Mr. Chairman,
Mr. President,
Fellow Governors,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the State of Israel, I would like to acknowledge IFAD as being one of the three UN agencies in Rome and partner to us, contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Goal to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger through successful international cooperation and partnership; I also congratulate IFAD for achieving 30 years of establishment.

This 31st Session focuses on challenges and opportunities for smallholder farmers in the context of climate change and new demands on agriculture. The agricultural sector all over the world has to provide more food to an ever growing human population which utilizes more land for urban needs on the account of fertile arable land.

On top of that, fresh agricultural produce has to be sufficiently provided in an era where in many parts of the world, rain fall becomes unstable and even inefficient. Not only turbulent weather conditions make the achievement of the “right food” for each individual on earth more complicated, but natural resources, which have always served man solely for agricultural produce, are nowadays, a target for competition – Bio-energy!

The triangle of:

• Applied and adaptable R&D
• Technology transfer through utilization of extension and advisory services, and
• Good farm management, proved to be a winning formula, on the way to gain a modern and lucrative agriculture, once which serves also as a field laboratory to the Israeli agro-technology industry. This is not only providing technological solutions at home, but also disseminates its products, inter all drip irrigation systems, high yield varieties and propagation materials and many other highly efficient technologies all over the globe with a turnover almost as double as that one of the export of fresh produce. We believe these achievements could be replicated by many IFAD member states.

Mr. Chairman,

Israel has doubled its work in the field of financing for development, particularly in Africa and LDCs in the form of partnerships with the United Nations system, and through its cooperative partnerships and bilateral programmes run by MASHAV and UNEP, and in official assistance (ODA) disbursements.

Also, Israel is supporting the African Union owned and led NEPAD programmes. This New Partnership for Africa’s Development is a strategic framework designed to address the current challenges facing the African continent, in particular issues such as escalating poverty levels, underdevelopment and continued marginalization of Africa needed a new radical intervention, spread headed by African leaders, to develop a new vision that would guarantee Africa’s renewal.

Israel believes that further cooperation in partnerships, such as South-South cooperation and with developing states, is an important strategy to the achievement of the Internationally Agreed Development Goals, including the MDGs, on the global, regional, and – especially – country levels. The challenge of achieving the MDGs is particularly great for countries lagging behind in their progress.

More efforts should be made towards achieving these important goals.

Mr. President,
Fellow Governors,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

On 19 December 2007, The General Assembly of the UN adopted the resolution on “Agricultural technology for development”. The resolution, originally introduced by the Israeli delegation, with the support of like-minded Member States, in the Second Committee earlier in the session, supports the use of know-how and technology and the promotion of research and technology to increase agricultural productivity and food security in poor rural areas.

Israel calls upon public and private institutions to further develop improved varieties of crop that are appropriate for the various regions, especially those challenged by environmental factors, including climate change, and to develop and manage these crops in a sustainable manner, and calls for further efforts by all stakeholders to endure that improved crop varieties are made available and affordable to smallholder farmers in a manner consistent with national regulations and relevant international agreements.

Israel underscores the importance of agricultural research, and calls for continued support to international agricultural research systems, including the International Agricultural Research, as well as other relevant international organizations.

Israel invites Member States, especially those in the position to do so, and relevant regional and international organizations to allocate financial and technical resources to support the development of efficient, productive and environmentally sound technologies for sustainable agriculture in developing countries. Mr. Chairman, we should all raise our commitment to promoting the development and transfer of appropriate technologies and knowledge to enable poor rural men and women to increase agricultural productivity and enhanced food security, as well as, calling for the opportunity to create new sources of income for the rural poor through trade capacity building and commodity development projects, especially market-based projects. For this purpose, Israel believes that a vision and strategic focus for sustainable development, through an integrated approach with an emphasis on linkages and whole systems, is crucial to ensuring global partnerships.

Emphasis should be put on the need for training and development and on the need for all UN agencies to learn the language of the private sector.

I wish IFAD and all of its member countries a fruitful discussion during the 31st Council and round table discussions.

I thank you for your attention.