Strengthening the Partnership Between the World Bank and CGIAR: A Roundtable on the Future of Food, Land, and Water

On April 13, 2026, World Bank Executive Directors gathered with CGIAR leadership for a frank 90-minute roundtable on the future of food, land, and water, moderated by Nathalie Francken, Executive Director of EDS10. The meeting was co-hosted by Executive Directors from Japan, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Saudi Arabia, and brought together CGIAR Director General Ismahane Elouafi, Director General of CIMMYT Bram Govaerts, Director General of IFPRI Johan Swinnen, and Director General of CIP Simon Heck, alongside colleagues from across the World Bank Group's Sustainable Development family.

A Founding Partnership Built to Scale

The World Bank co-founded CGIAR in 1971, inspired by Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug and World Bank President McNamara's shared vision to use agricultural science to defeat poverty and hunger. CGIAR System Council Chair Renaud Seligmann emphasized the enduring nature of that relationship, noting that the World Bank was there at CGIAR's founding and remains strongly committed. That partnership has since generated $1.34 trillion in cumulative economic benefits, a nine-to-one (recently closer to ten-to-one) return on every dollar invested. The challenge now is scaling proven innovations further and faster, harnessing the World Bank Group's role as a Knowledge Bank to link CGIAR's science directly to policymakers, practitioners, and the communities that need it most.

Two Flagship Programs at the Center

Discussions focused on two World Bank Group corporate priorities: AgriConnect, which connects smallholder farmers, including a targeted focus on women and youth, to improved seed systems, climate-smart agronomy, and digital advisory tools; and Water Forward, which draws on CGIAR's leadership in water productivity and basin management to benefit over a billion people. Executive Directors stressed the importance of building solutions from real farmer demand, so that innovation reaches people in practice, not just in theory.

The Critical Role of Science, and Gene Banks

Participants also highlighted the critical role of gene banks as essential infrastructure for food security, preserving biodiversity and enabling future breakthroughs in crop resilience and nutrition. From hybrid potato crops to CGIAR-derived wheat varieties now sown on almost half the world's wheat land, the science pipeline is rich. Participants underscored the urgency of deploying this knowledge now, to solve tomorrow's problems before they become crises.

Partnerships and Next Steps

CGIAR Director General Ismahane Elouafi reminded participants that success in this space depends entirely on partnerships, and that the private sector is key to reaching farmers at scale. The session closed with concrete commitments: an action note and tailored country-level support packages will follow soon.