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IFAD to support poor farmers in the rural areas
What Haiti has suffered has devastated all of us,” said Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he emphasized the role the private sector can play in driving economic growth and reducing poverty in rural areas of developing countries. “A coordinated effort to rapidly rebuild Haiti must be led by the country’s government and its people, with the full support of the international community and the private sector.”
 

Recent reports indicate that the rains have failed once again across vast swathes of Eastern Africa, putting millions of people at risk. This current regional crisis is a stark reminder to all of us that the global food security crisis of 2007 and 2008, which was marked by a sharp contraction in food supplies and food price spikes, is far from over. Food prices have come down from their peaks of 2008, but they are still at historically high levels. 
 

Poverty, illiteracy and unemployment levels are high among the 18 indigenous groups that live in Mindanao. The IFAD-funded Northern Mindanao Community Initiatives Resource Management Project has helped empower tribes to take the lead in the education of their children and in their own self-governance – two important routes to a better future.

Reacting to remarks made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her recent visit to Kenya, Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), said, “Coming on the heels of the G8 Summit in L’Aquila, Secretary Clinton’s comments send a clear signal that the United States is committed to the effort to turn the pledges made by world leaders in Italy last month into action”. “Investing in agriculture -- and in particular smallholder agriculture -- is indeed the most cost-effective way of reducing poverty, saving and improving lives.” Nwanze thanked Secretary Clinton for keeping the global spotlight on agriculture and rural poverty. 

 

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