IFAD President visits Marlborough House, meets Secretary-General

Mr Sharma and Dr Nwanze discussed issues relating to the current food crisis which has left millions of people, especially in Commonwealth countries, food insecure.

They also discussed possible ways through which the two organisations could work together to support farmers to increase food production and improve food security.

Mr Sharma talked about the Commonwealth Partnership Platform Portal (CP3) that the Commonwealth Secretariat is aiming to develop as a gateway for information-sharing on best practices among various groups, including farmers, and hoped that this could be a potential area of partnership with IFAD.

The Secretary-General said he was pleased with Dr Nwanze’s visit, pointing out that the Commonwealth is a partnership organisation, and that indeed, the theme for this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago is ‘Partnering for a More Equitable and Sustainable Future’.

The IFAD President welcomed the idea of possible partnership with the Commonwealth in the areas of agricultural and small and medium enterprise development. He pointed out that IFAD in 2006 established a Farmer’s Forum as a bottom-up consultative and dialogue mechanism between small farmers, rural producer organisations, IFAD and governments. He believes it is a model that could be used in future co-operation with the Commonwealth Secretariat in improving farmers’ knowledge, productivity and participation in policy-making. He invited the Secretariat to participate in the next Farmer’s Forum in February 2010 - to gain a better understanding of what it does and how it operates.

Dr Nwanze noted that the current food crisis is largely due to the declining investment in agriculture in many countries over the past decades, in spite of the food shortages experienced in the 1970s. He, however, stressed that countries can no longer afford to neglect investment in agriculture as food security is now closely linked to both global security and political stability.

The Commonwealth Secretariat’s key objective in enterprise and agriculture is to support and enhance the capacity of member countries to promote viable and competitive micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction.

IFAD is a specialised United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries, and also an international financial institution.

Secretariat Links:

• Secretary-General

Related Websites:

• IFAD