World Bank Group Youth Summit 2025, Day 1 Part 2: Youth-Led Innovation for Livable Planet

Youth-Led Innovation for a Livable Planet: Seeds of Change in Agriculture and Food Security

Session Title: Seeds of Change: Youth-led Solutions for Resilient Agriculture and Food Security
Event: 2025 World Bank Group Youth Summit: Day 1, Part 2
Date: 2025-05-19 16:06:03

Introduction

The 2025 World Bank Group Youth Summit, under the overarching theme of "Youth-Led Innovation for a Livable Planet," dedicated a significant plenary session to "Seeds of Change: Youth-led Solutions for Resilient Agriculture and Food Security." This session brought together experts and innovators to address the multifaceted challenges facing global food systems, including growing food insecurity, the profound impacts of climate change, and the critical need for youth engagement and job creation in agriculture.

The Global Food System Challenge

The session opened by highlighting the immense scale of the challenge: the global population is projected to reach 10 billion by 2050, with food demand expected to increase by over 50%. Despite an aggregate surplus of food, widespread starvation, malnutrition, and food insecurity persist, exacerbated by resource scarcity, multifaceted crises, and extreme weather events. Agriculture, while essential for sustenance, contributes a third of global greenhouse gas emissions and is a significant driver of deforestation, biodiversity loss, and excessive freshwater use.

However, the food system’s importance cannot be overstated. It provides one in three jobs globally—rising to almost two-thirds in developing countries—and contributes 10% of global GDP. Agriculture is recognized as a powerful tool for poverty reduction, capable of achieving this three times faster than any other sector. Crucially, three-quarters of the world’s poorest populations live in rural areas where agriculture is often the primary source of income. The sector also holds immense potential for future job creation, estimated at up to 140 million new jobs, offering a vital pathway for the almost two-thirds of youth entering the job market without a clear employment trajectory. Innovating in areas like Climate Smart Agriculture, reducing carbon emissions, decreasing vulnerability to external risks, and enhancing food accessibility are critical components of the solution.

Strategic Priorities & Interventions from Panelists

The session featured four distinguished panelists who shared their organizational priorities and insights:

• Dr. Shobha Shetty (Global Director of Food and Agriculture, World Bank): The World Bank’s vision centers on building a productive, resilient, and sustainable food system. Recognizing the sobering reality of surging hunger and the food system’s environmental impact, the Bank has provided almost $22.5 billion for food and agriculture investments over the past five years. Key strategies include mobilizing private capital at scale, repurposing harmful agricultural subsidies towards sustainable and nutritious outcomes, and supporting innovations such as drought/heat/flood-resistant crops, biofortified foods, digital technologies, and clean energy. Partnerships with science and research organizations like the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) are deemed critical. The global momentum from COP28, where 160 countries signed a declaration integrating food systems into the climate agenda, signals that sustainably feeding 10 billion people by 2050 is both achievable and affordable, costing less than 0.5% of global GDP.
• Nathan Hulley (Consultant, CGAP – Fragile and Emerging Countries Project): Mr. Hulley highlighted a common frustration: innovative youth-led solutions, particularly in fragile contexts like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), often struggle to access necessary funding. CGAP’s work focuses on bridging this gap through partnerships with private sector companies (both large and small) and by utilizing mechanisms like competitions and hackathons to inspire and enable young entrepreneurs to implement their solutions. The goal is to mobilize resources, connect emerging companies with pressing problems, and facilitate implementation.
• Philipp Zimmer (Data Science Consultant, World Bank Development Impact Group): Drawing on two decades of work bridging research and implementation in agriculture and food insecurity, Mr. Zimmer’s current focus is on leveraging AI. He pointed out significant data gaps in identifying populations at risk of food insecurity, where traditional data sources are often outdated or incomplete, especially during crises (e.g., civil war, climate shocks). The Development Impact Group is exploring creative data solutions, such as monitoring news reporting and using remote sensing information, to improve predictive forecasting for interventions like anticipatory cash transfer programs.
• Guadaluna Chaer (CEO and Co-founder, Luxeed Robotics): As a young entrepreneur and winner of last year’s Youth Summit pitch competition, Ms. Chaer presented Luxeed Robotics as a tangible example of AI in action. Her company uses AI to detect and distinguish between crops and weeds, then employs laser technology to inhibit weed growth. This innovation addresses the significant agricultural problem of weeds, which currently leads to up to 50% yield loss and the increasing ineffectiveness of herbicides due to resistance. Luxeed Robotics offers a sustainable alternative that reduces reliance on manual labor, costly herbicides, and the need for genetically modifying crops for weed resistance. Her journey, which involved participating in the Agrytech program in Lebanon and relocating to the Netherlands for funding, underscores the challenges faced by youth innovators in securing support in unstable regions.

Youth as Agents of Change: Fostering Innovation and Job Creation

The session delved deeply into the role of youth in transforming agriculture and creating sustainable livelihoods:

