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Conclusion
A GROWING NEED FOR TRANSFORMATIVE INNOVATIONS The East Asia region’s agriculture and food systems have come under growing pressure to address the economic, environmental, and health-related weaknesses associated with expanding and intensifying production. With economic change, the region’s agri-food systems face increasing pressure to meet demand for more food—focusing on nutrition, safety, and convenience. A long-standing emphasis on raising production has had negative effects on the environment, however, contributing to lower agricultural productivity, environmental degradation, zoonoses, and impairment of human health. The COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis, with its widespread effects on lives and livelihoods, food security, and agri-food system trade, is a hard reminder of the prevailing demandand supply-side constraints affecting the region’s food systems. Several policy and institutional shortcomings, as described in the report and summarized below, limit the sector’s ability to invest in and innovate for improved productivity, safety, and sustainability. Harnessing a new generation of agricultural innovation will be critical to transforming agri-food systems in developing East Asia. Although increased productivity remains an important goal, several transformative innovations, as discussed in the report, hold great potential to deliver a “triple win,” that is, to enhance productivity, increase food safety and nutrition, and improve environmental sustainability. • Innovations supporting agricultural production—for example, biotechnology, urban farming, precision agriculture, climate-smart agriculture, along with e-services—have already demonstrated great potential not only to improve productivity but also to increase agri-food systems’ sustainability and resilience to external shocks. • Innovations along the food chain, including food safety diagnostics, blockchain, the Internet of Things, and e-commerce, have the potential to increase efficiency and food safety and improve health outcomes through improved traceability, reduced food loss and waste, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. 123
