AT A GLANCE : - 75 percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas and most are involved in farming.
- In the 21st century, agriculture remains fundamental for economic growth, poverty reduction, and environmental sustainability, especially in Africa.
World Bank investments in agriculture and rural development increased again in FY07,
to $3.2 billion, led by South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
In FY07, World Bank investments in agriculture and rural development increased for the 4th straight year, reaching $3.2 billion (12 percent of total Bank lending), up from $3 billion in FY06. South Asia led the increase by almost doubling its lending from $670 million in FY06 to $1.2 billion in FY07. FY07 lending in Sub-Saharan Africa also increased, from $550 million to $580 million.
Flagship Activities in FY08 for Agriculture and Rural Development at the World Bank
“We will work with countries, especially in Africa, and partner institutions, to seize an opportunity from the higher demand for food. Our World Development Report 2008, on Agriculture for Development, points the way. We can help create a “Green Revolution” for sub-Saharan Africa by assisting countries to boost productivity throughout the agricultural value chain and help small-holder farmers to break the cycle of poverty. We will almost double our own lending for agriculture in Africa, from $450 million to $800 million, and can help countries and farmers manage systemic risks, including through financial innovations to counter weather variability, such as drought. We can offer access to technology and science to boost yields.” – World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick, April 2, 2008 World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development. The World Bank launched the WDR 2008 in October, 2007. The Bank has mobilized staff to operationalize the key WDR messages on increasing the power of agriculture to:
(a) reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth, especially in Africa;
(b) reduce the growing income inequalities between rural and urban areas in more urbanized and middle- income countries; and
(c) contribute to environmental sustainability.
There is a multi-sectoral and multi-regional task force to oversee operationalization efforts, and an unusually strong dissemination effort that has now reached over 40 countries, with others scheduled for later in 2008. The Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (GDPRD), consisting of 29 donor agencies active in agriculture and rural development, is also helping promote and communicate the WDR messages related to the need for "more and better" investments in agriculture for development.
Climate Change, Agriculture, and Natural Resources. Climate change disproportionately affects the rural poor who rely on agriculture because of the increased risk of crop failure, pest infestation, droughts, floods, livestock mortality, loss of coral reefs, and the changing distribution of fish resources. The World Bank is carrying out strategic studies in FY08 on mitigating contributions to, and adapting to, the impacts of climate change. Three studies will examine climate change impacts on agriculture and food security, adaptation efforts for agriculture and natural resources, and an examination of adaptation across different farming systems and landscapes. Since deforestation accounts for approximately 20 percent of global carbon emissions, the Bank’s work with countries on avoided deforestation is especially important. The Bank is supporting a partnership with several civil society organizations to pioneer mechanisms that will allow effective and equitable participation by rural communities in emerging Payments for Environmental Services (PES) markets. Furthermore, a future study will analyze and evaluate cellulose-based bio-fuels.
International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). Progress has been made on the IAASTD, which is co-sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization, Global Environment Facility, UN Development Programme, World Health Organization, UN Environmental Programme, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the World Bank. The final intergovernmental plenary meeting is scheduled for April, 2008, after which final reports will be published.
Strategic Priorities and the FY08 Work Program for Agriculture and Rural Development at the World Bank
Agricultural & Rural Policy. International and national policies affect the ability of poor countries to use the power of agriculture to stimulate growth and reduce poverty.
- Government expenditure on agriculture. The Bank is collaborating with the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DfID) on agricultural public expenditure reviews, and will be producing case studies and training for practitioners to better analyze and provide policy advice on spending for agriculture.
- Promoting equitable trade in agriculture. In the last two decades, agricultural exports from developing countries actually fell, in part because of agricultural protection and subsidies in both rich and poor countries. The Bank continues to analyze and advocate for global agricultural trade reform and has produced a two-volume set on Reforming Agricultural Trade for Developing Countries, and a forthcoming study on trade, poverty and environment linkages (with the World Wildlife Fund).
Agricultural Production. Changes in the agriculture sector are being driven by shifting consumer demand patterns, enhanced knowledge, and application of new technologies in response to new opportunities and threats.
- Supporting innovation. The Bank has been supporting an innovation systems approach to increased agricultural productivity. In particular, the Bank has focused on facilitating multi-stakeholder platforms to link poor farmers to technology generation and market opportunities, including the use of information and communications technology. The work on agricultural innovation systems has also been linked closely to tertiary education in Africa.
To address the equity dimension in agricultural growth, the Bank is compiling a sourcebook on Gender in Agricultural Livelihoods. The WDR2008 has increased global interest in the potential of agricultural biotechnology and its regulation. As a follow up, the Bank has embarked on an assessment of its work in agricultural biotechnology. In addition the Bank is preparing diagnostic work on sustainable aquaculture, the world's fastest growing food sub-sector, focused on the need for dissemination of knowledge on pro-poor aquaculture and good aquaculture governance to address environmental issues.
