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Indian Proposal Threatens Nepal’s $61 Million Tea Industry

Posted on by SAT News Desk

Bilal Hussain
Nepali tea producers are increasingly worried about a proposal in India’s parliament that could make it much harder for them to sell tea to their giant southern neighbor and most important customer.

The proposal, contained in a June 2022 recommendation from India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce, calls for much stricter standards on the certificates of origin required for all Nepali tea imported into India.

Nepali tea exporters say they already face exacting requirements for entry to the Indian market, even when their products have met certification standards maintained by Japan, the United States and the international Certification of Environmental Standards organization.

“There have been constant policy changes that we have to comply [with], which makes it difficult to export tea to India,” said Shanta Banskota Koirala, co-owner and managing director of the Kanchanjangha Tea Estate and Research Center.

A woman cuts tea leaves and collects them in an overhead leaf collector at a farm in Bhadrapur, Nepal. (Photo courtesy Suresh Mittal)
A woman cuts tea leaves and collects them in an overhead leaf collector at a farm in Bhadrapur, Nepal. (Photo courtesy Suresh Mittal)

“Usually there is also a lot of hassle on borders, things such as asking for more documents than what was initially required, and even if provided the required documents, the work doesn’t get done on time,” Koirala told VOA.

The stakes are high for Nepal, which sells about 90% of its high-grade orthodox tea – loose-leaf tea produced by traditional methods — and about 50% of its lower-grade crush, tear and curl tea – tea whose leaves have been crushed torn and curled into pellets — to India. The industry employs almost 200,000 people in Nepal and contributes more than $40 million a year to its economy.

The orthodox tea, grown at higher altitudes in the Himalayan nation, is especially prized around the world, with its taste and quality attributed to the region’s climatic conditions, soil, the type of bushes planted and even the quality of the air.

Women work at a tea farm in Panchthar, in the eastern part of Nepal. (Photo courtesy Shanta Banskota Koirala)
Women work at a tea farm in Panchthar, in the eastern part of Nepal. (Photo courtesy Shanta Banskota Koirala)

But critics in India accuse the Nepalese exporters of mixing their product with similar-tasting tea from the neighboring Indian region of Darjeeling, which sells in India for a much higher price. The recommendation from the parliamentary committee calls for much stricter measures to ensure that all tea sold from Nepal was indeed grown in Nepal.

Workers load packed tea on to a truck to be exported, in the Ilam district of Nepal(Photo courtesy Kamal Raj Mainali)
Workers load packed tea on to a truck to be exported, in the Ilam district of Nepal(Photo courtesy Kamal Raj Mainali)

For the Nepalese growers, the threat of new bureaucratic hurdles is compounded by indignation over the suggestion that their tea is of lower quality than the Darjeeling variety.

“The comments from the committee on the quality of the tea has hurt the traders and farmers in Nepal,” said Bishnu Prasad Bhattarai, executive director of the National Tea and Coffee Development Board Nepal.

“We have raised our concern with the counterpart Indian government officials. We are hopeful that the trade between the two countries will go on smoothly as the two countries share good relation with each other on many fronts including trade,” Bhattarai added.

Suresh Mittal, president of the Nepal Tea Producers Association, also rejected the parliamentary committee’s complaints, pointing out that the quality of all the tea sold into India is certified by India’s Food Safety and Standards Authority.

“Without this proof of origin, we cannot sell even a single leaf abroad. We are exporting tea that has been grown and processed here in Nepal,” Mittal insisted.

Mittal said discussions on the proposal are continuing between the two countries, and that, so far, the trade in tea is proceeding smoothly.

“However, sooner or later it can be a problem for the Nepalese tea industry and will have an adverse effect to over 70% of tea industry of Nepal. We have to start looking for alternate markets,” he said. ( VOA)

India’s high court grants all women the right to safe abortion

Posted on by SAT News Desk

NEW DELHI  — India’s top court Thursday ruled that all women, married or unmarried, are entitled to a safe and legal abortion process till 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The court said making any distinction between a married and an unmarried woman in this regard is unconstitutional.

The verdict came on a petition by a 25-year-old unmarried woman who had appealed against a Delhi high court order.

There are strict rules governing abortions in India because of the abortions of millions of female fetuses that led to a skewed gender ratio in the country.

