(by Simona D'Alessio and Angelica Folonari) Public development banks pushed to collaborate for a more sustainable, equitable and ecological recovery, after the pandemic - and one of the tools to reach the target will be a platform aimed at intensifying more inclusive 'green' investments in agriculture, as well as producing, packaging and transporting food 'from the farm to the plate', according to what was heard on the first of the two days of the Finance in Common Summit 2021, organized in Rome by the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) government development bank, whose President Giovanni Gorno Tempini underscored the work of public development banks in the most difficult phase of the crisis, supporting the economy.
"Now that global macroeconomic prospects have finally become positive again, with the majority of countries destined to reach pre-COVID-19 growth levels in 2022, there is a need to lay the foundations for a more balanced, fairer and sustainable growth," he said.
Operating in over 150 countries and moving 10% of global investments, the over 500 banks at a national, regional, international and multinational level "find themselves in a unique position to reach this goal," he stressed.
These words were in line with those of Gilbert F. Houngbo, the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), who said public development banks have the capacity to provide rural enterprises and small-scale farmers with the funding they need to promote "the transformation of food systems, at the same time improving their means of subsistence and their resilience." The idea of collaboration among the subjects was backed, among others, by the number one of the European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI), Bruno Wenn, who said he was convinced that the key challenge will be how to organize this "in an effective and efficient way to the benefit of all".
A study presented at the Summit, finally, sees the world's population rising by around 25% in the next 30 years, reaching 10 billion people, but the current agro-food systems are not able to adequately meet their needs. Therefore, people are looking to digital innovation which, the study said, may have positive impacts in environmental terms (like the reduction of the use of harmful chemicals) and social ones too (by increasing farmers' incomes).
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