
South Asia
Food Systems at a Crossroads
Anjani Kumar, Akhter Ahmed, Stephen Davies, and P. K. Joshi
Rising exports, low oil prices, higher infrastructure spending, and supportive macroeconomic policies helped to make South Asia the world’s fastest growing region again in 2017, with economic growth projected to reach 7.1 percent in 2018. Growth across the region was not uniform, however, ranging from 0.6 percent in Nepal to 7.1 percent in both Bangladesh (a historical high) and India. Growth in agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) in South Asia also varied from country to country, shrinking by more than 4 percent in Sri Lanka in 2016, for example, and growing by 6 percent in Afghanistan. Agricultural GDP growth slowed in Bangladesh, but rose significantly in Bhutan and India.