Enabling poor rural people
to overcome poverty
by Lennart Båge
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has a historic record of taking the issues of the developing countries into consideration through their individual aid programmes and co-financed projects with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). When, in the aftermath of the food crises of the early 1970s, the world realized that there was no institution dedicated to the issues facing the poor rural people, OPEC provided the will and a substantial share of the resources needed to fill that gap. They did so by helping to establish IFAD in 1977 with a unique mandate of improving the livelihoods of poor rural people by financing agricultural development in low-income, food-deficit regions of the world.
IFAD, in turn, has been very active in member states of OPEC and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). For instance, to date we have provided more than US$4.1 billion in loans and grants towards the total cost of 316 poverty-reduction projects in OIC countries. Many of these projects have been collaborative efforts with Arab national and regional development institutions and funds.
Ever since we were founded, IFAD has demonstrated and maintained a strong presence in the Near East and North Africa region not just as a lender, but as an advocate for the most vulnerable people in the most remote and poor communities of the region. IFAD-funded projects have focused on agricultural development, rural development, credit and financial services, irrigation, livestock and fisheries, targeting small-scale farmers, nomads and pastoralists, artisanal fishermen and wage labourers. In addition, we are currently providing 12 large technical assistance grants for a total amount of US$15 million for research, training, capacity-building and implementation in the region.
In addition to their positive impact on immediate project goals, recent IFAD interventions in the region have played a catalytic role in matters of critical importance to poor rural people including: the promotion of participatory approaches and decentralization in Jordan, Morocco, the Sudan, Syria and Yemen; combining poverty reduction with sustainable natural resource management; and supporting agricultural research, including projects for generating and adopting new technologies for fava beans, durum wheat and other cereals, and improved crop management practices.
For the next two years, IFAD’s work in the region will focus on finding ways to improve the quality of life of poor rural people despite political instability and vulnerability to severe climatic shocks such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures. More specifically, we will work with communities on managing land and water resources for poverty reduction and the empowerment of community-based resource management groups.
Today we are all challenged by the unprecedented number of violent conflicts taking place in the world. Many of these conflicts have their roots in poverty and despair. For IFAD, this means we need to consider the impact of conflict and plan our interventions accordingly.
In the Sudan, for example, IFAD has helped to improve the living conditions, incomes and productivity of the country’s poorest rural people as part of an integrated development and peace-building process. We initiated -- and maintained throughout the conflict -- projects that addressed food insecurity, natural resource-based disputes and conflicts, particularly around the use of water and range resources and limited community participation in decision-making processes. Similarly, in Gaza and the West Bank, IFAD has continued to invest in rural areas during the protracted conflict. Our interventions are building resilience, social cohesion and self-reliance and at the same time helping communities cope with reduced access to jobs, services and to savings, credit and investment opportunities.
The growth of IFAD into a mature development and financial institution, and our ability to respond effectively to the latest challenges in the field, owes a great deal to the support of OPEC member states. Through our collaboration we have been able to maximize the impact of our programmes that work to alleviate poverty in rural areas. IFAD and OPEC member states have an historic opportunity to significantly reduce extreme poverty by assisting the most vulnerable and poorest of those in need wherever they are and under whatever circumstances they may be living. If we are to fulfil our shared goal of enabling poor rural people to overcome poverty, working in close partnership will be key.
published in Al Watan, Khaleej Times and Asharq Alawsat
The author is President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations agency dedicated to fighting rural poverty in developing countries.