Yemisi Izuora
The World Bank is concentrating energy to execute key agricultural reforms in developing economies specifically tied to creating sustainable food production and supply.
Over the past six months, the Institution has brought together World Bank Group colleagues to redouble efforts, committing to $9 billion annually in Agri-finance and agribusiness commitments by 2030.
This new approach aims to connect millions of unbanked farmers to global value chains and responds to a critical need for jobs in emerging markets.
The agenda of creating sustainable food systems has now risen to the highest possible level– and as the world’s largest financier of agriculture and food in developing countries with a $22.3 billion lending program over the last five years, the World Bank really has the potential to catalyze meaningful change.
The institution has taken action on a huge multi-sector agenda aiming to change how it produce and consume food for the better.
On a large scale it has stepped up efforts in financing and technical support with about two-thirds (62%) of its portfolio now climate-smart.
The Bank has increased financing for climate-smart agriculture eightfold since the Paris Agreement was signed.
In addition its Food and Nutrition Security Global Challenge Programme (GCP) is now fully operational and being rolled out in countries.
Under the first action area of the GCP, it has now mobilized 12 partners to sign onto a global roundtable initiative to tackle food crises.
This means a much more proactive and coordinated approach when crises hit. However, it needs a more predictable crisis response because these short-term crises will continue to happen even as it builds long-term resilience in the meantime.
Also, the Bank is strengthening food and nutrition security in client countries leveraging $3.5 billion and scaling up work at the country level.
According to its Corporate Scorecard the institution has supported over 200 million people with improved food and nutrition security and is influencing over 40 governments around policy with repurposing of public policies and expenditures towards better outcomes for the planet and for people – up from 20 governments last year.
Over the last decade or so, it has reportedly reached over 13 million farmers with access to agricultural assets or services- so we have a solid base to start from.
From 2025, the Bank would through its new GCP and expanded partnerships, mobilize much more coordinated action on food and nutrition security playing a part in reducing the huge amount of fragmentation of overseas development assistance and better leveraging existing resources.
It also intend to bring to scale solutions that can heal the planet, increasing crop per drop, expanding agroforestry, implementing alternative drying and wetting techniques to reduce methane emissions and more.
These solutions and innovations exist but they are not being brought to scale – it is essential that this gap is bridged.
The Bank is working on more profound initiative to protect biodiversity not from agriculture, but instead protecting biodiversity for agriculture and hopes to be able to feed more children, grandchildren and beyond if biodiversity is protected.
To accelerate this agenda, the Bank intends to increase focus on science, innovation and knowledge to accelerate and scale up proven innovations. Through the Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration Impact program it brought together 150 stakeholders from country projects focused on sustainable rice value chains to foster dialogue and learning on best practices.
Through FoodSystems 2030-funded publication Recipe for a Livable Planet it has also set out a clear pathway forward for countries to reduce emissions across the food sector.
And through the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program the (GAFSP), it is helping governments build the resilience of smallholder farmers and adapt to climate change, through activities like increasing access to climate-resilient seed varieties.
Since 2017, all GAFSP-funded public sector projects have delivered significant climate co-benefits.
The third key priority for the year ahead is to refocus on nutrition-sensitive agriculture and healthy and sustainable diets.
The outlook for agriculture is not just about food, but about healthy food and it has seen a 50-60 per cent increase in malnutrition and obesity and the cost of unhealthy diets is 2.2 per cent of global GDP.
The Bank feels obligated to make healthy and nutritious food available globally only then will we really tackle both food and nutrition security.
At the COP28 in Dubai, the UAE Declaration and Agriculture led to the recognition that food is just as important as energy when it comes to climate action.
The Bank is taking the momentum forward into COP30 next year.
Brazil is a hugely important country for changing how it does the business of agriculture, from restoring land, to protecting biodiversity and reducing emissions from methane generated by livestock.
In 2025, the Bank intends to redouble efforts to make Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) more ambitious when it comes to the food transition as there is the need to increase efforts with civil society and farmers groups to make this a just, equitable and inclusive food transition for those most affected, ensuring that smallholder farmers’ best interests are kept top of mind.