Mr. Chairperson,
Distinguished Governors,
President of IFAD,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have great pleasure in attending the 36th Session of the IFAD Governing Council, where we have just re-elected Mr. Kanayo F. Nwanze for a second term as the President of IFAD. I would like to take this opportunity to extend to him my own and my delegation’s warmest felicitations and congratulations. The re-election is a testimony to his able leadership of IFAD the last four years. IFAD was set up in the wake of the food crisis of early 1970s to promote agricultural development when agriculture was the mainstay of the economies of most developing countries. It was set up at a time when attention was focused on the lowest 40 percent of humankind who suffered from endemic poverty. I recollect that I was in this forum in its infancy. Three decades and three years later, I am here again dealing with the same subject. Hunger and poverty are still with us and we are still exploring solutions. 

For the last 35 years, IFAD has been contributing richly as a UN body to the fight against hunger as well as the battle against poverty eradication. We all know that fighting hunger and poverty calls for heroic efforts because these problems have many complex and changing facets. For example, adequate food production needs adoption of technological changes as well as sustained attention and sustainable practices. For example, poverty has both a rural and a female face hence strategy choices have to also change from time to time and from place to place. IFAD has generally been both innovative and forward-looking, making it a good partner for developing member countries.

During our gathering this time, we have given attention to an interesting theme –“Partnerships for Sustainable Smallholder Agriculture and Rural Development for Poverty Eradication.” Agricultural and rural development usually goes together. Smallholder farming is the main agent for agricultural growth. Poverty eradication primarily requires rural and agricultural development. In the various seminars and round table discussions, we are exploring different alliances for different purposes. It is important to note that rural poverty cannot be eradicated by any one organization and so partnerships are required.  Furthermore, rural poverty or food shortage, with the population increasing for at least for a few decades cannot be eradicated by any set of strategy and so new alliances have to be forged.

Alliances of partners having technical and financial resources such as IFAD, the World Bank, FAO, ADB and bilateral or multilateral financiers is one kind of  partnership. Another group of partners can be stakeholders, or other groups such as Grameen Bank or Small Farmers Associations. Alliances are required between public and private sectors, between producers and researchers, between farmers and diverse extension agents.

Alliance between improved farming technology and practices on the one hand, and credit operation on the other, has also to be forged to gain the lofty objective. Again, alliances are also needed for attending to different concurrent concerns in order to ensure sustainable development. For example, if incremental crop production is your target, you must also be concerned at the same time about saline resistant or deep water crop variety. This has become all the more important because of the threat of climate change.

Forging alliance is difficult particularly when it involves establishment in civil society, on when it calls for cooperation between profit makers and public interest. I have been crying for a role for the international public sector in managing the market of petroleum and staples for over three decades. I am very encouraged by the acceptance statement of the IFAD President and also the recent initiative of FAO on early warning on food grains production and demand.  The three UN agencies located in Rome - IFAD, FAO and WFP - can begin concerted action on influencing the food grains market. What a relief it is bound to provide to the developing countries!  

Mr. Chairperson, Mr. Nwanze has practically completed the IFAD ninth replenishment exercise for 2013-1015 and for that, we convey to him our sincere appreciation. It is indeed a tribute to the partnership spirit: that 79 out of 169 member countries of IFAD are in some way contributing to the replenishment. The Replenishment reflects a 25 percent increase over the last one. We also take note of the recent improvements in IFAD’s performance and management. The creation of the Financial Operations Department and Strategy and Knowledge Management are most welcome. I wish all success with the strategic plan of President Nwanze.  

Let me for a moment talk about my own country and the relevance of what we are discussing here this year. It is the agricultural sector that governs the economy of Bangladesh even though its share in the GDP has declined to about one-fifth now. Labour absorption by this sector is still about half of the labour force, and the rural population is still about 70 percent. The foundation of the economy is still moored in the rural and agricultural sector.  The policy of the government under our Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is to devote and give attention to this sector. This has enabled the country to wither the continuing global financial crisis reasonably well and maintain both robust domestic demand and healthy employment levels. Surely other policy initiatives such as, maintenance of macro-economic stability, incentive package for export sector, temporary relaxation in banking rules and practices, targeted employment programmes and social security measures with emphasis on food security helped a stable growth performance at an average of 6.5 percent in the last four years of global uncertainty and contraction, that has also been accompanied by poverty alleviation, as well as inequality reduction. We are well on the way to achieve all the MDG targets.

In this effort we have found in IFAD a good development partner in mobilizing financial resources and promoting growth models for the rural and agriculture sector. IFAD has been supporting Bangladesh since 1977 and over this period, 21 programmes/projects have been completed and 7 other programmes are ongoing. We are proud of the fact that under the Performance Based Allocation Systems (PBAS), the resource allocation for Bangladesh in recent years is the highest after China and India. IFAD has supported and is supporting a number of projects focusing on agricultural technology development, promoting access to market, undertaking essential rural infrastructure development, enhancing poor people’s access to resources, increasing women’s economic opportunities and adapting rural livelihood that responds to climate change. Bangladesh is in fact a model for alliances in sustainable rural and agricultural development. IFAD made its mark in this respect as early as 1983 when it offered one of the first credits to a little known project called Grameen Bank.

As the most densely populated, an worst disaster prone country with the highest vulnerability to climate change, Bangladesh has no other way to survive and at the same time prosper except by attaining the impossible and that requires alliances of all kinds with diverse agents. We have, however, no room for complacency and that is why we heartily welcome the theme of this august gathering.

Joi Bangla, Joi Bangabandhu! Thank you all.