Last year, the government amended protocols to allow several categories of women to seek abortions between 20 and 24 weeks of pregnancy. ( Agencies)

Central bank of Bangladesh hikes repo rate to tame inflation

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DHAKA — The central bank of Bangladesh has hiked the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.75 percent in a bid to rein in inflation.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bangladesh Bank took the decision in its 56th meeting held Thursday in the capital Dhaka. The new rate will come into effect Oct. 2, reads a BB circular.

The bank earlier in June increased its policy rate (the repo rate) by 50 bps to 5.50 percent from 5.00 percent to deal with the demand-side pressures while ensuring the required flow of funds to the priority and production sectors to promote supply-side activities.

On May 29, the bank raised the key interest rate by 25 bps to 5 percent, the first increase in a decade. (Xinhua)

BBC to cut hundreds of jobs at World Service

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LONDON: Nearly 400 staff at BBC World Service will lose their jobs as part of a cost-cutting programme and move to digital platforms, the broadcaster announced on Thursday, paring down its Iranian-language service among others.

The BBC, which marks its centenary next month, said its international services needed to make savings of £28.5 million ($31 million) as part of wider reductions of £500 million, which unions blamed on the UK government.

In July the broadcaster detailed plans to merge BBC World News television and its domestic UK equivalent into a single channel to launch in April next year.

BBC World Service – one of the UK’s most recognisable global brands – currently operates in 41 languages around the world with a weekly audience of some 364 million people.

But the corporation said audience habits were changing and more people were accessing news online, which along with a freeze on BBC funding and increased operating costs meant a move to “digital-first” made financial sense.

“Today’s proposals entail a net total of around 382 post closures,” the public service broadcaster said in an online statement.

Eleven language services – Azerbaijani, Brasil, Marathi, Mundo, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese – are already digital only.

Under the restructuring plans they will be joined by seven more: Chinese, Gujarati, Igbo, Indonesian, Pidgin, Urdu and Yoruba.

Radio services in Arabic, Persian, Kyrgyz, Hindi, Bengali, Chinese, Indonesian, Tamil and Urdu will stop, if the proposals are approved by staff and unions.

No language services will close, the broadcaster insisted, although some production will move out of London and schedules would change.

The Thai service will move to Bangkok, the Korean service to Seoul and the Bangla service to Dhaka.

The “Focus on Africa” television bulletin will be broadcast from Nairobi, it added.

BBC World Service director Liliane Landor said there was a “compelling case” for expanding digital services, as audiences had more than doubled since 2018.

“The way audiences are accessing news and content is changing and the challenge of reaching and engaging people around the world with quality, trusted journalism is growing,” she added. ( AFP)

Exposure to Accents Helps Children Learn Words

Posted on by SAT News Desk

By : Rimma Gerenstein

If elementary school children are accustomed to many regional and foreign accents because they hear them frequently in their linguistic environment, then it is easier for them to learn new words from other children who speak with unfamiliar accents.

This is shown by the research results of Assistant Prof. Dr. Adriana Hanulíková and Helena Levy from the German Department at the University of Freiburg.

“In contrast to previous studies, it is not bilingual children who necessarily perform better in vocabulary acquisition, but children who are exposed to diverse accents most frequently,” explains Hanulíková, assistant professor of language and cognition.

For their study, the two linguists developed a novel virtual and game-based design.

Their findings recently appeared in the journal Language Learning.

Card game “Spot It!” as the foundation

“Until now, there was a lack of studies on the influence of regional and foreign accents on children’s learning of new words,” says Hanulíková.

To fill this gap, the researchers had 88 Freiburg children aged seven to eleven play a computer game based on the popular card game “Spot It!”, which is known as “Dobble” in Germany.

In the game, two identical objects on different playing cards have to be discovered and named as quickly as possible. For the study, the children played the game on the computer with virtual peers. They spoke either standard German or German with a Swiss or Hebrew accent.

The game included six terms that are usually unknown to children of elementary school age.

Regional accents help

All 88 children who participated in the study were German speakers, some of them bilingual or multilingual. The researchers also asked how often per week each child hears regional and foreign accents.

This shows a happy little boy
Whereas experience with regional accents alone also predicted learning, children who had experience with foreign accents showed, at least in tendency, similar effects. Bilingualism had no corresponding effect. Image is in the public domain

The evaluation of the experiment showed that the children benefited from long-term experience with different accents: children with this experience found it easier to learn unfamiliar words from other children who spoke unfamiliar accents in this virtual game situation.

