Talks with Paul Kagame to focus on investment in agriculture for improving livelihoods of rural populations

Rome, 16 July 2010– Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is expected to meet with Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, during a two-day visit to the country starting on 17 July. During his visit, Nwanze will also meet with top government officials from the finance, agriculture and trade ministries.

The Government of Rwanda extended the invitation to IFAD in order to strengthen collaboration between the two. The IFAD delegation will also meet and discuss with rural women and men participating in IFAD-funded projects on issues of implementation, project achievements and impacts.

Agriculture is the backbone of Rwanda’s economy, contributing an average of about 36 per cent of total GDP between 2001 and 2008, and providing employment to more than 80 per cent of the population. But the agriculture sector is fragile. Rough terrain, erosion and climatic hazards combine with geography and the lack of modern technology to create serious constraints to agricultural development.

On 19 July, Nwanze will visit Bugesera District to inaugurate the local Community Innovation Center and meet with local officials, project participants in the field, and a farmers’ cooperative of silkworm farming in Ntarama. The center will act as a platform for delivering services and support to farmers that include regular trainings on business development, writing winning business plans, and cooperative development and management. IFAD supports the Government of Rwanda by implementing the country’s strategy to gradually move from prevailing subsistence agriculture to market-based farming.

Since 1981, IFAD has financed 13 rural development programmes and projects in Rwanda for a total amount of US$149.9 million that have benefited more than 373,200 households. The financing provided by IFAD consists of loans on highly concessional terms and, since 2008, full-grant funding based on the Debt Sustainability Framework.

Press release No.: IFAD/46/2010

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$12 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries, empowering more than 350 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).