• Making Agriculture Attractive and Profitable: Dr. Shetty emphasized that 21st-century farms require multiple income sources beyond single crop production, integrating renewables (solar, wind, biogas), environmental services, and value addition through manufacturing and services. The World Bank, in collaboration with IFC and MIGA, aims to generate new investment, build public sector capacity, and leverage risk-sharing facilities and guarantees to support agricultural business transformation. Examples include India’s Rural Resilient Prosperity Program, which seeks to create jobs and businesses for 200 million young farmers and rural youth by providing access to finance and necessary skills. Uzbekistan’s Horticulture Development Project similarly boosted sales and exports through training financial professionals in agriFinance and equipping farmers with real-time market intelligence. The average age of a farmer globally (around 58) highlights the urgent need for "generational renewal" in the agrifood sector.
• Motivation and Empowerment: Ms. Chaer shared her motivation as a mechanical engineer driven by a desire to build solutions and make an impact, particularly on climate change. She stressed that to encourage more youth, there is a need to highlight existing challenges and demonstrate how their skills can solve them. University programs, grants, and competitions play a crucial role in empowering young people to pursue entrepreneurial paths in agriculture.
• The Infrastructure Imperative: Mr. Zimmer critically asserted that the transformative potential of AI in agriculture is fundamentally dependent on robust "infrastructure, infrastructure, and infrastructure." He cautioned against conversations that detach AI’s promise from the practical needs of stable broadband access, adequate computing resources, and access to perfect data in remote areas. He cited the Togo Data Lab as an example of a successful initiative that uses coding competitions to recruit and empower talented youth in government-backed agricultural data projects, demonstrating how a platform with resources can drive innovation.
• Partnerships and the "Missing Middle" in Finance: Mr. Hulley underscored the importance of diverse partnerships between private sector companies and between donor programs and the private sector, often facilitated through challenge funds, competitions, and hackathons. He highlighted a critical "missing middle" in finance where small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggle to access funding that falls between micro-enterprise and large corporate financing. He advised that pay-for-results partnerships must set achievable criteria, warning that overly burdensome reporting requirements can distract and even damage young companies.

Promising Data-Driven and Digital Innovations

The panelists shared various inspiring examples of data-driven and digital innovations transforming the agricultural sector:

• Combating Food Loss: Mr. Hulley cited technologies for processing and drying to increase the viability of crops, particularly in areas impacted by climate change (e.g., coffee and cocoa). He also highlighted the significant problem of food loss (estimated at 30-40% along the supply chain) and described initiatives like food loss and waste reduction accelerators. Examples included BioBuu and Best Tropical Fruits in Kenya and Tanzania, which upcycle organic waste into animal feed, fertilizer, and edible oils. Cold storage solutions were also mentioned as critical for reducing spoilage.
• AI for Precision Agriculture: Ms. Chaer’s Luxeed Robotics exemplifies AI for precise weed detection and laser removal, offering a sustainable alternative to chemical herbicides and manual labor. She emphasized the practical necessity of running AI models offline on devices due to connectivity challenges in farming areas.
• Advanced Data Analytics and Genetics: Mr. Zimmer discussed "Tiny Machine Learning (TinyML)" for developing smaller, more efficient AI models that can run on devices with limited resources, crucial for wider adoption. He also explored applying machine learning techniques from human health research to crop health, such as identifying marker genes indicative of climate resistance to artificially strengthen plant strains.
• Digital Public Infrastructure and Agritech Startups: Dr. Shetty outlined the World Bank’s substantial investment ($1 billion over six years) in data-driven digital agriculture, including financing for digital public infrastructure, big data platforms, and agritech innovations across 56 countries. In Kenya, a data-sharing infrastructure has created farm registries for 6.5 million geo-tagged farms, providing 5 million farmers with precision advisories on weather, climate-smart practices, and farm inputs. Innovation challenges, like those under Kenya’s One Million Farmer Platform, have supported 25 dynamic youth-led agritech startups offering services ranging from tractor-hailing to solar irrigation and AI-powered agricultural advisory chatbots. The Kenya Soil Health Accelerator Program further leverages AI for soil diagnostics and sustainable land management.
• Trust and Transparency through Digital Tools: Dr. Shetty also noted the effectiveness of digital tools like eVoucher systems (deployed in DRC and Nigeria) in promoting transparency, reducing corruption, and building trust between farmers, youth enterprises, and the state, while also enabling more targeted and efficient resource allocation.

Key Takeaways & Forward Path

The session concluded with a strong consensus that transforming agriculture into a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive sector is not only essential for food security and climate action but also a powerful engine for economic growth and youth employment. Key to this transformation are:

• Targeted Investment: Mobilizing both public and private capital, with specific mechanisms designed to support SMEs and youth-led enterprises, addressing the "missing middle" in finance.
• Infrastructure Development: Building robust digital public infrastructure and ensuring reliable connectivity, especially in fragile contexts, is foundational for widespread technology adoption.
• Capacity Building: Investing in skills development, training, and educational programs that are agile and align with emerging technologies is crucial for empowering the next generation of agricultural innovators.
• Contextualized Innovation: While global principles and lessons can be drawn, interventions and solutions must be carefully adapted to local cultural, environmental, and socio-economic contexts.
• Strategic Partnerships: Fostering collaboration between governments, international financial institutions, humanitarian agencies, research organizations, and the private sector is vital to scale impact and address complex challenges.
• Youth Empowerment: Actively engaging youth through competitions, grants, direct funding, and supportive ecosystems is paramount to harnessing their dynamism, drive, and innovative spirit for radical transformation of food systems.

Disclaimer

This report is based on the provided transcript of the "Youth-Led Innovation for a Livable Planet | 2025 World Bank Group Youth Summit: Day 1, Part 2" session, specifically "Seeds of Change: Youth-led Solutions for Resilient Agriculture and Food Security." It is intended for educational purposes only. The opinions, statements, and content presented herein are solely those of the original speakers and authors of the video content. The World Bank Group, the World Bank Youth Summit, and any associated entities are not liable for the accuracy or completeness of the information provided by the speakers.

AI Assistance Disclosure: This report was generated with the assistance of an artificial intelligence model. While AI was used to synthesize and structure the information from the provided transcript, human oversight and editorial review were applied to ensure accuracy, neutrality, and adherence to the specified expert-level editorial standards. Any potential errors or omissions remain the responsibility of the human editor.