MADRID, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Developing Asia needs to improve farm productivity in the long run to ensure food security, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a study on Monday.

    With food prices rising, many Asian developing countries were under significant pressure to put food on the tables of the poor and vulnerable.

    The study said in addition to providing immediate relief to shield the poor and vulnerable, those countries should in the short term also ensure inputs and credit are available to spur a strong supply response over the coming crop cycles.

    "In the long-run the notion of food security should move beyond a relatively static focus on food availability to higher productivity," the ADB study, titled "Food Prices and Inflation in Developing Asia: Is Poverty Reduction Coming to an End?", concluded.

    "As a majority of the poor in developing Asia live in rural areas and depend on agriculture, higher agricultural growth will raise farm output, reduce prices and raise incomes of poorer farm households," said Ifzal Ali, chief economist of the ADB.

    As yields of food crops in most Asian economies remain low in comparison with other major producing nations, technology improvement has become increasingly important along with efficient use of water, power and other key inputs.

    Ali said farmers will face complex adjustments as they make the transition to new farming systems and technologies.

    The report, prepared by ADB's Economics and Research Department, emphasized that farmers will need to make the right choices and be provided access to new seeds, modern technology, credit and infrastructural facilities.

    It warned the recent surge in global food prices can undermine the region's efforts to fight poverty and push large numbers of people back below the poverty line.

    The report cited structural factors like the decline in global stocks of rice and other cereals, rising oil prices and the resultant rise in prices of fertilizers and transportation costs for farm products as major factors behind high and rising food prices.

    It urged governments to reevaluate their investment priorities and take steps to boost agricultural productivity to mitigate any longer-term rise in food prices.

    The Manila-based ADB is holding an annual meeting here as rising food prices are undermining the organization's efforts in poverty reduction.

    ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda warned that the price surge has greatly affected over 1 billion people in Asia and the Pacific alone.

    "Their purchasing power has been eroded placing them at a greater risk of hunger and malnutrition," Kuroda told delegates from the bank's 67 members.

    On Saturday, the ADB announced it would provide immediate budgetary support to some Asia-Pacific countries hit hardest by rising food prices.

    It also urged governments to step up investment, boost rural infrastructures and strengthen institutions to sustain higher farm output in the medium to long term.