Media backgrounder MB/03/08

International development trends are the focus of an official visit to Qatar by the President of IFAD, Lennart Båge

Rome, 25 March 2008 – International development issues and concerns such as the spiralling cost of food are the focus of official talks between Qatar officials and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar will meet with IFAD’s President Lennart Båge in Doha Thursday (27 March) during Båge’s official visit to the State of Qatar.

During his stay in Doha, Båge will also meet with Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, ,  Minister for Finance and Acting Minister for Economy and Commerce, Yousef Bin Hussain Kamal, and the Minister for Municipal Affairs and Agriculture, Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Khalifa bin Abdul Azziz Al-Thani.

The visit will provide an opportunity to consolidate partnership and cooperation between IFAD and the state of Qatar, which is a founding member of IFAD. Båge’s discussions with officials will also include the forthcoming round of consultations on the 8th Replenishment of IFAD’s resources in Rome in April 2008 and preparations for IFAD’s engagement in the Financing for Development Follow-up Conference in Doha in November 2008. IFAD hopes that the conference will result in a substantial increase in the proportion of official development aid (ODA) for agriculture and rural development.

The Doha discussions will also deal with aspects of operational  cooperation between IFAD and Qatar, including the establishment of the IFAD-cofinanced Regional Centre for Plant Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Doha, training of Qatari nationals through the IFAD-supported Agriculture Management Training Program (NENAMTA), participation of Qatari experts in IFAD’s project appraisals and evaluation  and progress achieved in implementation of IFAD-financed regional research programmes of which Qatar is a beneficiary. The talks will also address on-going IFAD projects and programmes in the 55 member countries of the Islamic Conference Organization (OIC) and in the Near East and North Africa region.

IFAD and Qatar partnership for development

Qatar, along with other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), was among the first founding Member States to ratify the Agreement Establishing IFAD in 1977.

Qatar is one of only two member states (the other is France) to have hosted meetings of IFAD’s governing bodies outside Rome. The 45th Session of the Executive Board and the First Session of the Fourth Replenishment Consultation were held in Doha in 1992.

Again in 2005, Doha was the preferred venue of another IFAD high-level meeting, the 4th Session of the Seventh Replenishment of IFAD’s Resources. During this session, Qatar became the first IFAD Member State to announce a pledge of US$10 million that jump started the replenishment effort. As a result, IFAD increased its investment in rural poverty reduction by 10 percent per year to US$2 billion over the period 2007-2009.

Bilateral cooperation

Qatar has benefited from a number of regional programmes financed by IFAD, especially in the field of agricultural research.  By December 2007, IFAD provided more than US$110 million in grants to fund programs that support agricultural research, capacity-building and technology transfer activities.  Many of these grants directly or indirectly benefited member countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), including Qatar.

Contributing to the evolution of the agricultural and food processing sectors in GCC countries, IFAD grants supported the treatment of date palm and livestock diseases, development of marine resources, promotion of rational use of water resources and introduction of brackish and saline water irrigation in the forage production cycle. These are carried out in partnership with national, regional and international research centers such as the International Research Centre in Dry Areas (ICARDA), the Dubai-based International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) and the Arab Centre for the Studies of Dry Zones and Arid Lands (ACSAD). Among several other on-going programmes, the Red Palm Weevil Integrated Pest Management Programme in the Near East has largely contributed to the containment of this pest afflicting the Gulf’s date production. Others pioneering programmes include the Regional Water Demand Initiative (WaDImena) to raise public awareness of rational water use in the Gulf countries, and the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Improvement of Major Production Systems of the Arabian Peninsula.

Qatar is also benefiting from training opportunities for its nationals and from support for the establishment of a regional facility to promote regional genetic engineering capacity.

Capacity-building opportunities for Qatari nationals 

Over the past two years, 14 Qatari nationals participated in training and capacity building courses organised by the IFAD-supported Agriculture Management Training Programme (NENAMTA) in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. Organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and agriculture, Qatari nationals acquired skills in agricultural project and programme design, planning and implementation.  NENAMTA provides locally accessible training expertise and competencies and facilitates the delivery of training to decision-makers and project managers in the region.  The main goal of this Amman-based programme is to improve the performance of agricultural projects and programmes in the participating countries.

Supporting Qatar’s efforts to enhance regional agro genetic engineering capacities

In support of Qatar’s efforts to develop the region’s agro genetic capabilities, IFAD approved a grant of US$ 200,000 for the establishment of a Regional Centre for Plant Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Doha. The Centre will contribute to food security and help reduce poverty in the Arab region by helping to increase agricultural production.

The programme seeks to enhance food production, improve the nutritional quality of food and preserve and enhancing the natural resource base. It will develop and promote the application of biotechnology in the agricultural sector to address issues of low productivity and enhance agricultural production (biotech research). It will also assist GCC countries in strengthening their scientific and technological capabilities in the field of biotechnology (training of biotech researchers) and put this to use in promoting agriculture growth and development in the region. It will also serve as a forum for exchange of information, experience and know-how and to act as the focal point of a network of affiliated (national, sub regional and regional) centres and research institutions in Arab countries (i.e. an information hub).

