Food security crisis an opportunity for reinvention in Asia 

GROWING populations, the war in Ukraine, climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, protectionist policies. This multitude of crises and external pressures are conspiring to create significant challenges for food security and affordability in Asia. This is particularly the case for the poorest and most vulnerable people in emerging markets and developing economies, where food-related expenses often account for a high share of household income. But these issues also offer significant opportunities for governments and businesses to build the resilient, equitable, and sustainable food systems of the future. Policy reforms, innovations in climate-smart agriculture and finance, and the empowering of smallholder farmers are just some of the ingredients that will be critical in any recipe for success.

A perfect storm of factors is putting a huge strain on food systems. The global population is expected to increase by nearly 2 billion people over the next 3 decades, from 7.9 billion to 9.7 billion in 2050. The war in Ukraine is exacerbating food inflation and governments are restricting exports of important foods and commodities, and the world was already moving further away from its goal of ending hunger by 2030 before the war began. In 2005, around 800 million people went to bed hungry every night, which improved to 570 million in 2014. That number stood at as many as 828 million in 2021. Climate change is also resulting in a higher frequency of extreme-weather events, which are having grave impacts on crops and the livelihoods of the people that depend on them.

As influential figures gather this week for the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore, the negative impacts these issues are having on food security in the region will be top of mind. Agri-food systems here are underpinned by hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers, who already make up a significant proportion of the world’s poor living on less than US$2 a day. The region includes 13 of the world’s 30 most climate-vulnerable countries, and East Asia and the Pacific already bears the brunt of 70 per cent of the world’s natural hazards. We estimate that the demand for all primary-food commodities in South Asia could well outstrip supply by 2030.