ADB Targets $1.5-B Rice Financing for Phl, AsPac

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.

- By Brix Lelis

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.