World Bank Report on Water, Food, and Jobs

The World Bank Group launched a new report, 'Nourish and Flourish: Water Solutions to Feed 10 Billion People on a Livable Planet,' emphasizing the critical need to rebalance water use across the global food system. The report states that current agricultural water management practices are unsustainable and can only support less than half of the global population. By 2050, 10 billion people will need to be fed, necessitating a shift from overuse in some regions and underuse in others. The World Bank Group proposes a new framework linking water availability with food production and trade, which could generate 245 million long-term jobs, largely in Sub-Saharan Africa. Key figures like Paschal Donohoe and Guangzhe Chen from the World Bank Group underscored the importance of public and private sector collaboration, policy reforms, and redirecting agricultural subsidies to achieve food security and sustainable growth. The World Bank Group plans to double agribusiness financing to $9 billion by 2030 and mobilize an additional $5 billion annually under its AgriConnect initiative.