IFAD opens 37th session of its governing council in Rome

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.