Enabling poor rural people
to overcome poverty
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a U.N. agency based in Rome, presented a multi-media science and technology exhibition entitled "From Hope to Harvest."
"From Hope to Harvest" is based on IFAD’s 20 years of field experience in assisting the poorest of the world – small farmers, landless poor, artisinal fishermen, nomadic herdsmen and poor rural women. There is major emphasis on the preservation of the environment and the promotion of environmentally friendly technologies.
The exhibition offered displays of objects, three-dimensional models, videos, multimedia presentations, charts and posters. Displays included:
- success stories on improved traditional crops and commodities, like millet, sorghum, coconut, date palm, bamboo, rattan and jute, and related exhibits reflecting the ingenuity of smallholder artisans in processing and manufacturing improved new products for enhancing their incomes;
- programmes on environmentally friendly technologies portraying, for instance, biological control of important agricultural pests, such as the desert locust, and animal diseases, such as trypanosomiasis - the sleeping sickness caused by the tse-tse fly;
- local innovations and tools and equipment from the field, used by the rural poor, with simple, minor innovations, that make their utilization more efficient, contributing to productivity and food security;
- refined traditional technologies, such as agroforestry, aquaculture and other simple techniques for increasing agricultural productivity in areas threatened by desertification;
- knowledge networks opening cyberspace to the rural poor for the exchange of knowledge and experiences; and
- microfinance initiatives helping smallholders and the rural poor obtain access to credit and savings facilities.
The inaugural ceremony took place in the Aula Magna of the Palazzo dei Congressi on February 6 1998. Rome’s former mayor, Francesco Rutelli and Dr. Hans Herren, an internationally renown scientist and winner of the "World Food Prize," were the keynote speakers. The ceremony was followed by a reception featuring traditional African cuisine.
Furthermore, His Excellency Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, former President of the Italian Republic visited the exhibition on 11 February 1998 in the occasion of the Twenty-First Session of the Governing Council of IFAD.
"From Hope to Harvest" offered the viewers a good understanding of how sensitive and innovative collaborations between all sectors of society – from governments to grassroots organizations – can make a difference in combating hunger and rural poverty, and help millions of the world’s poor people take control of their destiny.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development expresses its gratitude to the Governments of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Republic of Finland, Ireland, and the Italian Republic for their generous contributions to the organization of the Expo.