 The Covid-19 pandemic is the biggest public health crisis this century with massive social and economic effects. Countries all over the world have taken unprecedented measures to contain the spread of the disease, including the temporary lockdown of entire countries in order to break the chain of transmission. These restrictions impose the complete or partial lockdown of their production manufacturing and service economies. In South Asia, we at Erie consulted extensively with our stakeholders and found that production of staples such as rice was largely unaffected because of the timely action taken by governments across the region. Agriculture was exempted from restrictions in many countries in South Asia as an essential service. However, loss of production, breakdown of value chains, disruption of markets and global trade may lead to a food and nutrition crisis in the future. Indeed, loss of income and increase in poverty is likely to be the major cause of a further reduction in dietary diversity. As diverse diets, high food and vegetables become less affordable to many of the poor. In this context, it's particularly pleasing that the World Food Program has been honoured with the award of the Nobel Peace Prize because it highlights the critical importance of food and nutrition during this pandemic. We can, however, and should seek to build better. Even before the pandemic, levels of anemia in women and stunting in children under five years' age in South Asia were amongst the highest in the world. Countries in South Asia were, in general, food secure in terms of the availability of calories, but they were not nutrition secure in terms of the availability and affordability of healthy diets. Food systems are at the heart of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, and there is no doubt that this has been set back by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the one CGIR mission of ending hunger by 2030 through science to transform food, land and water systems in a climate crisis can help us get back on track to deliver the sustainable development goals. Rice is a stable crop in South Asia with important cultural connotations in the region. This will not change in the foreseeable future. However, we can drive forward the food system transformation through developing sustainable food value chains for appropriate rice-based cropping and mixed livestock or fish systems tailored for specific regions and agroecologies. There is an opportunity now for countries in South Asia to revisit their policies and institutions and work to deliver a healthy plate for every meal, every day for everyone.