Release number IFAD/19/08

26 March 2008, Rome – India will host the first global conference on agro-industries, to be held in New Delhi from 8-11 April 2008. The Global Agro-Industries Forum (GAIF) will promote the importance of agro-industries for economic development and poverty reduction.

Around 500 senior representatives from the agro-industry, governments, technical and financing institutions, civil society and UN agencies will discuss the potential of agro-industries and the challenges they are facing.

The conference is jointly organised by FAO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in close collaboration with the government of India.

Rapid globalization, market liberalization, and urbanization have created new opportunities for countries to trade agricultural and food products; however, they have also created challenges and increased risks. Countries with inefficient agro-industries are likely to be left behind those with modern and efficient agro-industries. While high-income countries add, on average, US$180 of value by processing one tonne of agricultural products, developing countries generate only US$40 of value per tonne.

Increasing the market opportunities particularly for small-scale producers in rural areas, by improving their production, processing and marketing capabilities, will be one of the main issues of the conference. Delivering better products at lower prices could be beneficial for poor consumers and could also create employment opportunities.

The forum will also encourage dialogue between the private and public sector in order to foster partnerships for developing competitive agro-industries.

The Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh will officially inaugurate the Forum, together with Jacques Diouf, Director General of FAO, Kandeh K. Yumkella, Director General of UNIDO and Lennart Bage, President of IFAD on April 9, 2008.

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IFAD was created 30 years ago to tackle rural poverty, a key consequence of the droughts and famines of the early 1970s. Since 1978, IFAD has invested more than US$10 billion in low-interest loans and grants that have helped more than 300 million very poor rural women and men increase their incomes and provide for their families. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency. It is a global partnership of OECD, OPEC and other developing countries. Today, IFAD supports more than 200 programmes and projects in 84 developing countries.