Signora Presidente del Consiglio dei Governatori,
Signor Presidente dell’IFAD,
Signori Governatori,
Signori Delegati.

Sono onorato di partecipare all’apertura di questa Trentaseiesima Riunione del Consiglio dei Governatori dell’IFAD e di darvi il benvenuto a nome del Governo italiano.

Ladies and gentlemen,
We are living in difficult times. A prolonged crisis has hit the world economy hard, and is not over yet.
Originating in the financial sector, the crisis has rapidly spread globally to the real economy, affecting the everyday life of people all over the world, with lack of jobs, loss of confidence, and a sense of exclusion.
To make things worse, the concurrence of high and volatile food prices, due to both structural and cyclical factors, has imposed an extra toll on the poorest and the most vulnerable.

We have to remain vigilant because, despite encouraging signs, the global recovery remains fragile and low world food stocks expose prices to sudden spikes in the event of negative shocks, such as droughts and conflicts.
With nearly one billion people still undernourished in the world, food security remains a top priority and requires a strong and coordinated policy action.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Italy has been championing the Food Security Agenda from inception, with the launch of the first global partnership on agriculture at the 2009 G8 Summit in L’Aquila.
We have since then fully backed the efforts of the G8 and G20 Groups of countries to keep this issue high on their Agendas.

In Camp David in May 2012, G8 Leaders reaffirmed their support to address global food security challenges and launched, together with African partners, the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. This aims at lifting 50 million people out of poverty over the next 10 years in sub-Saharan Africa.

In Los Cabos in June 2012, the G20 Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to fully implement the actions and initiatives established in the 2011 “Action Plan on Food Price Volatility and Agriculture”. This Plan aims at improving agricultural production and productivity, increasing market information, transparency and functioning and developing tools to help countries to cope with excess volatility of agricultural commodities. 
The international community response to food security has progressively paid greater attention to the needs and the contribution of smallholders. In this context, we have to recognize the central role played by IFAD through its action as advocate of small producers and through its results on the ground.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,
While much has been achieved to improve food security for all, we have to admit that much remains to be done.
It has been estimated that to properly feed a fast growing world population, agricultural production will have to increase substantially, even as much as doubling in developing countries by 2050.
The challenge is enormous. Considerable additional progress has to be made to improve infrastructure, access to markets and to capital, and protection of property rights, just to name a few.
Most importantly, we have to change the way we approach the use of limited natural resources. Both large-scale producers and small farmers have to be part of this change.
Arable land and freshwater are scarce and under the threat of natural and man-made disasters.
We have no other option than to increase agricultural production in an environmentally sustainable way.
Going forward, the world must produce far more with less.
For 500 million smallholders, whose work supports 2 billion people and feeds about one third of humanity, sustainable agricultural development represents a pathway out of poverty, a way to strengthen rural communities and provide a crucial contribution to achieving global food security.
Agricultural development is in fact the most powerful engine for poverty reduction in many poor countries around the world. It has been estimated that growth in the agricultural sector is twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth in any other sector of the economy.
Furthermore, the development of rural areas, where most of the world's poor and hungry live, plays a crucial role in fostering a peaceful and stable environment, based on a more equal access to physical, natural, social  and financial resources for all. This is crucial in breaking the vicious cycle of poverty, scarcity and violence and ensuring sustainable socio-economic development and long-lasting peace.”

Ladies and gentlemen,
As for other economic activities, we believe that agriculture development has to be market-based and private sector-centered.
Stronger partnerships among smallholders and between them and larger private actors along the entire food chain can help rural households to increase their food security and their income.
It’s not only a matter of attracting much needed additional financial resources into agriculture. It is also a matter of sharing know-how, technologies, innovation, managerial experience, and relationships.
As recently reconfirmed in Davos, there is a growing awareness among large agribusiness companies of the need to work with small farmers to achieve the common goals of ensuring food security for all and promoting an equitable human development.
However, the private sector cannot accomplish these goals alone.  Governments and international financial institutions, like IFAD, are also key.
Governmental leadership is needed to develop country-owned plans for inclusive agricultural development, to create an enabling investment climate, to ensure well-functioning markets, and to provide social protection for the most vulnerable.
International institutions can provide financial and technical assistance to public and private actors involved in agricultural development.
Among international financial institutions, IFAD has a unique role to play. Due to its long expertise in supporting poor rural people, IFAD can contribute to building-up public-private partnerships that are equitable and result in real opportunities to improve the livelihood of small farmers.
IFAD can make the difference by helping smallholders to become active participants in their own development, and that of their nations: from aid-dependent to business-minded farmers.
To this end, IFAD needs to maintain its distinctive character, work in synergy with the other Institutions of the UN's food and agricultural hub based in Rome, and reinforce its business model to facilitate the scaling up of sustainable projects.
These are ambitious goal that Italy commends and supports.
Italy and IFAD share indeed a long-standing and privileged partnership.
The Italian government has always been at the forefront in promoting and sustaining the activities of the Fund, as witnessed by our increased contribution to the ninth replenishment of IFAD resources, that we strongly supported despite severe budgetary constraints.
We expect IFAD to continue to deliver strong results under your dynamic and effective leadership, President Nwanze.

Ladies and gentlemen,
In Milan, in 2015, Italy will be hosting the edition of the EXPO, evocatively called “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”.
It will be another opportunity to get together national and local government officials, international organizations, civil society and scientists, to debate on how to improve food quality and quantity.
It will also be an occasion for entrepreneurs, who are active along the whole food chain, to exchange ideas, best practices and technologies.
The EXPO has, therefore, the potential of being another milestone in the process of partnership-building to provide food security for all in an environmentally sustainable way, while generating equitable and inclusive economic growth.
But we hope that the EXPO will be even more. We hope it will be an occasion to report success stories, examples of collaboration that have already transformed the life of entire communities. 
To this end, we have to accelerate the pace of implementation of the many initiatives currently underway. Governments, smallholders, private companies, civil societies and donors all have to work together with scale and speed.

We need action now.

Madame Chairperson,
President Nwanze,
Distinguished delegates,
Let me conclude by wishing you all a very fruitful meeting.

 

Roma, 13 febbraio 2013