The World Bank has called for the redirecting of $490 billion in Subsidies to bridge $70 billion annual irrigation funding Gap, according to a new World Bank Group report launched on Thursday.
According to the report, rebalancing water use across the global food system is key to meeting future food demand sustainably and could generate 245 million long-term jobs, largely in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The report, Nourish and Flourish: Water Solutions to Feed 10 Billion People on a Livable Planet notes that current agricultural water management practices, marked by overuse in some countries and underuse in others, can only sustainably support food production for less than half the global population.
By 2050, 10 billion people will need to be fed. Addressing both the overuse that depletes water in stressed regions and the underuse that leaves available water and productive capacity untapped in water-abundant regions will be essential to meet that demand sustainably.
It introduces a new framework for agricultural water management that links water availability with food production and trade.
“By categorizing countries based on water stress and their food import or export status, the framework helps identify where expanding rainfed agriculture can increase food production, where irrigation investments can unlock jobs and growth, where water use must be rebalanced to protect ecosystems and future productivity, and where trade offers a more sustainable path than local production.”
“The way we manage water for food will have profound implications for jobs, livelihoods, and economic growth.”
“By making smarter choices about where crops are grown, how water is allocated, and how trade supports food security, we can strengthen resilience, expand opportunity, and safeguard the resources which we all rely on,” said Paschal Donohoe, Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer of the World Bank Group.
Realizing these outcomes will require stronger private sector participation and financing alongside public investment, supported by effective policies, institutions, and regulations to boost food production, create jobs, and support sustainable growth.
Public funding alone cannot deliver the sustained services, innovation, and scale needed to expand irrigation, improve performance, and maintain results. Farmers, who are the primary users of irrigation and its main investors, are already willing to co-invest when access to finance, quality equipment, markets, and digital tools reduces the risks and transaction costs they face.
“When investments in infrastructure and natural resources, business-enabling policies, and private capital mobilization come together, the impact can be greater than the sum of its parts,” said Guangzhe Chen, Vice President for Planet at the World Bank Group. “By linking global evidence with country realities, this framework can help policymakers navigate trade-offs and adapt food production to today’s water and climate realities—delivering food, jobs, and resilience together.”
According to the report, expanding irrigation where water is available, alongside modernizing existing systems, is estimated to require an additional $24–70 billion per year through 2050.
“Governments already spend roughly $490 billion annually on agricultural support, most of it on subsidies. Redirecting a portion of current spending combined with regulatory reform, use of blended finance, and public-private partnerships will crowd in private capital, including co-investment by farmers themselves, and support financially sustainable water and food security.
The World Bank Group works alongside countries, companies, partners and people to translate these insights into action by combining policy reform, public investment, and private capital to strengthen food systems, create jobs, and protect natural resources.
Through the Water for Food and Water for the Planet pillars of its Water Strategy Implementation Plan, the World Bank Group addresses the twin challenge of water and food security by strengthening food production systems and improving farmer livelihoods.
