Food security for the rising global powerhouse on top of discussion agenda

Rome, 18 November 2011 – The President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Kanayo F. Nwanze, will meet India’s Minister of Agriculture, Sharad Pawar, and the Rural Development Minister, Jairam Ramesh in New Delhi next week.

“India is a strong partner of IFAD,” Nwanze said prior to his departure for India where he spent 10 years as a senior research scientist. “Rural poverty is a global issue, and India with its know-how, resources and progressive agenda can play a leading role in creating lasting solutions that will allow poor rural people to overcome poverty.”

India’s 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-2012) aims to double agricultural growth from 2 to 4 per cent per year. It seeks to do this by expanding irrigation, improving water management, increasing food production, facilitating access to credit and increasing access to markets.

This will be the second official visit to India by the President of IFAD since he entered office in 2009. During his stay in the Indian capital, Nwanze is also expected to meet with the Minister of Tribal Affairs; the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission; and senior officials from the Ministry of Finance.

IFAD-supported projects, in collaboration with the government of India, are helping smallholder farmers gain a footing in markets by assisting them to boost the quality and competitiveness of their goods. In addition, IFAD is working in rural areas to increase sustainable and resilient production by building on best local practices while using the latest research and technology.

Agriculture remains the main source of employment and income for about 55 per cent of the population in India. More than 70 per cent of the population live in rural areas with 300 million people between the ages of 13 and 35 years of age.

Nwanze believes in the importance of making agriculture attractive and profitable to future generations of farmers, which he says is essential both for creating thriving rural communities and future food security.

 “IFAD sees promise in the gains India has made over the past few years to create conditions for profitable agricultural production, which can attract young people to the sector so that they remain in rural areas to make a better life for themselves and others,” Nwanze said. “I believe that India’s most precious resource is its young people.”

Since 1979, IFAD has given US$656 million to India for 24 projects across the country.

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Press release No.: IFAD/83/2011

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 about US$13.2 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries through projects empowering about 400 million people to break out of poverty, thereby helping to create vibrant rural communities. 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 167 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).