Press release number: IFAD 13/02

Rome, 19 February 2002 – Rural poverty poses a threat to the peace and stability of the entire world – not just to the developing countries directly affected by it. The warning came from President Olusegun Obasanjo, President of the Republic of Nigeria, who urged the international community to pay more attention to an issue which will have repercussions for all.

Addressing the 25th Governing Council of IFAD, President. Obasanjo, who is guest of honour at the two-day conference, spoke of the “inescapable relationship between poverty and durable peace.”

“Rural poverty has far reaching dimensions and implications for the social harmony and stability of the entire global community,”said the Nigerian president. “Poorly functioning agricultural systems tend to heighten rural poverty, which in turn provides a fertile ground for discontent and, ultimately, political unrest.

“The solution to this problem lies in our collective resolve to commit ourselves to raising the standards of living of the rural poor by raising agricultural productivity and market access which will, ultimately, not only ensure adequate food on the table but also provide jobs both on and off-farm, raise incomes and thereby pave the way for a more stable society,” he added.

Failure to address the plight of the rural poor is largely responsible for the dangerous trend of migration from the countryside to the cities, a common and worrying feature of most developing countries, said President Obasanjo.

“The social infrastructural facilities in such urban settlements rapidly become inadequate and overstretched, resulting in social tension and sometimes in outbreaks of violence,” he observed.

Tackling the problem at source – in the rural areas where poverty is most prevalent and most deeply entrenched – is the only effective way of combating hunger and poverty in a lasting manner, the IFAD conference heard. President. Obasanjo said it was imperative to channel more aid to the rural poor, reverting the tendency in recent years to give more help to the urban sector. Foreign aid to the rural sectors fell by more than 50% between 1988 and 1999.

“Ï daresay that if developing countries continue to yield to the ever-increasing demands of the urban elite at the expense of the rural poor, the scourge of rural-urban drift will be accentuated, thus creating a ripe environment for social and political instability,” he told the Rome conference

IFAD is the only specialised agency of the United Nations, with a mandate to help the rural poor. Of the 1.2 billion people who live in extreme poverty – with a daily budget of just USD1 – more than 75% live in rural areas.

IFAD’s aim is to help the world’s rural poor improve their own lives, by increasing food production, raising incomes and improving standards in health, education and nutrition in a sustainable fashion. Assistance is channelled via a range of avenues, including development projects to boost output, training initiatives to improve knowledge, finance schemes to foster small business ventures and assistance with marketing and distribution. IFAD also provides grants for research and assistance.

Since it was founded in 1977, the Rome-based organization has financed 603 projects in 115 countries, committed USD7.3 billion in loans and provided more than 1500 grants for research and technical assistance. As a result of these schemes, more than 254 million have been helped to break the cycle of poverty and deprivation and make a lasting change to their lives.

Yet far more remains to be done, the IFAD conference heard.

In 2000, at the Millennium Summit in New York, the international community committed itself to trying to halve the number of poor and hungry by the year 2015. But so far, progress has been far too slow for there to be any real prospect of meeting the deadline. At the conference, President Obasanjo declared that the goal remained “largely a mirage.”

“It is an unsavoury -- if not embarrassing – paradox that, although the issue of poverty has been succinctly brought to the centre-stage of international discourse, especially in the last decade, and in spite of the giant strides that have been made in the field of science and technology in an increasingly inter-dependent world, the incidence of poverty continues to escalate in most developing countries, particularly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa,” said the President.

According to some estimates, 20 million people per year would need to be removed from the list of poor and hungry if the Millennium goal is to be met. Yet at present, the rate is just 6 million people per year. Today, 1.2 billion men, women and children – one in five people living on the planet -- continue to eke out an existence in conditions of extreme poverty.

Earlier, the conference heard a message from the President of the Italian Republic, Mr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who lamented the lack of progress towards the goal of eradicating poverty.

“The international community and the countries which are most directly involved possess the resources to win this battle,” he said.

Speaking of his own country, President Obasanjo said that considerable progress had been made in reestablishing economic and social infrastructures which had been left in a state of collapse after years of military rule. Many rural areas had now been linked to electrical power, rural roads had been built or repaired and educational programmes installed, he said.

But in spite of the progress of the past three years, Nigeria, with its population of 125 million people from 250 different ethnic groups, continues to face enormous challenges. As one of the 20 poorest countries in the world, Nigeria faces a worsening poverty situation, especially in the rural areas. About 72% of the population are now classified as poor, and more than 35% of the population are living below the USD1 per day poverty level.

Around 40% of the rural population live below the poverty line. More than 50% of the population do not have access to safe water, and 12% of Nigerians – or 12 million people – are undernourished. Thirty five percent of children under 5 years old are underweight and 42% are stunted. Problems of malnutrition are compounded by the high incidence of HIV/AIDS, which affects 5% of rural populations in Nigeria.

President Obasanjo plays a leading role in the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), an initiative launched last July by African leaders to promote growth, eradicate poverty and halt the marginalisation of Africa as the economy becomes increasingly globalized.

IFAD runs a number of programmes in Nigeria. Last December, the Fund agreed a loan of USD30 million to launch a project aimed at helping the rural poor in eight northern states. The programme is expected to help more than 2.5 million people work their way out of poverty, among them a high proportion of female-headed households. The issue of women is one which urgently needs to be addressed, in a largely male-dominated society, concedes Pres. Obasanjo.

“Men in my country don’t like this, but we are in a male chauvinistic society,”he told journalists afterwards. “We will not break it overnight, but we have to start to break it. One of the best ways is through education because an educated woman is a liberated woman.” He added that a universal education programme had been introduced, with nine years of compulsory schooling in both urban and rural areas.

The UN agency has plans to increase its operations in Nigeria, together with other international partners, with the aim of helping the country’s young democracy to meet the challenges that lie ahead.

---

IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations with the specific mandate of combating hunger and poverty in the most disadvantaged regions of the world. Since 1978 IFAD has financed 603 projects in 115 recipient countries and in the West Bank and Gaza for a total commitment of approximately USD 7.3 billion in loans and grants. Through these projects, about 250 million rural people have had a chance to move out of poverty. IFAD makes the greater part of its resources available to low-income countries on very favorable terms, with up to 40 years for repayment and including a grace period of up to ten years and a service charge of 0.75% per year.

Programme of the 25th Session of IFAD's Governing Council | Statement by the President of Nigeria