Feeding the Next Generation: Why East Asia’s Agricultural Support Policies Need to Change Julia M. FraserPaavo ElisteSergiy ZoryaAshesh Prasann July 14, 2026 This page in: English

https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/voices/feeding-the-next-generation--why-east-asia-s-agricultural-suppor Rice feeds nearly 690 million people across Southeast Asia. For decades, governments across the region built entire policy architectures around producing it — subsidizing inputs, controlling prices, and directing public spending toward the smallholder rice farmer as the foundation of food security. It worked. Production soared from 107 million tons in 1960 to 345 million tons today. These policies helped lift a generation out of poverty.