Distinguished Minister for Agriculture and Livestock of Paraguay, Mr. Alfredo Molinas,

Distinguished Ministers and Vice-ministers of the South Common Market Countries (MERCOSUR) and representatives of associated countries,

Distinguished representatives of the MERCOSUR Secretariat and regional representatives,

Distinguished Representatives of South America’s Family Agriculture Social Organizations of civil society and small farmers associations,

Distinguished Delegates and National Coordinators,

Ladies and gentleman,

It is a great satisfaction and pride for me, as well as for the Organization I represent, to attend the closing of Deliberations of the VII Specialized Meeting on MERCOSUR Family Agriculture.

Small-scale farmers, and their families, are among the poorest people of the planet. They are poor because their access to land is scarce and insecure; because their access to appropriate technologies, knowledge, financial services and markets is limited, and because they do not have an opportunity to capitalize on farm production or other income-generating activities.

It has been like this for far too many years. Family agriculture has often been neglected, forgotten, in policymaking.

Farmers themselves have been prevented to negotiate and influence the policies and decisions that affected their everyday life.
But things are evolving as shows this Seventh Meeting of the REAF. By talking to you, and listening the voices of many of the committed individuals and organizations gathered here today, IFAD realizes that the REAF was the right thing to support and believe in.
The REAF was born to change the course of the history. To avoid another generation of inherited poverty; to avoid another community abandoned by its most valuable human resource, the youth; to avoid another family changing rural poverty to urban squalor.

For IFAD - whose mandate is to enable rural smallholder farmers, herders, fishers, landless workers, artisans and indigenous communities to take steps to improve their lives - the REAF is just the best partner.

Since the year 2000 IFAD was worked with MERCOSUR for the creation and consolidation of space for policy dialogue with the aim of ensuring that poor farmers are not excluded from the economic, social and political benefits of the regional integration process. 

Though two grants – one to create converging ministerial agendas on rural poverty and small-scale farming policies among member countries, and a second one to support dialogue for policymaking between governments and smallholder farmers – IFAD has contributed to place family farming squarely within the MERCOSUR development policies and actions.

During 30 years of working with the rural poor and their organizations, IFAD has learned that, to enable people to overcome poverty, we must ensure that they have access to the skills and organization they need to take advantage of economic opportunities. They must also have the capacity to negotiate and influence the policies and decisions that affect their lives.

IFAD’s presence here is to support efforts towards inclusive development programs and active policies where rural women and men, youth, indigenous peoples, their families and communities can enjoy their right to food, to work, to preserve their cultures and territories. Where poor people are seen not only as part of the poverty problem but especially as part of the solution, as a great potential for growth.

During three decades, we have supported the participation of social organizations in decision-making, by promoting dialogue processes among development stakeholders, so that rural communities actually take part in the decisions that influence their lives and economic condition. 

We have contributed to enhance their access to basic information, such as market prices, trade and market opportunities and improved agriculture techniques, essential for making a change in their economic and social condition.

We have provided support to the poorest and most vulnerable populations to build their own strategies to overcome poverty.

And we have also promoted family agriculture as a sustainable development model for the rural poor, their families and communities, and fostering the dialogue between governments and rural producers and their organizations.

With its strong focus on the social dimension of MERCOSUR, the Asunción meeting testifies to a long and fruitful collaboration between IFAD and the MERCOSUR member countries.

IFAD has invested almost US$300 million in rural and agricultural development programmes in the four founding MERCOSUR countries. It is not much compared to the challenges we all have to face. However, for those who know IFAD and its modus operandi – through small, focused and targeted investments that catalyse and leverage other human and financial resources – this level of investment can make a difference in the lives of many.

 In Argentina, we have contributed to the strenghtening of small farmers in the poorest provinces of the country to increase productivity and diversify their sources of income, through better access to financial services, technical assistance and training. In Brazil, our focus is on the semi-arid northeast, where IFAD-funded initiatives provide vital technical and financial support to destitute farmers.  In Paraguay, we support the government’s efforts to combat widespread poverty in the Paraguay River basin. We fund assistance to cooperatives of small farmers to diversify production and reduce their dependency on the national cotton industry.  In Uruguay, we are working with the government to promote rural development forums that enable poor rural communities to have a direct say in setting priorities for the development oftheir territory. National and local governments, project participants, and other donors and partners have contributed almost US$500 million to all these initiatives.

When looking at the REAF’S broad agenda, that includes items like:

• access to land
• access to markets
• the need for a gender focus in all rural development policies
• the need for a rural youth perspective, that provide them reasons to stay in their communities of origin
• a more integrated region through horizontal (South-South) cooperation, and a less unbalanced one, from the social, economic and productive point of view,

we can only confirm the relevance of the agenda and that IFAD wants to be a partner in achieving it.

These areas of work very much reflect some of IFAD´s main concerns and areas of work. Therefore, IFAD will continue cooperating with you to achieve concrete results, through programmes such as IFAD MERCOSUR and IFAD REAF, projects and programmes in the countries, as well as other instruments that we may be shaping together in the future.

Distinguished Ministers and members of the REAF:

I am sure that this meeting in Asunción helped to strengthen MERCOSUR’s role as a crucial catalyst of the economic, social and political integration of the subregion.

And everyone that has a stake in this process now eagerly look forward to see the deliberations be translated into adequate policies and investments for the rural poor.

IFAD is proud to support this process.

I would like to thank the Paraguayan Government for its hospitality and invitation to visit its country, which has allowed me to share with you our commitment with the REAF. 

I would also like to thank the Ministries, Secretaries, Delegates and National Coordinators of the rest of the member countries of MERCOSUR.

And finally, I would like to thank the Delegates of Social Organizations of Agricultural Families for their presence and commitment. I look forward to meeting your representatives again at the next session of the Farmers’ World Forum to be held in Rome next February, during IFAD 30th Governing Council in 2008.

Thank you very much.

Asunción del Paraguay - May 24th, 2007