Statement by the Honourable Moses Malindane Vilakati, Minister of Agriculture of the Kingdom of Swaziland, to IFADs Fortieth Session of the Governing Council

Chairperson

The President

Honourable Members of the Governing Council

Members of the Executive Board

Excellencies,

Members of the Diplomatic Corp

IFAD Staff Members

Delegates

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is an honour and a privilege for me to address the Honourable Governors at this 40^th session of the IFAD Governing Council. May I start by extending warm greetings to you all on behalf of their Majesties, the Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland and the entire Swazi Nation.

Chairperson, The Kingdom of Swaziland expresses her sincere appreciation for the positive impact made by IFAD-funded projects to our communities. In that regard, we would like to express our sincere thanks and gratitude to the outgoing President for the tireless efforts he has made with his team for the success of the projects during his tenure. We wish him well in his future endeavours.

Chairperson, in the Kingdom of Swaziland, IFAD is visible in the agriculture sector and beyond. One of the goals that our sector seeks to achieve is the commercialization of agricultural production. With funding from IFAD we are currently implementing a Smallholder Market-Led Project whose objective is to enhance food security and incomes among smallholder producer families through intensified agricultural production and market-linkages

Like many other developing countries in the Southern African region, our country is challenged by the ever intensifying scourge of Climate Change. This project has a component that will develop water harvesting and storage infrastructure to reduce the impact of this phenomenon on agricultural production.

We have also seen the fruits of the investment made by IFAD in our Financial Sector through the Micro Finance Unit. This unit has intensified a financial inclusion programme targeting primarily the small scale producers within and beyond the agriculture sector.

These interventions are not exhaustive and we request IFAD to continue mobilising additional resources, both technical and financial, especially in the form of grants. This can assist us in the fight against hunger and be able to use agriculture as the vehicle for economic development, as our country has an agro-based economy.

Finally, Chairperson, may I take this opportunity, on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland to congratulate the incoming President for being successfully elected into this important position. As a country, we pledge our utmost support to him as he executes his duties within the scope of his work. We hope the world will reach greater heights under his leadership, particularly in the area of agricultural development and we wish him all the best.

I thank you, Chairperson.