This effect occurred especially when children heard both regional and foreign accents in their daily life. Whereas experience with regional accents alone also predicted learning, children who had experience with foreign accents showed, at least in tendency, similar effects.

Bilingualism had no corresponding effect.

Experiment resembles natural learning

Further studies are thus needed to investigate in more detail what type of experience in children’s vocabulary acquisition leads to which effects – and how these might differ from the learning of new words by adults, says Hanulíková.

The study’s newly developed, game-based design is a particularly suitable tool for this purpose, she says. “The children learn from other children while playing, not from adults, the latter being the focus of almost all studies to date.

“In addition, children are required to say and use these words in interaction, not to just passively recognize them. In this way, the experimental design resembles natural learning in everyday life.”

Source: University of Freiburg

 

Cathay Pacific operating Hong Kong-Kathmandu flight after three years

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Kathmandu — Cathay Pacific airlines will start operating direct flights to Hong Kong-Kathmandu from coming October 1, after a hiatus of three years.

The direct flight by the airline between the two destinations was postponed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The flag carrier of Hong Kong has sent a letter to the concerned authority to operate the direct flight from October 1, informed Premnath Thakur, General Manager of the Tribhuvan International Airport.

Presently, Nepal Airlines has been conducting regular flights between Kathmandu and Hong Kong and vice-versa. The Cathay Pacific has planned to conduct one flight a week (Saturday) to begin with, said GM Thakur. (RSS)

Airline Startup Of The Week: Sri Lanka’s Private FitsAir

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Colombo — The Sri Lankan aviation industry is about to welcome a new budget airline within the coming weeks, as FitsAir is gearing up to operate its first international commercial flights in the first week of October.  FitsAir is backed by Aberdeen Holdings and will also become the country’s first-ever privately-owned airline, signifying a double milestone for the Sri Lankan aviation industry.

While FitsAir might be a new airline startup, it is also the successor of what was formerly known as ExpoAviation or ExpoAir. Under the previous name, ExpoAir’s origins began approximately 25 years ago in 1997 as a cargo carrier, when the first operations were conducted with a leased cargo aircraft flying from Sri Lanka to the Maldives.

By 2000, ExpoAir had three aircraft in its fleet and was expanding its cargo operations to neighboring India and across the Indian Ocean to Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. It was only until June 2002 that ExpoAir grew into daily scheduled domestic passenger flights but was still operating mainly cargo srervices. However, the airline ceased operations in March 2013.

According to FitsAir officials, the new airline startup is determined it make air travel within Sri Lanka more affordable, given the country’s current economic situation. To do this, FitsAir focuses on the basic product of giving a comfortable seat to get its passengers to their destination with minimum or no fuss where possible.

With four aircraft already in its fleet, FitsAir is prepared to welcome passengers and take off for international skies. Commencing on October 5th, the budget carrier will operate its first flight from Colombo to Dubai, followed by flights to Male beginning on October 10th. Flight services to Trichy will begin shortly after on October 28th. FitsAir will operate three weekly flights to each of these destinations.

All flight services will be operated on its fleet of Airbus A320-200 aircraft, with a seating capacity of 164 to allow the airline to offer approximately 984 seats on each route weekly. The aircraft have already been retrofitted with 156 seats in economy class and eight seats in Economy Plus, which features wider seats, more leg room, and inclusive in-flight meals. Economy class tickets come with light refreshments.

( From Simpleflying)

Pakistan reiterates commitment to green marine environment through eco-friendly technologies

Posted on by SAT News Desk

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan is committed to the preservation of its green marine environment and greener shipping through the advancement of eco-friendly technologies, Pakistani Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Faisal Ali Subzwari said.

Despite contributing less than 1 percent of the global greenhouse gases, Pakistan is the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change, yet the country has been doing utmost efforts to make shipping green and protect the marine environment, the minister said in his message on the World Maritime Day, which falls on Thursday.

Noting that about 90 percent of the world’s trade is transported by sea, Subzwari said that the global shipping industry is coming under increasing pressure to cut the pollution created by the world’s merchant fleet, highlighting the enormous cost to the environment due to the industry.

Pakistan’s shipping industry contributes immensely to the national economy as 95 percent of its overall trade is carried via ocean freight, he said, adding that to promote green shipping, the country has adopted mandatory measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.

In efforts to ensure a clean marine environment and shipping security, the minister said that Pakistan has been using diesel oil for crafts as compared to heavy fuel oil to reduce emissions, carrying out shipping activities in the shortest possible time to avoid extra running of main engines and generators, maintaining oil and garbage record books, and ensuring no emission of fumes and gases.

