How prepared is Asia for pandemic and epidemic diseases? While efforts by national governments and international organizations to prevent and control pandemics in the region have been instrumental in mitigating disaster in the short-term, they have also exposed more systemic weaknesses that call into question Asia’s preparedness for future outbreaks. Future preparedness is important, because …

The food and agriculture sector is a key part of Asia’s regional economy. Asian economies are among the world’s leading producers, consumers, exporters and importers of major agricultural commodities, most notably rice, but also other grains, oilseed, and increasingly meat. Asia is also home to two-thirds of the world’s poor, or almost 2 billion people, …