The World Economic Forum and the New Vision for Agriculture

The World Economic Forum is a non-profit organization based in Switzerland that was founded in 1971 by Klaus Schwab. A professor at the University of Geneva, Klaus Schwab organized the first European Management Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in 1971, bringing together leaders from Western Europe’s business sector. Later, in 1987, as this yearly meeting grew in size and scope, it was renamed the World Economic Forum. Similarly, the guest list for the Forum expanded to include leaders from the political and academic worlds. Throughout the last forty-five years, the prestige of the World Economic Forum has grown as its yearly meeting has served to address major political and economic issues. During the 1992 Forum, the South African President De Klerk met Nelson Mandela and, during the 1994 Forum, the Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

The World Economic Forum and the New Vision for Agriculture

For the 2017 meeting, which will take place January 17-20, the declared theme is “Responsive and Responsible Leadership”, under the larger motto of the World Economic Forum, “Committed to Improving the State of the World”. This year’s agenda includes a keynote address regarding the future of Europe by British Prime Minister Theresa May as well as farewell thoughts by US Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Kerry. Representing Latin America will be Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos who is being presented with the Global Statesmen Award by the World Economic Forum foundation. Other important guests this year are Xi Jinping, the first time that a Chinese President attends the Forum; Christine Lagarde, former Finance Minister of France and current director of the IMF; and Khalid al-Falih, Energy Minister of Saudi Arabia and key figure within the OPEC leadership.

Even though the most represented continents at the Davos meeting are Europe and North America, the World Economic Forum also engages the developing world in a variety of ways. The New Vision for Agriculture is an initiative of the Forum that was created in 2009 with the intention of bringing together companies and organizations committed to sustainable agricultural practices. The three principles that guide the work of this initiative are food security, environmental sustainability, and economic opportunity. Currently, the New Vision for Agriculture does most of its work throughout South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa; however, its long-term vocation is even more global.

Building on last year’s Forum theme, “Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, the New Vision for Agriculture seeks to create bridges through technology. By bringing together key actors and discussing new ideas, the New Vision works to strengthen public-private partnerships and create meaningful connections between farmers and investors. Furthermore, using technology, industry leaders wish to build a new agricultural economy by making it easier for investors to collaborate with small farmers and local stakeholders. This new revolution and the opportunities that it present can be understood as the “Uberization” of global investing given that it facilitates the connection between its many distant actors.

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