Helping the poorest communities in OIC countries in Asia and Africa

IFAD, with the support of Qatar and its 164 Member States, has gone a long way in helping the neediest and least developed countries to tackle extreme poverty and hunger. These include the 55 member countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), in which IFAD has financed 333 projects for total of US$4.38 billion. In fact, 43 percent of IFAD’s loans and grants have gone to OIC countries.  IFAD works closely with OIC and Arab financial institutions, such as the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the Islamic Development Bank.

Some 110 IFAD-supported projects worth a total of US$5.2 billion are cofinanced by these partners.

Through efficient farming practices, improved business skills, rural infrastructure and access to financial services and markets, these projects and programmes are enabling millions of the poorest rural families grow out of poverty and achieve food security.

Focussing on development priorities in the Near East and North Africa

Cooperation between IFAD and Qatar has also helped sharpen IFAD’s approach and enhance the impact of its projects in the Near East and North Africa (NENA). By December 2007, IFAD’s had invested in 106 projects in the NENA region through soft loans and grants in excess of US$1.3 billion to the benefit of more than 30 million rural poor people.

IFAD’s interventions in the region focus increasingly on national development priorities. These include expanding poor rural people’s access to rural finance, rural youth unemployment, linking small growers of non-traditional crops with domestic and international markets, improving management of land and water resources, reducing vulnerability to water scarcity and resilience to climate change.

Expanding IFAD’s programme in Yemen

A rapidly increasing population is causing greater stress on natural resources in the governorates of Al-Mahweet, Hajjah, Hodeidah, Lahej and Sana'a. The new Rainfed Agriculture and Livestock Project, which has just been launched this year as IFAD’s 19th project in Yemen, will help the five governorates better cope with drought and water scarcity resulting from climate change. It will help them build resilience through improvement in agriculture’s adaptive capacity. Financed through a highly concessional IFAD loan of US$16.6 million and cofinanced by the International Development Association (IDA), at a total cost of the US$42.2 million, the project aims to halt and reverse the accelerating trend towards resource degradation through participatory natural resource management initiatives.

Because the local economy is based predominantly on rainfed agriculture and livestock, the project seeks to upgrade and diversify production. It will help small farmers, herders, poor landless people and woman-headed households strengthen their processing and marketing systems, protect their assets (soil, water, rangelands, seeds and animals) and increase their off-farm household incomes. It will also introduce microfinance services and promote the development of new microenterprises, income-generating activities, greater access to markets and more partnerships with the private sector.

Targeting about 185,000 households in the 23 selected districts, IFAD’s intervention will also make soil conservation and water harvesting more effective in the uplands. It will empower rural poor people to participate in and gain benefit from community-based development planning and project execution. Through capacity-building and the formulation of rural producer groups and committees, these people will improve their access to public and private services and to input and output markets.

Activities under the project’s farmer-based seed management system will involve farmers in the selection of drought-resistant local seed varieties and produce these varieties for commercial use by other farmers. In addition, the project’s programme of terrace rehabilitation and water harvesting will improve the ability of farmers to cope with climate change. IFAD is currently holding discussions with the Global Environmental Facility to secure additional funding for some of the project activities of relevance to the climate.

Creating rural employment opportunities for young people in Egypt

Tackling rural unemployment, especially among young people, is one of the main features of the joint interventions of the Government and IFAD in Egypt. The Upper Egypt Rural Development Project, which was launched last year, will enhance both past and ongoing rural employment efforts. The project is also the first of a series of projects foreseen under IFAD’s new country strategy for cooperation with the Government of Egypt. The country strategy places greater emphasis on addressing rural financial services and creating job opportunities.

The project is helping to reduce rural unemployment and poverty in the governorates of Assiut and Qena, where the poverty rate ranks among the highest in the country. Worth a total of US$19.7 million, the project is financed through an IFAD concessional loan of US$15 million and a grant of US$0.95 million. The Government and the Egyptian Social Fund for Development will jointly supply the remaining US$3.75 million.

The project is expected to provide access to financial services for 44,000 microentrepreneurs and 200 small business operators over eight years. Some 134,000 loans would be provided for a variety of investments.

These investments are expected to generate increased seasonal employment for some 30,600 women and men. A full 43 percent of these mostly young beneficiaries are women. The project seeks to achieve its goals through microfinance and small and medium microenterprise development that will create sustainable job opportunities. It is also engaged in the development of partnerships with the private sector.

The project provides technical assistance and supports rural communities in the establishment of commodity-specific farmer marketing associations and handicraft marketing associations. In addition, a credit line is finance borrowers’ requirements through two windows, namely, microcredit loans and microenterprise loans. Selected commercial banks and intermediary financial institutions offering microcredit loans will expand microfinance services in rural areas.

The project will also strengthen the capacity of NGOs and village-based community development and marketing associations to deliver rural financial services more efficiently.

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IFAD was created 30 years ago to tackle rural poverty, a key consequence of the droughts and famines of the early 1970s. Since 1978, IFAD has invested more than US$10 billion in low-interest loans and grants that have helped more than 300 million very poor rural women and men increase their incomes and provide for their families. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency. It is a global partnership of OECD, OPEC and other developing countries. Today, IFAD supports more than 200 programmes and projects in 84 developing countries.