Chairperson
Honourable Ministers and Governors,
The President of IFAD, Dr. Kanayo NWANZE
Excellencies
Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen

Chairperson, let me join others in congratulating you and members of your bureau upon your election to chair our proceedings. My delegation assures you of its full cooperation.

On behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland, I wish to express my deep gratitude to the President of IFAD and his staff for their tireless efforts in improving the livelihood of the rural poor in the different parts of the world, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. I also salute IFAD for assisting smallholder farmers not only to earn a decent livelihood, but to produce and feed the world with the surplus. In Swaziland, more than 50 per cent of our people live in rural areas and are heavily dependent on subsistence farming. Therefore, any assistance directed towards helping the rural poor to earn a decent livelihood and improve their life is very close to our hearts. It is in this regard that we are greatly indebted to IFAD, as an organization.

Chairperson, the theme of this session which is “The power of partnerships: forging alliances for sustainable smallholder agriculture” is appropriate and timely as it provides an answer to the smallholder farming puzzle. However, for the power of partnerships to work effectively and meaningfully, they have to be correctly and fairly applied and practised. My humble view is that our respective governments should put in place policies and strategies that encourage and or enhance the  development of partnerships to promote smallholder agriculture,  including rural areas where the majority of the poor live. I also believe that forging effective alliances for sustainable smallholder agriculture will contribute to poverty reduction in rural areas.

Chairperson, I am pleased to inform this august assembly, that His Majesty's  Government has long recognised the importance of building  partnerships for sustainable smallholder agriculture,  as well as bringing all stakeholders involved in the value chain in forums to discuss and agree on their respective roles, responsibilities and shares of business. Public enterprises usually play a leading role in facilitating partnership building amongst the different stakeholders which include financiers, inputs and service providers, farmers, marketeers and consumers. It also gives me great pleasure to inform this meeting that the Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland has recently recognized the important contribution workers organizations’ make in the economy and as such haves incorporated them as another important stakeholder in the partnerships.

In Swaziland, our sugar industry provides a perfect model for partnerships. The Swaziland Sugar Association which is composed of   sugar cane growers (smallholder and large scale growers) and millers (large commercial companies) is a catalyst to partnership building and all decisions are taken by both groups. Moreover, the chairmanship of the Swaziland Sugar Association rotates between millers and growers on an annual basis. Even the allocation of sucrose quotas is done in a transparent manner by growers and millers. More importantly, the millers provide technical assistance to smallholder sugar cane growers as well as transport for their cane. Thus, the partnerships that exist in the sugar industry have created transparency, trust and confidence amongst all stakeholders, including smallholder sugar cane farmers. What we have learnt from this industry is being replicated to other enterprises though in some cases, it is proving to be a challenge due to different market scenarios.

Chairperson, building of partnership ensures that there is continuity even beyond the lifespan of projects which are meant to catalyse investments in an enterprise. The coming into play of produce buyers and their willingness to mobilise and support farmers in sourcing inputs, is  partnership in the right direction. The Government of Swaziland believes that in this partnership, a lot can be achieved in terms of sustainability in the commercialisation of agriculture in our traditional land tenure systems.

Another partnership that has been forged is between the small farmer companies and larger producers with access to large markets. This has opened a window for farmers to access better skilled personnel in growing crops and marketing produce as well as improved market access. However, there is a need to strengthen our partnerships in terms of other stakeholders taking over the responsibilty of providing full support to the farmers at the end of the project.

Chairperson, let me state that although we have a number of success cases on which we can share our experiences, we are still in a learning curve when it comes to establishing effective and sustainable partnership in the agriculture sector. My delegation firmly believes that policy dialogue on how to institutionalize established partnerships and make them work for smallholder farmers, particularly the rural poor, is urgent not only in our respective countries and regions, but also at a global level.

In conclusion, I would like to request our development partners to support IFAD in her efforts to help developing countries promote and enhance the development of sustainable smallholder agriculture through partnerships. I would like to request IFAD, through its President to strengthen and deepen their engagement in our countries.

I thank you Chairperson.