The World Bank has reaffirmed its resolve to reposition agriculture as a profitable and sustainable enterprise capable of driving employment, boosting incomes, and strengthening food security globally.
World Bank Group President, Ajay Banga, made this known on Tuesday in Washington during the AgriConnect Flagship Event held on the sidelines of the 2025 Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group.
Banga underscored that agriculture had always been a cornerstone of economic development but must now evolve into a dynamic business sector that delivers prosperity across value chains.
“Today’s challenge is to produce more food while transforming that growth into profitable ventures that raise farmers’ incomes and create broader economic opportunities,” he said.
He noted that over the next decade and a half, about 1.2 billion young people in developing countries would enter the labour market, yet current projections indicate only 400 million new jobs would be available.
“Hundreds of millions will either drive global progress or contribute to instability and migration. That’s why job creation is now central to our mission,” Banga added.
The World Bank president stressed that while most employment ultimately arises from private enterprise, governments play a key role at early stages by building foundations for growth.
He explained that the institution’s three-pillar strategy strengthening infrastructure and skills, ensuring predictable regulations, and providing risk tools that attract private investment guides its development agenda.
According to him, the Bank sees significant promise in five key sectors: infrastructure, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism, and value-added manufacturing, with agribusiness taking centre stage due to its impact on jobs and food production.
Banga highlighted that emerging markets possess the right conditions for agricultural transformation fertile land, water resources, abundant sunlight, and human capital.
“Africa alone has 60 per cent of the world’s uncultivated arable land and can achieve higher yields on existing farmland,” he said, adding that Latin America and Asia also hold vast agricultural potential if supported by better technology, finance, and infrastructure.
He pointed out that 500 million smallholder farmers currently produce 80 per cent of the world’s food but remain trapped in subsistence systems without reliable access to energy, finance, or markets.
“The potential has long existed what’s new is our capacity to scale solutions that can reshape food systems, drive growth, and secure livelihoods,” Banga said.
He revealed that the World Bank Group began implementing a new agricultural strategy in 2024 focused on enhancing smallholder productivity and integrating them into structured value chains.
“To achieve this, we plan to double our agribusiness financing to nine billion dollars annually by 2030, leveraging an additional five billion dollars from partners,” he said.
Banga concluded that empowering smallholder farmers through producer organisations, partnerships, and private investment remains key to transforming agriculture into a thriving, inclusive business for the future.