Time change for press briefing. New time – 1 p.m. on 3 May, Southern Sun Cape Sun

Cape Town event to focus on implications for Africa in IFAD's Rural Poverty Report 2011

Rome, 29 April 2011 – High-level government leaders, including the agricultural ministers Tina Joemat-Pettersson of South Africa, Jumanne Abdallah Maghembe of the United Republic of Tanzania and Agnes Matilda Kalibata of the Republic of Rwanda, will gather in Cape Town on 3 May to explore the potential of African agriculture to advance economic growth on the continent and food security for the world.

The discussion event, sponsored by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), entitled New challenges, new opportunities: African agriculture in the 21st century, will centre on IFAD’s Rural Poverty Report 2011. The report argues that smallholder agriculture can lift millions out of poverty, but only if it is market-oriented, profitable and environmentally sustainable – and that national policies and investment approaches must fully recognize that farming of any scale is, first and foremost, a business.

Scheduled to take place on the eve of the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, the event is expected to draw key leaders from the region’s government, business, media, non-profit and academic sectors. The discussions will focus on rural poverty in sub-Saharan Africa and on the development solutions that will enable poor rural people to harness new opportunities to generate economic growth and to help enhance food security not only in African countries but worldwide.

List of events

9:30 a.m. – Welcome

• Martha Bridgman, Chair of the Western Cape Branch, South African Institute of International Affairs

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9:35 a.m. – Keynote remarks

• Tina Joemat-Pettersson, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Republic of South Africa
• Jumanne Abdallah Maghembe, Minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Co-operatives,  United Republic of Tanzania
• Kanayo F. Nwanze, President, IFAD

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10:30 a.m. – Eradicating rural poverty in Africa: Emerging opportunities for growth

• Edward Heinemann,Team Leader, Rural Poverty Report, IFAD

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11 a.m. – Making rural development happen: A new start for rural African communities
Panel discussion moderated by Komla Dumor, Presenter, BBC Africa Business Reportand featuring:

• Agnes Matilda Kalibata, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Republic of Rwanda
• Pascal-Firmin Ndimira, Special Advisor to the President of the Republic of Togo
• Irahim Mayaki, CEO, New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)
• Akin Adesina, Vice President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
• Kavita Prakash-Mani, Global Head of Food Security Agenda, Syngenta International
• Mohamed Béavogui, Director, West and Central Africa Division, IFAD

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1 p.m. – Press briefing

• Kanayo F. Nwanze, President, IFAD
• Tina Joemat-Pettersson, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Republic of South Africa

The following IFAD officials will be available for interviews on 3 May:

• Kanayo F. Nwanze, President, IFAD
• Mohamed Béavogui, Director, West and Central Africa Division, IFAD
• Ides de Willebois, Director, East and South Africa Division, IFAD
• Edward Heinemann, Team Leader, Rural Poverty Report, IFAD

Journalists are requested to seek accreditation. Please fill in the form below and e-mail to ifadnewsroom@ifad.org.

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Media Alert No: IFAD/04/2011

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).