(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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