Our Perspective

GHI Report Enhancing Private Sector Involvement in Agricultural and Rural Infrastructure Development

By Whitney Sparks-Vredenburgh, sustainability writer

Posted 10 months ago

Add a Comment

Share this Page

On June 27, 2011, Global Harvest Initiative (GHI) posted its final policy report, estimating a $90 billion annual agricultural investment gap essential to meeting the needs of 9 billion people by 2050. The policy report highlights the need for private sector involvement in addressing global food security by "creating economic growth, raising global incomes, and feeding a population anticipated to reach 9 billion people by 2050."

The policy brief recommends the following different ways of enhancing private sector involvement:

• establishing government and industry partnerships
• working to improve the business climate and rural infrastructure in developing countries
• encouraging developing countries to devote more resources for overall development to attract private capital

 "With a $90 billion annual investment gap in the agricultural sector of developing countries, the task of doubling agricultural productivity in 40 years is a formidable one," said Dr. William G. Lesher, executive director of the Global Harvest Initiative. "There are simply not enough resources in either developed or developing nations to bridge this sizable gap, so enhanced private sector involvement is the key to improving agricultural and rural development to ensure that the world's future agricultural needs are met."

The fifth and final policy brief can be accessed in full here: http://globalharvestinitiative.org/Policy/Private_Sector_Rural_Development.htm

The policy series addresses five key topics that will have the greatest impact on improving global food security and hunger. 

The policy series includes:

1.     Improve agricultural research

2.     Remove barriers to agricultural trade

3.     Strengthening development assistance programs

4.     Embrace science-based technologies

5.     Enhance the role of the private sector in agricultural development

The policy series can be found at GHI's Policy Center.