Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank Group, and Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank, discussed the need for more global action against hunger during the World Food Prize Foundation 2024 Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue.
This goal is becoming more distant due to the combined effects of conflict, economic difficulties, and climate change.
On Tuesday, October 29, the two leaders spoke as special guests at the opening plenary, which was themed “Achieving a Hunger-Free World.”
Through creative collaborations and financial solutions, both leaders reaffirmed their organizations’ dedication to eradicating food insecurity in Africa.
“There is nothing more important than feeding the world. Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) play an important role in that,” Adesina declared.
He emphasized how important global financial institutions are to completing this task.
Adesina and Banga talked about the MDBs’ revolutionary efforts to address Africa’s $1.3 trillion in development needs each year.
According to Adesina, if distributed through MDBs, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could turn them into leveraging machines that could multiply assets by up to eight times.
“And that’s how you recycle capital to do all the things you need. Think of that,” he said.
Banga expressed confidence in collaborative projects like “Mission 300,” an ambitious project to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030, and commended Adesina’s leadership.
Adesina stated,
“I want to really applaud Ajay since he became president of the World Bank. He is a partnerships guy and when you want to solve a problem, you work in partnership.”
The importance of involving Africa’s youth in agriculture was emphasized by both leaders. The World Bank’s emphasis on youth employment programs and the African Development Bank’s “Enable Youth” program demonstrate a shared commitment to utilizing Africa’s demographic dividend for economic prosperity and agricultural transformation.
“If we don’t put finance behind young people’s ideas, that’s the biggest risk,” Adesina warned.
The 2024 Borlaug Dialogue, hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation, gathers experts worldwide to inspire innovative solutions to global hunger.
With this year’s theme, “Seeds of Opportunity, Bridging Generations and Cultivating Diplomacy,” the event champions collaboration, legacy, and hope in the fight for food security.
Adesina also emphasized the value of collaborations like the World Bank and African Development Bank’s partnership in the G20’s Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.
AfDB Calls For Increased Private Sector Involvement In Climate Finance
To combat hunger, SDRs will be distributed through MDBs as part of the campaign. As another illustration of MDB collaboration, he mentioned Mission 300, a collaborative effort between the World Bank and the African Development Bank to provide electricity to 300 million people in Africa by 2030.
Ajay Banga reposed his confidence in Adesina’s leadership for initiatives like M300: “We have six years to get it done,” he said.
Addressing the topic of climate change and farmers’ livelihoods Banga noted that in Africa, only 4% of global climate financing goes to agriculture.
He stressed the need for scalable solutions to support Africa’s small farmers.
The World Bank President claims that by making job creation a specific goal of all of its development efforts along six specific pillars, his organization is highlighting the demographic dividend of Africa’s youth population.
The theme for this year’s Borlaug dialogue: “Seeds of Opportunity, Bridging generations and cultivating diplomacy”. It is pointed to a world of potential to achieve the goal of ending hunger worldwide.
“That seed represents hope, innovation and courage to dream. This week at the Borlaug Dialogue we are not just talking about the seeds of opportunity. We are planting them,” Mashal Husain, Chief Operating Officer for the World Food Prize Foundation said.
