Press release number: IFAD 36/02

Rome-Brussels, Thursday 12 September 2002 – Lennart Båge, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will arrive in Brussels on Monday (16 September) to join HE Eddy Boutmans, Secretary of State of Development Cooperation of the Kingdom of Belgium in opening the International Seminar on Rural Poverty Reduction “Harvesting IFAD-BSF Synergies” at the Egmont Palace Tuesday, 17 September 2002. The Seminar, organized by IFAD and hosted by the Belgian Survival Fund (BSF) will be attended by approximately 60 to 70 participants including senior government officials, members of the Belgian Parliament and representatives of NGOs and universities in Belgium.

The seminar seeks to examine the main findings of IFAD’s Rural Poverty Report 2001 in light of progress achieved through international and national development efforts and the outcome of the recent Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development. Discussions over the Report’s contents in a number of countries last year have defined critical issues on how international poverty reduction efforts could be geared towards achieving the millennium development goals. The Financing for Development summit in Monterrey, Mexico early this year and the recently concluded Johannesburg summit have also brought forth views on harmonising, monitoring and increasing the effectiveness of the actions of various development agencies, bilateral donors and recipients to deliver the goal of reducing poverty by half by 2015. The seminar will provide an opportunity to share and exchange views on eradication of poverty in rural areas where the majority of the world’s poor live.

IFAD will have a chance to expand on the synergies that have been generated through the Government of Belgium’s long standing support for IFAD through the Belgian Survival Fund (BSF). In 1994, at the Government’s request, IFAD together with three other UN agencies, - UNICEF, WHO and UNDP – joined hands with the Belgian Survival Fund (BSF) to establish a Joint Programme. Expanding its geographical coverage to 15 African nations, the BSF Joint Programme provides invaluable financial support amounting so far to USD128 million for 34 projects to the benefit of an estimated 14 million rural poor. The BSF mandate is to ensure the survival of populations threatened by famine, malnutrition and underdevelopment in developing countries having the greatest mortality rates from these causes; it is currently in its 17th year and has accumulated much expertise in dealing with poverty reduction in Africa. The seminar is part of IFAD’s effort to dialogue with its donors and create greater awareness on rural poverty issues.

Professor Eric Tollens from the Department of Agricultural Economics, Department of Agriculture, KU Leuven University – will deliver the Keynote Address. In addition to a plenary session where the issues of poverty reduction will be discussed, there will be three simultaneous panel discussions regarding issues close to the operations and mandate of IFAD and BSF. The first panel will consider options, opportunities, and the challenges that development agencies face in meeting the global objectives such as the Millennium Development Goals, the Monterrey declaration and the Johannesburg summit. The second panel will consider issues on how the effectiveness of development agencies could be enhanced through better understanding and monitoring of the impact. The third panel will focus on the question of resources for poverty reduction bringing together issues such as directing resources for development towards priorities of the poor people, bilateral assistance and debt relief; the general issues of indebtedness, financing poverty reduction through multilateral development agencies.

Note to correspondents

A Press Conference by Lennart Båge, President of IFAD and Eddy Boutmans, Secretary of State of Development Cooperation of the Kingdom of Belgium will be held at the Egmont Palace, Le Petit Sablon, 8, on Tuesday 17 September 2002 at 11h00 a.m. All journalists are invited.

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. Between 1978 and 2001 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.