Conference Chairman,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Year of 2008 is becoming very important and special year for IFAD. In this regard, I would like to congratulate all with thirtieth anniversary of the IFAD’s establishment, one of the most renowned and influential international organization.  Please permit me to use this opportunity to address the some of the issues of the Mongolian agricultural sector and results of the cooperation activities with the IFAD.

The Mongolian food and agriculture sectors have required the introduction of new management approaches, with intensified production based on modern scientific and technological advancements.

The Mongolian food and agriculture sectors have required the introduction of new management approaches, with intensified production based on modern scientific and technological advancements.

To this regard, many important measures need to be taken.

Mongolia’s agriculture sector is affected negatively by three main following factors.

• Re-structural adjustment during the transition period from the planned economy to market economy
• Global climate change
• Globalization

These three factors are causing not very easy difficulties, but they also offer wide range of opportunitites.

Therefore, the Mongolian Government’s agriculture sector development policy is targeting to decrease previously mentioned negative influences and eventually to eradicate completely and develop an agricultural production based on the positive side of the situations.

During the transition period to market economy, Mongolian agricultural sector has been privatized one hundred percent and transferred to the private sector.

However, during the privatization period, previous agricultural entities have been divided into much smaller entities. This results 70 to 80 percentage of the agricultural production is dominated by the household level production that affects dramatic decrease overall agricultural production and difficulties for making future investment.  

About 80 percentage of the total Mongolian agriculture production is produced by the livestock sector. Generally, our livestock system is pasture grazing livestock husbandry. 

Lately, total number of livestock has been increased dramatically and reached more than 40 million heads which is the positive result for increasing total production of the sector, but on the other hand, it call challenges and pressure for pasture land, which is the major condition for running livestock husbandry. In addition to the dramatic increase of the livestock growth, there is desertification process has been taken in place so rapidly as never before caused by the global climate change and dryness. Crop sector also suffers from climate change, drought and dryness.

Under the influence of the globalization, we are facing high rocking fuel and wheat price increase, that hits hard the agricultural production itself.  

Therefore there is increased role and importance of IFAD to overcome previously mentioned obstacles, to remove rural small scaled agricultural entities from poverty and prevent them to be affected by the poverty.

• To increase the livestock sector’s production by successful breeding of local elite livestock breeds that are adapted to the country’s climatic conditions, along with using high quality breeds from abroad, especially nearby population concentrated urban areas while introducing modern biotechnological techniques
• To establish capacity for livestock and  crop production business and encourage the development off settled farming and to enhance institutional arrangements for mitigating natural disasters such as drought and dzud
• To increase pastureland, hay and fodder production and improve quality of feed
• To irrigate pasture and crop areas, increase human and livestock water supplies and to introduce advanced soil tillage technologies and fertilizers in order to improve soil fertility
• To protect pasture land pests and rodents, especially to use environmentally sound and advanced, modern technologies to fight against widely distributed pasture pests such as locusts and uliin tsagaan ogotn.
• To increase production of locally adapted seed varieties and introduce new potential seed varieties,

In order to implement previously mentioned activities, we are facing challenging goal that will require substantial amount of investment and period for renovating agricultural techniques and machineries.

In the world’s changing global climate, issues regarding the preservation of our natural environment, rehabilitating damaged areas, combating against desertification, eradicating food shortages, and reducing poverty have become not only Mongolia’s problems, but also the world’s problems.  We are working to prevent sudden changes and environmental disasters, while preparing to withstand unforeseen occurrences with less impact if and when they happen.

Dear Conference chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Since 1995, Mongolia has been successfully cooperating with the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

To solve those issues, The Government of Mongolia believes that the International Fund of Agricultural Development should pay and prioritize an attention by extending and strengthening it’s intensive cooperation activities.  
During the last four years, with successful cooperation activities with IFAD, the Government of Mongolia has taken many different measures in poverty reduction areas and subsequently has achieved many good practical results. In future, we also believes that IFAD will  play an important role and make a valuable contribution to achieve above mentioned objectives.

The IFAD funded the “Rural Poverty Reduction Project” which was implemented successfully in two largest provinces between 1996-2003.  The total number of participating families reached 7,800, which was 27 percent higher than expected.

Even though the winter natural disaster (dzud) occurred during the project implementation period, and contributed negatively in the herd restocking component of the project, valuable   lessons were learned for future programs development and implementation.

Currently, we are working and cooperating with IFAD to discount loans for herders who lost much of their livestock because of the dzud during those years. 

In July, 2003, IFAD started the second stage of the Rural Poverty Reduction Program in Mongolia, and it’s objectives and activities correspond with the Government’s policies and strategies.  Within the project’s framework, the rehabilitation of rural schools, dormitories and hospitals, the improvement of social services and the building and rehabilitation of water points and wells in rural areas, have all been welcomed by the rural population.

On behalf of the Government of Mongolia, as an Executive Agency of the IFAD program, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture expresses it’s full support for IFAD’s performance based evaluation system policy
I am confident that our mutual cooperation will strengthen and allow us all to prosper.  Thank you.