LOC21:20
18:20 GMT
ROME, Feb 19 (KUNA) -- President of the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD) Kanayo Nwanze urged scaling up investment in rural areas
and people.
Addressing the 37th session of IFAD'S Governing Council which opened in
Rome on Wednesday in the presence of representatives of Kuwait, a founding
member of the Fund, and other member states, Nwanze welcomed Russia - a new
member, and the representatives of farmers' organizations "who have travelled
from around the world to attend this year's Farmers' Forum.
"As a UN agency, we invest in human values such as resilience, equality,
hope and dignity. These attributes account for IFAD's success on the ground,
in remote regions and countries where few others work," he said.
"At the end of 2013, IFAD had 241 ongoing programmes and projects
worldwide, with IFAD investment of USD 5.4 billion, a 38 percent increase over
2009.
"But we are no longer satisfied with measuring ourselves by how much money
we have disbursed; how many projects we have in our portfolio; or how many
people we have reached. We want to know how many of these people were able to
escape the poverty trap.
"We want to know what economic transformations have taken place. We want to
know whether rates of chronic childhood malnutrition have improved, because
these are indicators of food security and also evidence of whether we are
being effective in our work to empower rural women.
"We are also increasing collaboration with the other Rome-based agencies.
An informal RBA joint committee is leading our united efforts on the post-2015
agenda.
"IFAD remains dedicated to agriculture and rural development. IFAD
continues to give special attention to young people, women and indigenous
peoples. And IFAD remains committed to community-driven development that
empowers rural women and men to lift themselves out of poverty ... ," he noted.
"Urban populations need rural populations to grow their food. And more than
that, they need rural areas to provide clean water and the healthy ecosystems
that contribute to clean air. They need successful rural economies to ensure a
dynamic flow of goods, money and services - and even people - between rural
and urban areas.
"Under-investment in rural areas and neglect of rural people are neither
economically nor ethically sound," he stressed.
"If we are ever going to eliminate the scourge of poverty and hunger, we
must make it possible for smallholders to invest in and grow their businesses
and help transform rural areas so that they are places where women and men can
earn dignified and decent livings ... .
"On the strength of your contributions and support, IFAD expects to have
reached some 90 million women, children and men between this year and 2015.
Thanks to you, our Member States, IFAD has grown steadily. In IFAD7 our
programme of work was USD 4.1 billion; in IFAD8 it was USD seven billion.
"The number of people we have reached has more than doubled, from 29.2
million in 2007 to 78.7 million in 2012," he went on.
"Now, we must step it up a level. We not only need to use our financial
products to foster investment and innovation by others, we need to explore new
instruments, new partnerships and new sources of financing to be able to fully
respond to the demand of beneficiary countries and to scale up investments for
maximum impact on rural poverty.
"To this end, I am happy to announce that we will sign a partnership
agreement with Unilever during this Governing Council, and that other new
partnership agreements are in the works ... .
"And we are here because there are 1.2 billion extremely poor people in the
world who must struggle to survive on just USD 1.25 a day. We are here because
the lives of 842 million children, women and men are blighted by chronic
hunger.
"And we are here because we know that if we invest intelligently in rural
communities and smallholder family farmers, we can eliminate these appalling
levels of poverty and hunger and avert the dangers of inaction," he added.
"It is because of you, our Member States, your support and your belief in
this institution, and our numerous partners across the spectrum of
development, that we have the ability to create a better future for millions
of people.
"With your unwavering support, we will continue to prove that we have the
vision, the determination and the perseverance to make a difference in the
lives of millions of rural people," Nwanze concluded.
Led by Deputy Director General of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development
(KFAED) Hisham Al-Wuqayyan, Kuwait delegation to IFAD's two-day session
includes KFAED's regional director for Asia Pacific Waleed Al-Bahar and
KFAED's executive director Youssof Al-Bader. (end)
mn.gb
KUNA 192120 Feb 14NNNN