Agricultural growth is not reaching its poverty-reducing potential in East and Southern Africa, says new IFAD report

The agricultural sector in East and Southern Africa is transforming due to increased productivity as more land is being cultivated but agricultural growth has not always led to poverty reduction; many small farmers in the region continue to live in poverty while struggling to own land and access credit, warns a new report presented in Nairobi yesterday by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

According to the Rural Development Report 2016, the picture that emerges is of an expanding agricultural sector, but one with a weak foundation that is preventing a broad-based reduction in poverty and inequality. The report shows that clear government policies and investments in smallholder agriculture can make a difference.

Opening the meeting, Lakshmi Menon, Associate Vice-President, IFAD, said the Rural Development Report “has uncovered answers to key questions about the nature, pace and direction of changes in rural areas, how they relate to a country’s overall economic development, and what that means for our efforts to improve the lives and livelihoods of rural people.”   

UN agency examines approach to decentralized operations in Africa

Nairobi, 13 June 2016 – Government representatives and agricultural development specialists will gather in Nairobi 13-14 June to discuss the International Fund for Agricultural Development’s (IFAD) approach to decentralizing its operations in Africa.

The workshop will focus on IFAD-funded operations in eastern, southern, western and central Africa and will inform an independent evaluation of IFAD's decentralization approach that is scheduled to be released in December 2016. The Nairobi event is one of the four regional workshops being organized by IFAD’s Independent Office of Evaluation (IOE) to capture feedback and insights from stakeholders of IFAD-funded.

With headquarters in Rome, Italy, IFAD began its decentralization process in 2003 and now has 40 country offices worldwide. The process echoes a trend in several multilateral development institutions, such as the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which have strengthened their presence in countries where they run operations. IFAD currently has 20 country offices in Africa, including a special regional service centre for Eastern and South Africa including the Indian Ocean island states, based in Kenya.