SERD Policy Talk (SPOT): Strengthening the Agri-food System

In the 10th SPOT webinar, Omer Zafar, Takashi Yamano, and Noorullah from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Dil Rahut from the ADB Institute, and Jennifer Rosenzweig from Indonesia’s World Food Programme shared their views on factors that threaten the agriculture food system in Southeast Asia. They discussed cyclical factors and structural challenges shaping the global food system, including the effects of high food prices on nutrition and access to affordable diets, and the impact of climate change and other shocks on productivity and food production.

Keynote Address: Launch of Publications on Food Security Investment Requirements, Climate-Smart Practices, and Horticulture Value Chain Development

Woochong Um, Director General of ADB's Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, delivered a keynote speech during the publications launched held during the Rural Development and Food Security Forum.

Climate-Smart Agriculture Investment Planning

Climate change imposes a dynamic challenge on the food system in Asia and has already started adversely impacting farming and food value chains in ADB’s DMCs. Climate change adaptation and mitigation investments, hence, are relevant to the food and nutrition security agenda of Asia and the Pacific, and ADB has set a steep target of $ 1 billion to increase climate finance (adaptation) in Agriculture and Natural Resources Sector by 2020.

Matthias Leitner

Matthias joined the Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Division of Southeast Asia in late 2018. As an Agriculture Economist, he focuses on project design and preparation for agri-business, value-chain and water resource projects. His particular interest lies in climate-smart agriculture, precision farming and ways to engage youth more meaningfully in the sector. Prior to joining ADB, he was working for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) based in Rome, Italy.

Mikell O’Mealy

Mikell leads projects and supports partners working on climate change, clean energy, climate-smart agriculture, and resilience in the Asia and Pacific region. She has more than 20 years of experience building capacity and cooperation at international, regional, and local levels, with proven skills in public-private partnerships, convening and facilitation, research and analysis, and project management for sustainable and scalable impact.