  • Xinhua

Over 28,000 infected and 38 dead from Dengue in Nepal

Posted on by SAT News Desk

Kathmandu — According to the report of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD), a total of 38 people has succumbed due to dengue infection.  A total of 28,109 people have been infected with dengue so far.

The highest number of infected cases from dengue have been reported in Bagmati Province with 21,975 cases, followed by Lumbini Province (3,125), Sudur Paschim Province (850), Province 1 (829), Gandaki Province (677), Madhes Province( 413) and Karnali Province (238) cases.

Just on Thursday, the Ministry of Health and Population recorded two deaths and 540 new infection cases.

As the case count since mid-July 2022 has hit 28,109, all districts except Mustang have at least one case. The Kathmandu valley has emerged as the most critical hotspot.

The government has been saying that it has been making efforts to control the spread of a particular mosquito species that infects the disease. However, the results seem dismal.

Even, the outbreak of dengue in Nepal has reached the international level as one global organisation has recently urged the government to take more effective measures.

Mayor announces capital’s Diwali on the Square celebrations

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London — The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that Diwali on the Square will take place on Sunday 9 October with a host of entertainment on offer suitable for all ages in Trafalgar Square from 1 to 7 pm. 

 

The capital’s celebration of the Festival of Lights will see Londoners and people from around the world come together at Trafalgar Square to enjoy a fantastic array of dance, music, activities and food.

 

The Mayor of London’s free annual event is family-friendly and delivered in partnership with the Diwali in London committee. It will open with 200 colourfully dressed dancers in the main square followed by an exciting mix of performances from artists drawn from London’s Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities.

 

From 1-7pm, there will be a host of activities to enjoy including Neasden Temple’s Diwali Festival Experience, dance workshops, yoga and meditation, Glimpse of Goddesses, sari and turban tying, the Diwali Culture Zone, the Unity Marquee, Soho Theatre Comedy and a Children’s marquee, plus henna and face painting.

 

An array of South Asian food stalls will be serving up delicious traditional and fusion, vegan and vegetarian cuisine.  

  

“Diwali on the Square is always special as Londoners and visitors of all ages come together to celebrate the Festival of Lights, with a glorious blend of music, culture, food, and art.

 

“Thanks to the generosity of the Hindu and Sikh neighbours I grew up alongside, I have been lucky enough to experience, on many occasions, the joy and unity that Diwali brings and I know Londoners across our city will be joining together with their families and friends to celebrate.

 

“I want to take this opportunity to wish all those celebrating a very happy Diwali.” The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said.

UN chief calls for all-out efforts to eliminate nuclear threat

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UNITED NATIONS — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for the use of every means to eliminate the nuclear threat.

Guterres made the appeal at a UN General Assembly high-level meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, which falls on Sept. 26.

“We come together on this international day to speak with one voice. To stand in defense of our world — and our future. And to reject the claim that nuclear disarmament is some impossible utopian dream,” he said.

He noted that the elimination of nuclear weapons would be the greatest gift “we could bestow on future generations.”

In late August, the 10th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons failed to result in the adoption of an outcome document.

Expressing disappointment about the conference’s failure to reach a substantive outcome, Guterres vowed that “we will not give up.”

“I urge all states to use every avenue of dialogue, diplomacy and negotiation to ease tensions, reduce risk and eliminate the nuclear threat,” he said.

Guterres also called for a new vision for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

He highlighted the need to take into account the evolving nuclear order, including all types of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery, as well as the need to address the blurring lines between strategic and conventional weapons, and the nexus with new domains of cyber and outer space.

The UN chief urged General Assembly delegates to seize the opportunity and make new commitment to work toward a peaceful future.

“Without eliminating nuclear weapons, there can be no peace. There can be no trust. And there can be no sustainable future,” he said.

    – Xinhua

Lt General Anil Chauhan (retd) appointed as new Chief of Defense Staff of India

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NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government on Tuesday appointed Lt General Anil Chauhan (retired) as the new Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) of India.

He had retired as the Eastern Army Commander in May last year and was serving as the Military Advisor to the National Security Council.

This is the first time that a retired officer has been appointed at this position for which a gazette notification was issued to announce the change in rules for the appointment. In a career spanning over nearly 40 years, Lt Gen Chauhan has held several command, staff and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and northeast India.

