APD | IFAD President to meet with government leaders in India

By APD writer Melo M. Acuña

MANILA, Oct. 28 (APD) – International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) President Gilbert F. Houngbo will meet with government leaders in India this week to fortify joint efforts to boost farmers’ incomes and build sustainable food systems, and review project activities that have already enabled more than a million rural women.

In a statement from IFAD datelined New Delhi and sent late Monday afternoon, it was learned India has set an ambitious goal of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022. In spite of India’s achievement of middle-income status, eradication of rural poverty remains a critical challenge.

Against a backdrop in achieving food sufficiency in production, rural communities area faced with challenges in raising household incomes, improving nutrition, and dealing with climate change.

“As one of the countries hardest hit by climate change, the partnership between India and IFAD and its shared work to build the resilience of rural communities has become increasingly important. IFAD maintains its commitment to India to support their efforts in fortifying smallholder food production to be economically, socially and environmentally viable,” Houngbo said.

There are seven IFAD-funded projects in India that support state government’s efforts to increase farmer incomes, enhance their access to markets and financial services, and promote sustainable, climate resilient agricultural development that improves household nutrition.

While in India, President Houngbo will meet Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance, to strengthen IFAD’s partnership with the Government of India. He is also scheduled to meet Narender Singh Tomar, Minister of Rural Development and Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. He will also meet with Giriraj Singh, Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries and Rajeev Kumar, Vice Chairman for policy think tank Niti Ayog.

The IFAD delegation began their visit yesterday in Marahastra where Houngbo met women who have developed and grown their agricultural businesses.

Despite the end of the project in2018, the program implemented by the Maharastra Women Development Corporation (MAVIM) continues to support women’s development through strengthening self-help groups and providing access to financial services, agricultural technical training, literacy training, and business planning and development.

The program, according to the IFAD statement, has socially and economically empowered more than a million rural women and succeeded in supporting self-help groups to mobilize an additional US$300 million in financing through Community Management Resource Centres.

From 1979, IFAD has directly invested US$1.28 billion in 30 rural development projects in India, which has benefitted an estimated 5.2 million households.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)