Media backgrounder MB/06/08

Rome, 19 May 2008 – Increasing food prices and collaborative efforts to reduce poverty will be at the heart of this week's high-level meetings between the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Government of Mozambique.

During his four-day visit to Mozambique, the President of IFAD, Lennart Båge, will meet with Prime Minister Louísa Dias Diogo, as well as with the Ministers for Agriculture, Planning and Development, Finance and Fisheries, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Mozambique.

Båge, accompanied by the Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries, will also visit IFAD-funded programmes, where he will have an opportunity to interact with programme participants and with local authorities such as the Governors of Sofala and Maputo Provinces and the Presidents of the municipal councils of Beira and Maputo.

Båge will also meet with the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Mozambique, Ndolamb Ngokwey, and representatives of United Nations agencies and bilateral donors to discuss how best to work within the One United Nations approach and improve overall aid effectiveness in Mozambique.

This year, Mozambique has seen sharp increases in fuel prices, with rising transportation costs triggering riots in February. The Government's move to subsidize fuel for public transport has brought some relief, but there is growing concern about the global rise in food prices and the potential effects in Mozambique.

"Responding effectively to the impact of higher food prices must be a top priority for the global community," says IFAD's President. "An immediate response is also needed to help poor smallholder farmers boost production in the short term. This can be accomplished by expanding their access to vital production inputs such as seeds and fertilizer."

From its earliest interventions in Mozambique, IFAD has sought ways to contribute to medium- and long-term solutions for accelerating food production. Most recently, it has provided a loan of US$20 million to support the Ministry of Agriculture in the implementation of the National Programme for Agricultural Extension (PRONEA) under the second National Programme for Agricultural Development (PROAGRI II).

A new IFAD-funded programme, the Rural Markets Promotion Programme (PROMER), currently under design and due to start in early 2009, will also contribute to addressing this issue. In partnership with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), an institution financed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, the programme will increase access to markets by the rural poor, especially those living in Mozambique's remote rural areas. This will promote, among other things, equitable access to agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and seeds.

IFAD began operations in Mozambique in 1983. Since then, it has provided a total of US$143.9 million in loans for nine programmes and projects in the country. Working in partnership with the Government, IFAD has provided support for the development of crops, fisheries and livestock, and the strengthening of market linkages and rural financial services.

The principal thrust of IFAD’s strategy in Mozambique is to increase the incomes of poor rural people, with particular attention to disadvantaged groups such as women and young people.

IFAD-funded operations have boosted marketable production, strengthened access to advisory and financial services, and developed linkages with private-sector operators to facilitate the marketing of produce and the purchase of inputs.

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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 over 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 81 developing countries and one territory.