IFAD hosts rural development workshop in Nairobi

Nairobi, September 13, 2010: The Minister for Forestry and Wildlife Hon. Noah Wekesa today made a strong call for the development community to stop boxing out environment from important agriculture and rural development investments.

“We know that Africa’s green revolution can only happen in a truly green, environmentally friendly way.  Our forests, land, water and wildlife will always be the source of our prosperity.   Faced with the increased risks and costs of climate change it is even more important for us to be eco-smart now as we invest in our farms and rural communities,” urged Minister Wekesa.

He made these remarks at a regional workshop on rural development, agriculture and environment, organized and hosted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).  The event brought together key stakeholders from 13 countries in the region and IFAD’s project staff to share ideas and experiences of ways to alleviate poverty, improve agricultural productivity and manage natural resources in a sustainable manner in the face of changing environmental conditions.

Kenya’s economy is heavily dependent on renewable natural resources.  Agriculture and tourism together represent over 60% of its GDP.  Across East and Southern Africa, some 230 million people, or about 70% of the population, live in rural areas, and more than half of those live on less than US$1 a day.  Most of those living in poverty are smallholder farmers who depend directly on natural resources for their daily survival.

“Experience teaches us that low-input, environmentally smart agricultural practices can result in higher yields and be much less polluting.  A “green” green revolution will also allow even poor smallholder farmers in rural and remote areas to increase their incomes and improve their livelihoods so they are not left behind,” said Samuel Eremie, IFAD Country Program Manager to Kenya.
The event forms part of a series of regional workshops that will help IFAD to develop and launch its first policy on environment and natural resource management.  The two-day event was held at the Jacaranda Hotel, Nairobi, beginning on 20 September, 2010.  

IFAD's strategy in Kenya for 2007-2012 focuses on improving the livelihoods of poor smallholder farmers, agro-pastoralists and pastoralists through projects to improve, diversify and market agricultural and livestock products. IFAD supports Kenya’s  national Strategy for Revitalization of Agriculture in three key areas: improving the delivery of services to poor rural people by public, private-sector and civil society providers, while fully involving communities in project planning and follow-up; increasing access to and use of appropriate technologies, markets and rural infrastructure, with the objective of increasing poor people’s incomes; and improving access to rural financial services to allow poor rural people to invest in local enterprises and to take advantage of new technologies to increase their incomes. IFAD also has active investment portfolios in 20 countries in east and southern Africa (Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania, United Republic of Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe).

Press release No.: IFAD/54/2010

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 some 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).