World Bank says will double agricultural commitments to $9 billion a year by 2030

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The World Bank will double its commitment for investments in agricultural financing and businesses to $9 billion a year by 2030, the lender’s president announced on Wednesday. 

“We’ve examined the challenges from every angle — how to increase food production, boost productivity, and resolve issues around water scarcity, fertilizers, infrastructure, and financing,” Ajay Banga said during an event at the Annual International Monetary Fund/World Bank Group meetings. 

“We are combining a new way of working with a new level of investment.” 

The Washington-based multilateral lender said a numbers of recent shifts in the agribusiness landscape together with reforms at the World Bank itself would allow for a ramp up of funding earmarked for agriculture. 

One was to tap more into climate finance resources, with the sector – increasingly vulnerable to climate risks and a significant contributor to emissions – currently only receiving 4% of climate finance globally. 

Increasing the use of de-risking tools such as credit guarantees, first-loss facilities, and insurance instruments help make lending safe and more commercially viable and pull in more private capital, Banga added. 

Meanwhile, advancements in digitalisation also made it easier to aggregate farming businesses and connect them to buyers and financial service providers.