At the recently concluded Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group in Washington D.C., the World Bank unveiled its flagship agricultural initiative, “AgriConnect”.

The President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga, explained that the flagship initiative is designed to boost global agricultural productivity and enable smallholder farmers to move from subsistence to commercial production.

According to Banga, AgriConnect was conceived to transform smallholder farming into a viable engine of economic growth, job creation, food security, and value-chain development in developing countries.

In particular, it seeks to support 500 million smallholder farmers who produce the majority of the world’s food but still operate largely at subsistence levels.

Furthermore, the initiative aims to double the World Bank’s annual investment in agribusiness to nine billion dollars by 2030, while also mobilising an additional five billion dollars from development partners.

Banga noted that the initiative was building an ecosystem around cooperatives to integrate financing for farmers and SMEs, link producers to markets, and harness digital tools such as “small AI”.

This, he added, is underpinned by a pledge to double agricultural financing and attract further resources through strategic partnerships.

He stressed that agriculture had always been central to development.

“Today, the challenge is not only to grow more food, but also to turn that growth into a business that delivers higher incomes for smallholder farmers and creates opportunities across entire economies,” he said.

Banga further observed that over the next 10 to 15 years, about 1.2 billion young people in developing countries would come of age, yet only 400 million jobs were projected to be created.

“Hundreds of millions will either power the global economy or spill over into unrest and migration. That is why the World Bank Group has made job creation our central mission,” he explained.

He noted that although jobs ultimately come from the private sector, they do not all start there.

“Countries move along a continuum: early on, the public sector drives job creation; over time, private capital and entrepreneurship take the lead.

“Our three-pillar strategy reflects that arc of building infrastructure and skills; creating predictable regulations and a business-friendly environment; and supporting investors with risk tools that crowd in capital,” he added.

According to Banga, the World Bank sees potential in five priority sectors of infrastructure, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism, and value-added manufacturing.

However, he noted that agribusiness remains central to both job creation and meeting the projected 50 per cent rise in global food demand over the coming decades.

Moreover, he highlighted that Africa holds 60 per cent of the world’s uncultivated arable land and could significantly boost yields on already cultivated land.

“Latin America already produces enough food for well over a billion people, but faces infrastructural challenges.

“Across Asia, smallholder farmers manage most farmland; an enormous base that can be lifted with better technology, finance, and market access,” he said.

Banga noted that globally, 500 million smallholder farmers produce 80 per cent of the world’s food, yet many remain trapped in subsistence due to inadequate electricity, storage, training, and access to markets.

Similarly, Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, shared insights on his country’s Agri-Finance and Climate Resilience Reforms.

He underscored the crucial role of agriculture in Pakistan’s economy, which contributes nearly one-fourth of GDP and supports millions of small farmers.

He reaffirmed the government’s policy shift from control to facilitation and empowerment, enabling the private sector to drive agricultural growth.

Ongoing initiatives, he said, aim to enhance productivity, access to finance, and value-chain development from production and storage to exports.

“When the full value chain is considered, agriculture contributes nearly 40 per cent to Pakistan’s GDP,” he added.

In the same vein, Guinea’s Minister of Agriculture, Mariama Cire Sylla, emphasised the need for financing and infrastructure reform to empower smallholder farmers and attract investment in alignment with AgriConnect’s goals.

Earlier in 2025, the World Bank published a Guinea Economic Update highlighting the nation’s economic progress.

The report commended Guinea’s fiscal discipline and economic performance, which helped it secure a B+ credit rating from Standard & Poor’s in September 2025.

However, it noted that while growth was encouraging, it had not yet translated into significant poverty reduction, stressing that domestic resource mobilisation remained critical for long-term development.

Meanwhile, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) pledged to transform the lives of at least 70 million small-scale farmers through the AgriConnect initiative.

The IFAD President, Alvaro Lario, explained that the initiative aims to create jobs in agribusiness, transform livelihoods, and strengthen global food security.

The project will be implemented in collaboration with the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

“Our investments have led to higher incomes, bigger yields, and better market access for small-scale food producers.

“Delivering that triple impact, we will target at least 70 million people in rural and fragile areas,” Lario stated.

He added that IFAD, alongside other multilateral development banks, governments, and private sector partners, shared a common ambition to connect small-scale producers to markets and turn rural areas into engines of growth, jobs, and food security.

Lario highlighted that IFAD brings nearly five decades of experience investing in rural communities, particularly in remote and fragile regions where poverty and hunger are most severe.

“These communities, home to 80 per cent of the world’s poorest people, face challenges from climate shocks to limited access to inputs, technologies, and finance, despite immense untapped potential,” he said.

He observed that meeting the rising global food demand, projected to increase by nearly 60 per cent by 2030, could generate an estimated 10 trillion dollars in annual economic opportunities by 2050.

He also noted that Africa’s agribusiness sector could reach one trillion dollars by 2030.

Furthermore, Lario pointed out that 1.2 billion young people would enter the job market in developing countries over the next decade, adding that agri-food systems already provide employment for 40 per cent of the global workforce.

In addition, the African Development Bank (AfDB) reaffirmed its partnership and support for AgriConnect.

Its President, Sidi Ould Tah, noted that the initiative aligns closely with the Bank’s own programmes aimed at transforming smallholder farming through technology, finance, and value addition.

He mentioned AfDB’s related efforts such as the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ), Agri-Food SME Catalytic Financing Mechanism (ACFM), and ENABLE Youth Programme.

These initiatives are designed to improve infrastructure, reduce investment risks, and provide financing to agri-SMEs and young entrepreneurs.

“These initiatives focus on improving infrastructure, de-risking private capital, and supporting farmers and SMEs to increase productivity and create jobs,” he said.

As the World Bank, AfDB, and their partners roll out large-scale agricultural initiatives, some Nigerians have raised concerns over the discontinuation of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP).

The scheme, launched by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in November 2015, was designed to provide financing support for smallholder farmers.

The ABP was designed to boost production, link smallholder farmers with agro-processors, and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on food imports.

Its objectives, which closely mirror those of AgriConnect, included increasing agricultural output, promoting food security, creating rural jobs, and enhancing farmers’ access to credit.

However, the programme was phased out in 2023 and replaced under the new CBN Development Finance Framework.

The framework aims to streamline agricultural financing through deposit money banks and other financial institutions, rather than through direct government interventions.

All in all, the launch of AgriConnect reflects a renewed global resolve to make agriculture a driver of inclusive growth, food security, and rural development.

However, for initiatives of this scale to achieve meaningful impact, experts say they must align with country-level priorities and lessons from past experiences.

In Nigeria, many believe that the phase-out of the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme offers valuable insights into the challenges of sustaining agricultural financing and ensuring equitable access for smallholder farmers.

By harmonising local policies with global initiatives such as AgriConnect, Nigeria and other developing nations can strengthen their agricultural systems, boost productivity, and build more resilient rural economies.

By Kadiri Abdulrahman, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)