From Scarcity to Solutions 2025

The transition to green food-water systems hinges not only on technological innovation but also on aligning producer’s incentives, capabilities across the value chain and consumer trust. Affordability, transparency and accessibility are interdependent pillars that foster trust, provide localized empowerment and shape market adoption. Upskill value chain and bolster consumer acceptanceEnabling action #5 Certification frameworks build consumer trust China has built a comprehensive food certification system to enhance public confidence and acceptance, encompassing green food certification, organic food certification and a geographical certification (see Figure 8). Certification labels feature unique information codes that allow consumers to verify the products’ and company’s authenticity. While certifications enhance consumer trust and market penetration, ensuring income improvements for producers requires complementary measures such as cooperative bargaining, cost-sharing partnerships and premium market access. For example, Alibaba’s Hema Fresh offers organic vegetables at competitive prices by optimizing logistics and bulk purchasing, expanding its organic SKUs to 1,800+ products and attracting 10 million+ organic consumers.56 In Inner Mongolia’s Ulan Buh Desert, where climatic conditions produce sweeter and starchier organic pumpkins, farmers previously struggled with market access. Through contract farming, Hema Fresh guaranteed off-take, boosting producer confidence and enabling scale-up —with planting scale rising from 400,000 pumpkins in 2022 to over 2 million in 2023.57 China’s food certification system FIGURE 8 — Limited use of synthetic inputs — Eco-friendly pr oduction envir onment— China Gr een Food Development Centr e — No synthetic chemicals (e.g. fertilizers, pesticides, additives) — Strict envir onmental and sustainability standar ds— Third party agencies accr edited by National Certification and Accr editation AdministrationGreen Food Certification Organic Food Certification — Product linked to a specific r egion — Reflects local, natural and cultural factors— Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs Geographical Indication Agricultural Pr oducts Certification name Certification bodies Requir ements and featur es Affordability, transparency and accessibility are interdependent pillars that foster trust, provide localized empowerment and shape market adoption. From Scarcity to Solutions: Food-Water Innovation in Asia and the Middle East 41