PRESS RELEASE
New Approach to Financing Innovations
in Food Security and Agricultural Development Unveiled at innovative initiative
that will enhance global food security and improve the livelihoods of
developing country farmers through prizes and other market-based incentives was
announced today by G20 Leaders. With a results-driven funding model that
rewards innovators for tackling some of the biggest problems in food security
and agricultural development, AgResults addresses global challenges in food
security and agriculture by generating market-oriented solutions. The
initiative aims to achieve significant improvements in the wellbeing of the
poor and vulnerable in developing countries with a fund of up to $100 million,
to be administered by the World Bank. The governments of Australia, Canada,
Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation, are supporting this effort.
AgResults uses pull mechanisms to
encourage innovation through results-based payments such as prizes that are
typically paid out when certain objectives or milestones have been met. Such
financing mechanisms have seen success in generating innovation and
market-oriented solutions in other domains such as healthcare, and AgResults
aims to deliver similar gains in global food security and agricultural
development.
AgResults was born out of the
realization that there is a great need for increased investment in global food
security and agriculture, in particular from the private sector. The FAO
estimates that world food production must double by 2050 to feed a growing
world population, while nearly a billion people suffer from a lack of crucial
micronutrients in their diet--a hidden hunger that inhibits the development of
children and reduces adult productivity. Recognizing these gaps, leaders at the
June 2010 G20 Summit in Toronto committed to exploring innovative,
results-focused ways of harnessing private sector innovations in food security
and agricultural development in developing countries. This commitment involved
a two-year effort by committed partners to develop AgResults, culminating in
today's launch of the initiative in support of the Summit priority of enhancing
global food security. AgResults addresses this priority directly through new
funding and a focus on bringing new, innovative approaches to bear on global
food security issues.
In the coming years, AgResults will
launch a series of pilots that address some of the biggest problems in global
food security and agricultural development. The initiative's portfolio of
pilots will represent a diverse mix of agriculture and food security issues,
testing different types of pull mechanisms in different regions globally. The
initial set of pilots, focusing on maize production in Sub-Saharan Africa,
include:
· Incentivizing the adoption of
on-farm storage technology for smallholder farmers;
· Encouraging innovative
distribution of a breakthrough technology to reduce aflatoxin contamination;
and
· Building a market for new vitamin
A-enhanced varieties of maize.
Additional pilots will be explored in
the coming years, potentially including livestock vaccines and fertilizer
innovation as well as new ideas related to increasing crop yields, decreasing
post-harvest losses, increasing livestock productivity and improving nutrition.
For further information, please visit
www.worldbank.org/cfp/agpm
Original Article Here
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