DHAKA, June 9, 2025 (BSS) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and CGIAR, with support from the Gates Foundation, today launched a new initiative to boost investment in sustainable and low-carbon rice production aimed at improving the lives of millions of vulnerable smallholder farmers across Asia and the Pacific.  Rice is the lifeblood of the region. It feeds more than half the population daily and is the cornerstone of livelihoods for millions of rural poor.  Yet rice farming faces mounting pressure --from declining productivity and shrinking water supplies to its significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.  Left unaddressed, these challenges threaten food security and the well-being of the poorest and most vulnerable communities, said an ADB press release. "Rice is critical to Asia's food security, providing over a quarter of the region's calorie intake-and up to half in Southeast Asia. For hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers, rice is not just food, it is their livelihood. Today, that livelihood is increasingly threatened by extreme weather and environmental degradation," said ADB Vice-President for Sectors and Themes Fatima Yasmin.  Through the newly established ADB-CGIAR Clearinghouse Facility, co-financed with Gates Foundation, the initiative will drive the adoption of resilient, high-yield, and low-emission farming practices; sustainable water use; inclusive value chains; and improved nutrition for the region's poorest.  ADB plans to invest up to $1.5 billion through this programme from 2025-2030 to improve productivity sustainably, adapt to harsher climate conditions, and reduce water and carbon footprints. This is part of ADB's broader $40 billion commitment to food systems transformation by 2030, announced in May. "This joint initiative will reinforce CGIAR's strategic collaboration with ADB and scale up CGIAR's innovations in rice systems and beyond," said Director General of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Yvonne Pinto. IRRI is a member of the CGIAR network of research centres.  "Alongside partners, such as ADB and 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," added Pinto.  Initial projects are being developed in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Pakistan, and the Philippines.