Press release number: IFAD 26/06

Rome, 26 May 2006. The President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Lennart Båge, will visit Kyoto to attend the annual Tidewater meeting in Japan from 27 May to 29 May.

The meeting is convened by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and presents an opportunity for development co-operation ministers and heads of development agencies to have informal discussions on key issues and challenges.

Among these are working together with emerging donors and strengthening support for ODA.

Japan is an important partner for IFAD. The Government has recently announced it will contribute US$33 million to the Seventh Replenishment of IFAD’s resources, an increase over its US$30 million contribution to the Sixth Replenishment.

In the past, Japan has pledged and paid US$279.8 million to IFAD’s regular resources and has contributed US$21.5 million to the special Programme for Sub-Saharan African Countries Affected by Drought and Desertification. It has also provided US$7.5 million for activities not included in IFAD’s regular programme of work and budget.

Japan also hosts the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). Last year Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi pledged to double Japan’s aid to Africa.

One outcome of this conference is that IFAD and Japan have co-operated in the New Rice for Africa (NECRIA) initiative to research and develop a rice variety that combines the hardiness of African rice species with the high productivity of Asian rice. About 30,000 farmers in 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are using NERICA, many of them women.

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IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. Through low-interest loans and grants, it develops and finances projects that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves. There are 187 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totalling US$6.2 billion. IFAD has invested more than US$2.9 billion in these initiatives. Cofinancing has been provided by governments, beneficiaries, multilateral and bilateral donors and other partners. At full development, these programmes will help nearly 80 million rural poor women and men to achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested US$9.0 billion in 705 programmes and projects that have helped nearly 300 million poor rural men and women achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Governments and other financing sources in the recipient countries, including project participants, have contributed almost US$8.8 billion, and multilateral, bilateral and other donors have provided another US$7.0 billion in cofinancing.