He will also function as Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Military Affairs with effect from the date of his assumption of charge and until further orders, an official release said.

Lt General Anil Chauhan (retired) will be the second CDS of the country after Gen Bipin Rawat who died in a helicopter crash in December last year in Tamil Nadu. Born on 18th May 1961, Lt Gen Anil Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981. He is an alumnus of the National Defense Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. In the rank of Maj General, the officer had commanded an Infantry Division in the critical Baramula sector in the Northern Command.

Later as Lt General, he commanded a corps in the North East and subsequently went to become the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command from September 2019 and held the charge until his retirement from the service in May 2021.

In addition to these command appointments, the officer also tenanted important staff appointments including the charge of Director General of Military Operations. Earlier, the officer had also served as a United Nations mission to Angola. He superannuated from the Indian Army on 31 May 2021. Even after his retirement from the Army, he continued to contribute to national security and strategic matters.

For his distinguished and illustrious service in the Army, Lt General Anil Chauhan (retired) was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal. The CDS is the most senior uniformed officer in rank, the first among equals — the only four-star officers in the country are the CDS, the chiefs of the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force.

The post was lying vacant since December 8 last year after the death of General Bipin Rawat. When General Bipin Rawat was appointed CDS by the Narendra Modi government within six months of coming back to power in 2019, it was hailed as one of the biggest reforms in the higher military structure of the country.

The CDS is also the single point of contact for the government for giving military advice and is the senior-most bureaucrat in the defense ministry which has four major departments. The appointment comes amid efforts by the government to give a big push to indigenization in the equipment for defense forces. (ANI)

17-year-old Nepali girl Prajita turned four chairs in the Voice, USA

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Maryland — 17 years old Prajita Bastola the first Nepalese artist on The Voice gets all four coaches to hit their buttons. The Episode 4 of ‘The Voice’ Season 22 was aired on September 27 In USA.

The Severna Park, Maryland singer grew up watching The Voice with her family, who closed their restaurant on Monday nights so they could watch the show together.

Parajita explains that she’d like to to incorporate her Nepalese heritage into her singing and music. But her favorite genre is R&B and soul. “The best artists are able to bring the music of their culture and their roots into the wider global landscape of music,” says John Legend, who reminds everyone that he turned his chair first. “I think your voice is that kind of transcendent voice.”

Blake Shelton admits “I know good and well that I’m in over my head here,” adding, “But it doesn’t mean that I’m also not as big a big fan of yours as everyone else here.” He teases that there is nobody else like her on his team. He jokes, “I have also been on a singing competition show,” which cracks Camila up. “Have you been in a girl group too?”

Before Parijita chooses her team, she gifts each coach with a string of rudraksha beads from Nepal.

Who Is Parijita Bastola From The Voice?

Parijita, the first-ever Nepalese-American contestant on the program, wowed the coaches and audience members with her powerful singing and captured their hearts.

Four-chair turning performances are incredibly uncommon in such prestigious shows. Blake Shelton waited for Parijita to strike a high note to be persuaded. At the same time, judges John Legend, Camila Cabello, and Gwen Stefani made their decisions within the first 20 seconds. 

However, it was a spectacle to behold as all four judges acknowledged being persuaded by the little vocalist following an amazing four-chair turn.

Parijita Bastola was born to her parents in Severna Park, Maryland, the United States. They are of brown ethnicity and follow Hinduism.

Her father’s name is Pankaj Bastola, and her mother’s name is Bira Tiwari. She has a sibling named Priyankana Bastola, whom she grew up with when she was a child.

The Voice has always been the program that her family watches together, according to Parijita. The small eatery owned by her family is intentionally closed on Mondays so they can watch The Voice.

Likewise, in her early years, she attended Severna Park High School and is now completing her college graduation at the Private Colleges of Maryland.

Being up in a large family with many musician friends, Parijita Bastola was immersed in music from the age of 7. When she was four years old, Parijita Bastola began showing interest in singing.

In addition, one can stalk her on Instagram, where she constantly updates her. She has also posted her traditional Nepali attire along with Nepali cousins and family.

Popular American singer-songwriter Parijita Bastola is the band Soul’s primary vocalist.

Bastola is renowned for her incredible voice and stage presence. She was heavily involved in middle school plays but never had the opportunity to play in a band before a guitarist saw her during one of the shows.

