IFAD President keynote speaker at Africa Day celebrations hosted by Italy’s President

Rome, 28 May 2009 – As poor people across Africa struggle with the effects of last year’s food and fuel crises and the current global economic downturn, their plight took centre stage today at a panel discussion featuring top Italian officials and international leaders, including Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

The panel on the challenges and opportunities facing Africa, was hosted by Giorgio Napolitano, President of Italy, to commemorate Africa Day at the presidential palace here. Other speakers were Giulio Tremonti, Minister of Economy and Finance; Romano Prodi, UN Secretary-General Special Representative and of the African Union for Peace-keeping in Africa; Jean Ping, President of the African Union Commission and Pier Carlo Padoan, Vice Secretary-General of the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development.

“Poverty and hunger are inhuman and cannot be tolerated,” said Nwanze. “Food security is not just a moral obligation; it underpins national, regional and global security. Without food security, the world is not secure,” he noted.

Africa has been hit hard by the food, fuel and financial crises which today threaten to undo the economic progress achieved in the past 15 years. During that time, countries in the region set in motion major reforms, often at great sacrifice. Those efforts, combined with the global expansion and high demand for commodities, had begun to reap rewards. Africa was recording more than 5 per cent economic growth, giving renewed hope to its people that poverty could in time be eradicated. But now, the Millennium Development Goal target of halving the proportion of people living on less than US$1 a day by 2015 is becoming more like a mirage for many African countries.

“We must not allow Africa to slide back. Investing in smallholder farming is the most sustainable safety net against poverty,” said Nwanze. 

Poverty in Africa has a rural face. More than 70 per cent of poor people live in rural areas and depend on agriculture. Often farmers are women and in sub–Saharan Africa around one third of all rural households are headed by women.     

The African continent has immense potential, and investing in agriculture would enable African men and women to unleash this potential, feed themselves and grow their way out of poverty.

African countries need to do their part by getting the policies right and giving agriculture its due by investing much more, he explained. On the other hand, Nwanze said, developed countries must re-engage in agriculture and honour their aid commitments.

Nwanze praised the decision by the G8 leaders under Italy’s presidency to make agriculture central to the July summit in L’Aquila.

“I am confident, however, that in continued partnership and with a renewed global commitment, we can enable African countries to lay the groundwork for a brighter future for their people,” Nwanze concluded.

Notes to Editors

• Some 45 per cent of all IFAD funding goes to Africa, placing the Fund among the top three multilateral institutions on the continent.
• Smallholder farmers in Africa constitute the largest group of economic actors. Some 80 million smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa provide up to 80 per cent of African agricultural production.
• On average, basic staples such as maize, rice and wheat account for 20 per cent of the food consumed in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Africa is heavily dependent on imports: 45 per cent of rice and 85 per cent of wheat, as well as almost all the fertilizer in sub-Saharan Africa, is imported.
• Cereal yields in sub-Saharan Africa are less than a third of what they are in Asia, and half of what they are in Latin America.
• It is estimated that Africa needs to increase food production fivefold by 2050, just to cope with a growing population.
• Women in sub-Saharan Africa are responsible for up to 90 per cent of household food production.

Press release No.: IFAD/27/09

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The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) works with poor rural people to enable them to grow and sell more food, increase their incomes, and determine the direction of their own lives. Since 1978, IFAD has invested over US$11 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries, empowering some 340 million people to break out of poverty. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and agricultural hub. It is a unique partnership of 165 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).