ADB targets $1.5 billion rice financing for Philippines, Asia-Pacific

MANILA, Philippines — The Asian Development Bank is investing up to $1.5 billion until 2030 to bolster sustainable and low-carbon rice production in the Philippines and the rest of Asia-Pacific.

The ADB and the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR) launched a five-year program aimed at enhancing rice productivity in the region.

The initiative is supported by the Gates Foundation, the world’s largest private philanthropic organization founded by billionaire couple Bill and Melinda Gates.

ADB senior director Qingfeng Zhang said the multilateral lender has programmed around $500 million to support vulnerable smallholder farmers in the Philippines.

The funding will be used for irrigation, farming and agricultural logistics development.

“This new program will support not only rice production but also help farmers capture the carbon credit through the system,” Zhang said.

A carbon credit is a certificate that represents one metric ton of carbon emissions reduced or removed from the atmosphere. Governments and corporations may purchase such credits to offset their own emissions.

Through the multibillion-dollar investment in the region, a clearinghouse facility will be established to accelerate adoption of high-yield and low-emission farming practices, sustainable water use and inclusive value chains.

Aside from the Philippines, initial projects for this program are also being developed in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China and Pakistan.

The investment is a component of ADB’s broader $40-billion commitment to transforming food systems in the region by 2030.

“This joint initiative will reinforce CGIAR’s strategic collaboration with ADB and scale up CGIAR’s innovations in rice systems and beyond,” said Yvonne Pinto, director-general at the International Rice Research Institute.

IRRI is a member of the CGIAR network of research centers.

“Alongside partners such as ADB and the Gates Foundation, we can drive sustainable and resilient transformation of the rice sector in Asia and transform the lives of millions of smallholder farmers now and in the future,” Pinto said.