CCAFS Knowledge and Evidence Inform World Bank Group (WBG) Investments in Agricultural Development

Kristjanson P. 2019. CCAFS Knowledge and Evidence Inform World Bank Group (WBG) Investments in Agricultural Development. CCAFS Report. Wageningen, Netherlands: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

Three years ago, a strategic decision was made to embed a CCAFS researcher within the agriculture group at WBG headquarters. The underlying reasoning behind this approach, i.e. the theory of change, was a belief that if WBG-supported agriculture projects, analytical tools, and knowledge products are designed using the most recent applied research knowledge about Climate-Smart Agricultural (CSA) opportunities, including about Climate Change (mitigation and adaptation) cobenefits, it will increase the breadth and depth of the impacts of these investments. The World Bank is a leading financier of agricultural development projects globally, with investments worth $6.8 billion in 2018, reaching over 30 low-income countries, among others. Thus enhancing the effectiveness of these investments will have considerable impacts globally.