World Bank Push to Put Farming Front and Center

The World Bank Loans to make Small Holder Farming, Central to Jobs and Growth, built on Bank Chief Ajay Banga’s Pledge to Double Investments in Agr-Bbusiness and Agri-Finance.

Agriculture is Climbing the World Bank’s Priority List. At its Annual Meetings yesterday, the Bank launched "Mission AgriConnect": Farms, Firms, and Finance for Jobs, a Plan to put Smallholder Farming at the Heart of its Economic Growth and Jobs Agenda.

The Program puts into motion World Bank President Ajay Banga’s Pledge to Double Agribusiness and Agri-Finance Investments to $9 billion Annually by 2030. “What we have set out to do is first, help smallholders raise productivity and scale. Second, connect them to structured value chains that lift income. And third, guard against exploitation so farmers aren't forced to sell land for lack of credit, for lack of insurance, for lack of market access,” He said.

With Aid Budgets Shrinking and Pressure Mounting to Mobilize Private Capital, "Mission AgriConnect" is being positioned as a Test Case for Collaboration across the Bank, the International Finance Corporation, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, and Partners such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the African Development Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank. “This initiative is extraordinary. It’s part of the collaboration of the MDBs — we have never collaborated like that before,” said IDB President Ilan Goldfajn.

The Three Pillars are: De-Risking Agribusiness Investment, Investing in Infrastructure such as Irrigation and Electrification, and Reforming Policy, including Subsidy Repurposing. One Early Example is a $300 million Initiative in Togo to expand Irrigation and Turn the Country into a Regional Agribusiness Hub that’s expected to create 72,500 Jobs.

Technology Transfer is also Central. “With our convening power, we can ensure that a lot of these technologies are going where they're needed — to farmers — so that they get drought-resilient seeds, heat-tolerant crops, and [access to crops like] orange sweet potatoes to improve nutritional needs,” said Shobha Shetty, the World Bank’s Global Director for Agriculture and Food Global Practice, Citing Pakistan’s Adoption of Zinc-Enriched Wheat now used by 45% of Farmers Nationwide.

For Wagner Albuquerque de Almeida, IFC’s Global Director of Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Forestry, the Value Lies in Treating Agriculture as a System: “Not looking to individual parts of the supply chain, which is very complex, but looking at this in a holistic way.”

Mission AgriConnect will be the Proving Ground for Banga’s “bigger, better, faster” Mantra. And the Measure of Success, Shetty said, will be Simple: Keeping Smallholders at the Center.










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