Press release number: IFAD 05/05

Abuja, Nigeria, 31 January 2005 – African leaders drawn from all over the continent met at a two-day African Union Summit that ended today, to discuss how to make progress on several challenges facing the continent, including how to reduce poverty and hunger.

“Africa has demonstrated that it has the potential to feed its people,” said IFAD President Lennart Båge, “cassava production has quadrupled, millet and sorghum have had record harvests and even though the international trade regime continues to disfavour poor and hard working African farmers, cotton production has reached new heights”.

Båge also lauded African leaders for their commitment to allocate at least 10 per cent of national budgetary resources to agriculture and rural development. In most African countries agriculture is the main engine of growth, the largest employer and the biggest export earner.

IFAD works with African countries and their partners to find solutions to the problems plaguing the continent. It is assisting the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) to chart a course to develop agriculture, trade and market access so African farmers can increase production levels and make the most of their hard-earned harvests. IFAD also supported a series of regional consultations with African farmers, to hear their views on the most pressing issues in agriculture and learn from their experiences.

Conflict was another topic of discussion at Abuja. Leaders discussed how they could resolve the conflicts that are killing Africans, scaring away foreign investment and robbing resources that could be used for social betterment.

IFAD supports governments to implement projects that are people oriented. Communities are being assisted to improve their livelihoods. For example in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where after five years of civil war, rural poor people are gaining access to agricultural tools, information, technology and markets so they can once again earn a living. IFAD also supports regional institutions that are engaged in developing, reviewing and implementing poverty reduction strategies, for instance in Mauritania.

---

IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries. Seventy-five per cent of the world's poorest people - 900 million women, children and men - live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihoods. Through low-interest loans and grants, IFAD works with governments to develop and finance programmes and projects that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves.

There are close to 200 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totaling US$ 6.5 billion. IFAD has invested about US$ 3 billion in these initiatives. Co-financing has been provided by governments, beneficiaries, multilateral and bilateral donors and other partners. At full development, these programmes will help more than 100 million rural poor women and men to achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested US$ 8.5 billion in 677 projects and programmes that have helped more than 250 million poor rural men and women achieve better lives for themselves and their families.