Southeast Asian governments must back their food security promises with money for agricultural research, Fan Shenggen, former director-general of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), told the Asia Pacific Agri Food Summit in Singapore last week.
"Many governments say, 'We pay attention to agriculture, to food systems, to nutrition, health,' but towards the end of the day, they don't spend any money," said Fan, now chair professor at China Agricultural University and dean of the Academy of Global Food Economics and Policy.
The region, he said, spends a smaller share on food and agriculture than India or China, and even less on aquaculture. China puts "probably 1%, maybe close to 2%" of agricultural GDP into agricultural research, he said, and India's spending is rising, while Southeast Asian countries "spend very little".
His remarks fit findings in an August 2025 ISEAS Perspective paper, which reported that every ASEAN country except Thailand has consistently allocated less than 10% of its national budget to agriculture, with the largest declines in Malaysia, the Philippines and Cambodia. The paper linked weak agricultural growth to low public investment, since governments remain the largest funders of agriculture and rural services in the region.
Foreign money is only a partial answer. Food, agriculture and forestry attracted about 10% of foreign direct investment in 2020, the source notes, but much of it went to supply chain traceability, transparency and information systems.
"Show me the budget... It cannot be just lip service; it has to be the dollars," Fan said. He argued that policy underpins innovation, because governments can create the conditions for investors and reduce their risk, for example through insurance, and can set clear rules for the private sector.
He urged scientists, economists, companies and others in the sector to press governments to spend more and spend well.
Reporting by Amanda Lim for AgNavigator.
Photo: World Economic Forum from Cologny, Switzerland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Source: AgNavigator
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