Investment in agriculture key to food security and economic growth in Least Developed Countries

Rome, 11 May 2011 – On the sidelines of the Fourth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) brought together development experts in a discussion to explore opportunities for rural development in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Participants in the forum New realities, new challenges and opportunities for rural development in LDCs acknowledged that investment in agriculture is the key to food security and economic growth in the LDCs.

Delivering the keynote remarks, Yukiko Omura, IFAD Vice-President, pointed out that 80 per cent of the population in the LDCs live in rural areas and these countries are dependent on agriculture for growth, employment and food security. “The development of rural areas is central to eliminating hunger and poverty, mitigating climate change, achieving widespread economic security and social stability, and promoting peace. It is of course central to ensuring long-term food security as well. But the current high level of food prices has added an extra urgency; it is imperative to act now,” she said. She urged that special attention be given to rural women. “Women make a major contribution to agricultural production. Yet the inequalities that persist between women and men in many parts of the world, including in many Least Developed Countries, make it difficult for women farmers to reach their full potential.”

Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Secretary, Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, noted the need for governments to commit to increasing investments in agriculture. “National governments play a key role in economic growth and development in the LDCs,” he said. “The example of Bangladesh shows that governments need to invest in agriculture, grant access to markets and financial services for rural people, secure land rights and promote sustainable agriculture, if they want to enhance growth.”

This fundamental role of governments was also stressed by the participants at a spirited panel discussion. While investment in agriculture needs to be increased, the panellists called for a rethinking of development in poor countries. Some initiatives might impede rather than enhance the opportunities for poor rural people. Governments should institute measures and policies to secure land rights for smallholder farmers and provide them with the means to generate income through small businesses, which would include access to markets and financial services. Despite recent debates about micro-financing, participants agreed that it is an important tool for poverty reduction. The speakers agreed that above all, rural women and men need to be empowered and their organizational capacities strengthened so that they themselves can determine the direction of their lives. Panellists included Elisabeth Atangana, President of the Sub-Regional Platform of Peasant Organizations of Central Africa (PROPAC) and Hari K. Upadhyaya, Executive Chairperson at the Centre for Environmental and Agricultural Policy Research, Extension and Development (CEAPRED) in Nepal.

The event also featured a presentation on the findings and recommendations in IFAD’s Rural Poverty Report 2011.

The report was launched in December 2010 and provides a clear approach for tackling rural poverty. Its key recommendations are:

• To develop policies aimed at improving the overall environment of rural areas as places to do business, particularly by supporting their infrastructure and services (e.g. finance, communications and health care).
• Policies and investments should focus on reducing the level of risk that poor rural women and men face in their everyday lives, so that they can make the investments necessary to become more successful and productive as farmers and as business people.
• To advance the individual capabilities of poor rural people – women as well as men – particularly by upgrading educational and training opportunities that are relevant in the rural context.
• To strengthen their collective capabilities and support their own joint efforts to manage risks and assets, to learn new techniques and skills, and, if they are farmers, to market their produce.

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Press release No.: IFAD/33/2011

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$12.5 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries, empowering more than 370 million people to break out of poverty. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome – the United Nation’s food and agricultural hub. It is a unique partnership of 166 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).