The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) ended its 42nd Governing Council meeting by highlighting the need for more innovative approaches to financing development – particularly in rural areas of developing countries where the majority of the world’s poorest people live.
“The demand for financing from smallholder farmers is immense − estimated at US$200 billion in sub-Saharan Africa, South and South-East Asia, and Latin America,” IFAD President Gilbert F. Houngbo said in his remarks at the launch of an impact fund aimed at attracting much-needed capital to the rural areas of developing countries.
The Agri-Business Capital (ABC) Fund was launched with partners including the European Union, the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP), the government of Luxembourg and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
The launch fit well into this year’s Governing Council theme – “Rural Innovation and Entrepreneurship” – which explored how investing in technology, innovation and small enterprise development can address the challenges of poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries.
In his opening remarks during the first day of the annual meeting, Houngbo said that while IFAD’s mission “remains a guiding light in a rapidly changing world,” there must be an adjustment if we are to meet the needs of the most marginalized people. “Innovation remains essential for IFAD to continue to invest in rural people and their communities, and to do its part to end poverty and hunger,” he added.
Over the course of the two-day meeting, world leaders, celebrities, international policymakers, representatives of indigenous peoples and government ministers, discussed innovative approaches and how to galvanize access to finance and technology for rural people in developing countries.
In addition to lively and interactive discussions and presentations, the Governing Council welcomed Poland as its newest member. The membership takes effect immediately, bringing the total number of IFAD Member States to 177.
IFAD President Houngbo concluded the day by reminding the audience that “IFAD’s goal is to invest in poor rural women and men to end poverty and hunger. We will not waver in our mission, though we must have the same courage to innovate that our many panelists and speakers have shown.”
Original source: IFAD
Published on 15 February 2019