The synergy between the band members on stage develops over time as they get to know one another’s styles and abilities, according to Parijita Bastola, who specializes in lead singing and has contributed her talents to two bands over the years.

The current lineup of Parijita Bastola’s band, soul, has been together for a year and is a flexible ensemble that also performs R&B, funk, and new music covers. The well-known songs by Bastola are Cry and Yeah.

Body of missing US skier Hilaree Nelson found

Posted on by SAT News Desk
Kathmandu — The body of renowned US big-mountain skier Hilaree Nelson has been found in the Manaslu mountain. She was missing since last Monday. American citizen Nelson, found dead this morning by the rescue team of Sherpas deployed by the tourism authority of Nepal.
She went missing from Bhimathang area while skiing in Manaslu mountain.

A team of Sherpas was mobilized to search for her after she went missing .  The team has reported  that they had found the body and  a helicopter was sent. She will be brought to Kathmandu via Samagaon in Gorkha by helicopter, DSP  of Gorkha Lilaraj Lamichhane stated to media.

Nelson and her partner, Jim Morrison, had scaled the 26,781ft peak of Manaslu mountain on Monday morning. Jiban Ghimire of Shangri-La Nepal Treks, which organised the expedition, told Outside Magazine that the pair reached the summit at 11:30am local time before she went missing.

On Thursday, Nelson wrote on Instagram of the challenging conditions she and Morrison were facing on Manaslu, with heavy rain and humidity making the climbing difficult.

“I haven’t felt as sure-footed on Manaslu as I have on past adventures into the thin atmosphere of the high Himalaya,” she wrote. “These past weeks have tested my resilience in new ways.”

US Secretary for Global Public Affairs Trudeau arrived to Nepal

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KATHMANDU — Acting Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs Elizabeth Trudeau has arrived in Nepal on Wednesday.

During her brief visit, Trudeau will meet with Embassy officials, US Embassy Youth Council Nepal, and civil society to discuss and learn more about Nepal’s media landscape and countering disinformation, according to the US Embassy in Nepal.

In Kathmandu, Acting Assistant Secretary Trudeau will also visit Nepal’s beautifully restored cultural sites through United States’ cultural preservation programming.

Nepal is one stop on her multi-country tour of the region, which also includes visits to the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic.

ADB to provide USD 14 billion to ease food crisis in Asia Pacific

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Kathmandu — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Tuesday announced plans to provide at least USD 14 billion over 2022-2025 in a comprehensive programme of support to ease a worsening food crisis in Asia and the Pacific, and improve long-term food security by strengthening food system against the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss.

The assistance expands ADB’s already significant support for food security in the region, where nearly 1.1 billion people lack healthy diets due to poverty and food prices which have soared to record highs this year, according to a press statement of the ADB.

The funding will be channeled through existing and new projects in sectors including farm inputs, food production and distribution, social protection, irrigation, and water resources management, as well as projects leveraging nature-based solutions.

The ADB will continue to invest in other activities which contribute to food security such as energy transition, transport, access to rural finance, environmental management, health, and education.

“This is a timely and urgently needed response to a crisis that is leaving too many poor families in Asia hungry and in deeper poverty,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa, in remarks at ADB’s 55th Annual Meeting.

“We need to act now, before the impacts of climate change worsen and further erode the region’s hard-won development gains. Our support will be targeted, integrated, and impactful to help vulnerable people, particularly vulnerable women, in the near-term, while bolstering food systems to reduce the impact of emerging and future food security risks.”

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has disrupted supplies of food staples and fertilizer, straining a global food system already weakened by climate change impacts, pandemic-related supply shocks, and unsustainable farming practices. Asia and the Pacific is vulnerable to food shocks, as some of its countries depend on imported staples and fertilizer. Even before the invasion of Ukraine, nutritious food was unaffordable for significant portions of the population in many ADB low-income member countries.

As well as supporting vulnerable people, ADB’s food security assistance will promote open trade, improve smallholder farm production and livelihoods, ease shortages of fertiliser and promote its efficient use or organic alternatives, support investments in food production and distribution, enhance nutrition, and boost climate resilience through integrated and nature-based solutions.

A key focus will be to protect the region’s natural environment from climate change impacts and biodiversity loss, which have degraded soils, freshwater, and marine ecosystems.

Assistance under the programme will start this year and continue through 2025.

It will be drawn from across ADB’s sovereign and private sector operations, and seek to leverage an additional $5 billion in private sector co-financing for food security, said ADB.