Guatemala City, 02 July 2018 - The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAGA), hosted the second edition of the Dialogues for Inclusive Rural Transformation in Guatemala event last week. The focus of the event was to review and share the outcome of the National Rural Development Programme: Central and Eastern Regions, which was implemented by MAGA, with financial and technical support from IFAD and The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) between 2004 through 2013.

Participants attending the 26 June event included: Julio Héctor Estrada, Minister of Public Finance; Mario Mendez Montenegro, Minister of Agriculture; Miguel Angel Moir, Secretary of Planning and Programming of the Presidency; and others from government, research centres, international organizations, specialized NGOs and civil society organizations.

According to some of the outcomes shared at the event, the National Rural Development Programme: Central and Eastern Regions was able to provide access to funds and training for 63 associations and to reach 37,130 people directly and 185,650 people indirectly.

"The event was a good opportunity to openly share knowledge and experience among those, from both the public and private sector, who contribute to public development policies,” said Juan Diego Ruiz Cumplido, IFAD’s Sub-regional Coordinator and Country Programme Manager for Guatemala.

“An open dialogue contributes to making public policies more effective and efficient, but, above all, more legitimate, inclusive and democratic,” he added.  

Later in the day, a thorough review and analyses of the economic and social development challenges in the Dry Corridor of Guatemala was carried out. Building local capacity to mitigate the effects of climate change in the dry areas formed the bases of the discussion.

A debate on the transformative role that rural youth can play in the development processes was also held. Points of discussion included: the relationship between rural youth and urban youth,the differentiated needs of rural youth which include the need for quality delivery of public goods and services, and the need for adequate employment opportunities in rural areas.  IFAD is implementing a grant to work on a Rural Youth Plan at the regional level within the framework of the Agricultural Council of Central America.

Since 1986, IFAD has invested a total of US$114.7 million in eight programmes and projects related to agricultural development in Guatemala, benefiting more than 122,316 households.

For more information on IFAD’s work in Guatemala

IFAD has invested in rural people for 40 years, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, we have provided about US$20.2 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached some 476 million people. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and agriculture hub.

Press release No.: IFAD/55/2018