Despite progress in reducing hunger and improving the affordability of healthy diets, the region’s food systems are not transforming quickly enough to deliver equitable nutrition, environmental sustainability, resilience and shared prosperity. This report presents eight practical tools covering food-systems monitoring, data visualisation, diet-quality measurement, policy coherence, climate nutrition integration, political-economy analysis, innovative financing and financial-flow tracking that governments and partners can use to identify gaps and opportunities, develop evidence-based plans, align policies across sectors, overcome implementation barriers and direct investment towards priority areas. Drawing on cases and data from across Asia, it highlights substantial differences between countries and subregions, alongside persistent challenges in food security, diet quality, emissions, water use, governance and financing. It concludes that accelerated, coordinated and government-led action supported by reliable data, coherent policies, inclusive decision-making and better-targeted finance is urgently needed to build healthier, fairer and more sustainable food systems and advance the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
From 30 June to 2 July 2026, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutri9on (GAIN) Kenya will join policymakers, investors, development partners, financial ins9tu9ons, researchers, private sector leaders, and civil society at the Financing Agri-Food Systems Sustainably (FINAS) 2026 Summit at the KenyaCa Interna9onal Conven9on Centre (KICC), Nairobi.
Something significant is happening in food fortification. Quietly, and across more countries than most people realize, the years following passage of a milestone resolution on food fortification at the World Health Assembly have delivered a meaningful acceleration in the scale, quality, and political visibility of large-scale food fortification programs worldwide.
India’s agricultural transformation is widely recognised as one of the most consequential development stories of the twentieth century. From chronic food shortages in the decades following independence to self-sufficiency in staple cereals like rice wheat and millets, India’s investments in irrigation, research, and price support fundamentally reshaped food availability. Public procurement and subsidised public distribution systems ensured that calories reached even the most vulnerable. And this culminated in the institutionalisation of food security through the National Food Security Act.
In the current global context of prolonged global conflicts, increasing severity of climate change and ever rising inflation, the need to make our food systems, resilient has never been more urgent than now.
Resilient food systems feed and nourish people, create jobs, protect livelihoods and withstand shocks such as climate change, conflict, rising prices and supply disruptions. And the backbone of what makes food systems truly resilient are the Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). They are small individually, but together they form the everyday engine of our food systems.
Uganda is increasingly recognizing the importance of addressing the intersection of climate change and nutrition, with a growing number of policies and institutional actors engaging with the climate–nutrition nexus. Several policies and initiatives demonstrate that integrated action is both possible and already underway, particularly where explicit pathways, costed commitments, and system-level resilience investments are included. Institutions such as the Office of the Prime Minister, the National Planning Authority, and the Ministry of Health provide important entry points for strengthening coordination, while informal influence networks and policy windows offer additional opportunities to advance integration.
The DELIVER Nigeria project is a three-year initiative designed to enhance livelihoods and food systems resilience among smallholder vegetable farmers. Funded by the Accelerating Resilient Food Systems in Africa (ARFSA), a programme of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency commissioned by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it builds on the achievements of the SDGP project (2019–2024). DELIVER Nigeria applies a three-pronged approach focused on supply, demand, and access to finance. Since its launch in July 2024, implementation has progressed steadily through partner mobilization, field entry, and the roll-out of key interventions.
This practical guideline provides step-by-step technical guidance for implementing small fish restocking initiatives to improve nutrition, strengthen local food systems, and support sustainable fisheries
In Ethiopia, the growing Textile industry is powered by the youth, typically aged 18 to 35 years, more than 85 percent of whom are women. Yet, behind the machines lies a hidden challenge: malnutrition. Evidence reveals that poor diet on the job is costing countries up to 20% in lost productivity due to malnutrition1 and this is further impacted by food inflation.
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises are essential to the food systems people rely on every day. They grow, process, transport, market, and sell nutritious foods helping make healthier diets more available, affordable, and accessible. This World MSME Day, GAIN is spotlighting the MSMEs, entrepreneurs, partners, and employers shaping stronger food systems and healthier communities.
