker(s)
16 Mar 2021	Opening Remarks	Opening Remarks Bambang Susantono called for the need to generate global awareness and momentum for rebuilding and improving the food systems that have been affected ...	Bambang Susantono
16 Mar 2021	Keynote Address	Keynote Address Alvaro Lario cited how IFAD helped farmers in transforming agriculture and help eradicate poverty through financing. He highlighted that investments are...	Alvaro Lario
16 Mar 2021	Panel Discussion 1	Toward Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems in Asia and the Pacific Yasuyuki Sawada emphasized that COVID-19 reversed the gain in food security, highlighting the need for developing Asia to build back the food system better...	Yasuyuki Sawada
16 Mar 2021	Panel Discussion 1	World Bank: Scaling up Investments in Food Systems Transformation Dina Umali-Deininger discussed the different challenges, opportunities, and visions for the food system in the East and Asia Pacific. She also shared ...	Dina Umali-Deininger
16 Mar 2021	Panel Discussion 2	Panel Discussion Lee Ann Jackson shared the need for policy dialogues, data and evidence, and institutional reforms to transform food systems. She cited OECD's work to...	Lee Ann Jackson
16 Mar 2021	Lead Speaker	Financing Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems in Asia and the Pacific In his presentation, Kevin Chen shared how sustainable and resilient food systems can be an effective instrument to address ADB’s operational priorities...	Kevin Chen
16 Mar 2021	Panel Discussion 3	Panel Discussion Shenggen Fan shared that good infrastructure, government actions, and the spirit of working together contributed to increasing food system resilience. ...	Shenggen Fan, Jessica Fanzo
16 Mar 2021	Closing Remarks	Closing Remarks Suzanne Gaboury emphasized that public and private sectors must work together to build a resilient and sustainable food system. Under the guiding principle...	Suzanne Gaboury

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