IFAD President Alvaro Lario meets Minister Tetsuro Nomura and joins the G7 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting in Miyazaki, Japan

Tokyo, 18 April 2023 – As the world braces for yet another year of uncertainty amid multiple crises, the President of the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Alvaro Lario will make his second official visit to Japan to bring the voices of poor small-scale food producers in developing countries. President Lario will be meeting Ministers and stakeholders in Tokyo from 18 to 20 April and attending the G7 Agricultural Ministers' Meeting (AMM) in Miyazaki on 22 and 23 April.

With a looming debt crisis threatening an already dire situation, President Lario will share IFAD’s vision with G7 leaders, and make the case for investing in rural development and resilience as the most cost-effective way to improve global food security, and support global stability.

Prior to the G7 AMM, President Lario will meet with Tetsuro Nomura, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) in Tokyo on 20 April to issue the Joint Statement on the Strategic Partnership for Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems. Lario and Nomura will specifically explore how the Japanese private sector can contribute to ensuring global food security, as well as other potential areas to expand their long-standing collaboration.

Poor small-scale producers in low- and middle-income economies, which produce up to 70 per cent of the food consumed in these countries, are the most affected by the factors driving food insecurity today: conflict and the climate crisis, which have been compounded by the pandemic and the ripple effects of the war in Ukraine.

Meetings with CEOs

To seek out opportunities to connect the private sector with small-scale food producers in developing countries, President Lario will meet several CEOs of large Japanese enterprises, including major food companies. Private sector engagement is key in transforming agriculture and food systems in a sustainable manner, according to IFAD, the only UN specialized agency that focuses exclusively on financing development in rural areas.

IFAD and Japan

IFAD works to improve the lives of the most disenfranchised people and communities living in rural areas of developing countries, where 80 per cent of extreme poverty resides and climate change hits hardest.

IFAD helps vulnerable people increase their incomes through its investments in sustainable agriculture development and resilient and inclusive food systems in partnership with the private sector. According to its latest assessment corresponding to the projects executed during 2019-2021, IFAD's investments improved the incomes of 77.4 million rural people by at least 10 per cent.

Japan is a key partner for and member state of IFAD. With a total contribution of US$619.4 million to IFAD’s regular replenishments since 1977, Japan is the Fund’s sixth largest contributor.

Interviews Request

Journalists interested in having a one-on-one interview with President Lario, can contact the IFAD Japan Liaison Office ([email protected]). President Lario would be available on 19 and 20 April in Tokyo as well as on 21, 22 and 23 April in Miyazaki.

Media Contact:

Yoko Maruta, Communication Consultant, IFAD Japan Liaison Office

Mobile: 080-7345-7736

E-mail:[email protected]

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Media Alert No: IFAD/03/2023

IFAD invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, we have provided US$23.2 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached an estimated 518 million people. IFAD is an international financial institution and a United Nations specialized agency based in Rome – the United Nations food and agriculture hub. 

A wide range of photographs of IFAD’s work in rural communities are available for download from its Image Bank.