IFAD President calls for increased investment in rural development to eradicate poverty and hunger

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International Fund for Agricultural Development

Feb 11, 2020, 04:00 ET

ROME, Feb. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), will today call on the Fund's 177 Member States to help it reach its goal of doubling its impact on the lives of the world's most marginalized people by 2030 - with a proposed US$30 billion programme of work over the next 10 years.

"With extreme weather, conflict, fragility and migration threatening our food systems, we need to invest more in the rural people who grow our food," said Houngbo. "We have just 10 years to reach our global targets of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. That means stepping up our investments where poverty and hunger is concentrated – in rural areas."

With increased support from Member States, IFAD aims to raise the production of more than 200 million small-scale producers, and increase the incomes of about 260 million rural women and men by at least 20 per cent by 2030.

The evidence is increasingly clear that the road to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) runs through rural areas, where 80 per cent of the world's poorest people live. Investing in agriculture and rural development is the most direct means of increasing their incomes and food security. Studies show that economic growth in agriculture is two to three times more effective at reducing poverty than growth in any other sector.

"We can still deliver on the SDGs and eradicate extreme poverty and hunger – but not if we continue on our current trajectory. We need more funding, new partnerships and financial instruments, and more inclusive approaches," said Houngbo.

As the only multilateral institution exclusively focused on rural areas, IFAD works in remote places where few other development projects reach. To dramatically step up its impact and capacity to assist countries most in need, IFAD is developing a new financial model that enables more resources to be channeled to the poorest countries and the poorest people. This will ensure that IFAD can continue to offer a strong return on investment for its donors, and multiply the impact of their contributions.

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SOURCE International Fund for Agricultural Development