- Managing the threat of emerging zoonoses. Livestock is one of the fastest growing sectors in developing countries. Production of meat has doubled over the last 15 years, led by a 7 percent annual increase in poultry production. This growth, however, has implications for the environment and human health. The Bank is implementing programs under the Global Program for Avian Influenza (GPAI). In partnership with FAO and the World Organization for Animal Health, the publication Enhancing Control of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza through Compensation: Issues and Good Practice was produced, with executive summaries available in Spanish, French, Russian, and Chinese. The Bank and OIE are currently working on studies on managing livestock externalities, livestock and poverty reduction pathways, and financing animal epizootic losses in developing and transition countries. In response to a request by the Ministerial Conference on Avian Influenza and other Pandemics, the Bank and the UN System Influenza Coordination (UNSIC) office are developing a strategy that goes beyond avian influenza to cover other diseases which will be presented to the next Ministerial Conference in Cairo in October, 2008.
- Water for agriculture. Agriculture accounts for nearly 80 percent of global water use. To gain “more crop and value per drop,” the Bank is proactively re-engaging in investments that target the policy, technical, and governance aspects of agricultural water. The Africa Action Plan identified managing water for agriculture as a priority. Investments that empower local user groups and promote public private partnerships are critical to improving performance in this sub-sector.
Agriculture and Rural Markets. Access to finance and to land, input, and output markets remains a challenge to most developing country farmers.
- Land tenure. Rising food prices and the potential for additional large-scale investment in bio-fuels have greatly increased demand for land, leading to continued land price appreciation. To ensure that these trends contribute to poverty-reduction and enhanced productivity, rather than conflict and social strife, the Bank, jointly with its partners (FAO, UN-Habitat, bilateral agencies, academic and NGO networks) is drawing on opportunities offered by new technology (information technology, remote sensing, e-governance) and revised land legislation in many countries to support policy and institutional reform.
- Rural investment climate. Formal commercial activity in rural areas—market linkages, access to investment capital, business advisory services, and enforcement of commercial law and regulations—is critical to facilitate private sector development and improve services. The Bank is piloting rural investment climate assessments in several countries and has developed a training manual for Bank staff to manage such assessments on a broader scale.
- Rural financial services. These are critical to developing the rural economy and helping the rural poor build assets that can decrease their vulnerability to shocks. The Bank is examining ways of delivering a broad range of financial services to the rural poor, an issue that is addressed in the Bank publication Providing Financial Services in Rural Areas: A Fresh Look at Financial Cooperatives. Another study is examining financing issues around irrigation and drainage and agriculture more broadly.
- Commodity risk management. Price and weather risk management insurance provide farmers and institutions in developing countries with better tools to manage exposure to price and weather fluctuations and expand access to credit. The Bank is supporting a second round of pilot testing, feasibility studies, and evaluations for weather risk management instruments in Malawi, Tanzania, Central America (jointly with the Inter-American Development Bank), Madagascar, Thailand, Vietnam (jointly with the Asian Development Bank), Kenya, and India.
- Helping farmers to access markets. The Bank’s work on farmer access to input and output markets are ongoing, especially on coordinated supply chain development, and agricultural supply chain risk assessment. Work also continues on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards needed for market access by supporting investments in SPS laboratories, including the publication of Food Safety and Agricultural Health Management in CIS Countries: Completing the Transition. Agricultural productivity also depends on on-farm investment, which in turn depends on the security of land tenure and effective land markets, which is an increasing part of the Bank’s work program.
Agriculture and Natural Resources. Increasing demands for food, feed, and bio-energy challenge an already dwindling land, water, and forest base. To address these demands for natural resources and its accompanying challenges, the Bank’s work emphasizes sustainable natural resource management, including governance issues. - Improving governance of natural resources. The Bank continues its work on forest law enforcement and governance (FLEG), including creating diagnostic tools, holding stakeholder consultations, and producing a forthcoming work on “Leveraging Forestry for Governance Reform.” The Bank is also working on “wealth-based” approaches to sustainable fisheries governance with a view to stemming the drain of an estimated $50 billion per year in economic rents; a stakeholder consultation was also held on corruption in fisheries.
- Improving management practices. Preparation work is progressing on formation of a Global Forest Partnership as a means to consolidate and scale up current partnerships, strengthen the Bank’s forestry operations, and identify new opportunities for avoided deforestation. The Bank is analyzing good practice for natural resource management and has recently launched one guide to help development practitioners, the Forests Sourcebook: Practical Guidance for Sustaining Forests in Development Cooperation, with another forthcoming, Managing Land and Landscapes: a Sourcebook. The Global Program on Fisheries (PROFISH) helps countries build consensus around fishery sector strategies and mainstream those strategies into national economic planning frameworks. PROFISH also supports project preparation (currently in Mauritania, Peru, and India) and work on analyzing the footprint of the fishing fleets and on the impact of and adaptation to climate change in fisheries.
For more information, please see the website:
www.worldbank.org/rural Updated March 2008 Contacts:
Roger Morier: (202) 473-5675, Rmorier@worldbank.org |
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