International Day of Family Remittances to be observed for the first time

A lifeline for 750 million people around the world, remittances offer opportunity for development

Milan, 16 June 2015: More than 400 policymakers, private-sector stakeholders and civil-society representatives observed the first International Day of Family Remittances today at the opening of the fifth Global Forum on Remittances and Development in Milan.

In launching the international day and the forum, keynote speakers emphasized the importance of remittances for families and developing countries and called for global recognition of their impact on development. 

“Today we honour migrant workers, their families and their stories of hope, separation and sacrifice,” said Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)." We also recognise their vital contribution to their families at home and to the development of their nations."

President of Ghana and King of Tonga call for greater investment to transform rural areas

IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze

Rome, 16 February 2015 – Development leaders and heads of state and government representatives gathered for the opening of the 38th Session of the Governing Council of the International Fund for AgriculturalDevelopment (IFAD) to call for additional investments towards the transformation of rural areas, which are key to the world’s food supply.

In his opening statement John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, said that his vision for the country is “to transform the rural areas of Ghana in order to create a more diversified, better integrated, and modern rural economy. One that closes the gap between urban and rural areas in terms of access to services, opportunities, living standards, and prosperity.”

In Ghana, progress has been made, Mahama said, but only because benefits of development programmes “are tilted more to my farmers than to the bureaucrats.”

Mahama warned the international community that “neglect of the rural space can have dire consequences” and that “a strong connection between the rural and urban space cannot be taken for granted.”

HRH Tupou VI, the King of Tonga, conveyed his support to this year’s Governing Council theme, ‘Rural Transformation: Key to sustainable development’, and said that to make this transformation a reality there needs to be an increased focus on building the risk management and resilience capacity of rural people to manage a changing environment. Specifically, he called for increased access by rural communities to climate finance.

Smallholder farmers are more than climate victims – says IFAD report

IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze

Smallholder farmers in developing countries are more than victims of climate change; they are a vital part of the solution to global warming, according to a report from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

The Smallholder Advantage, a report on IFAD’s response to climate change, shows how investments in access to weather information, technology transfer and disaster preparedness are helping smallholder women and men to feed themselves and their families on a warming planet - whilst restoring degraded ecosystems and reducing agriculture's carbon footprint.

“We see smallholder farmers as an important part of the solution to the climate change challenge,” said IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze. “With around 500 million smallholder farms responsible for around four-fifths of food supplies in developing countries, we recognize that rural women and men operate vital businesses on the climate frontline.”

“Small farmers often experience more extreme and unpredictable weather, yet they are among the least represented in national and global policymaking on climate change,” Nwanze added. “What IFAD emphasizes in the climate change debate is that smallholders are among the most effective clients for public funds for dealing with issues around climate change.”

Empowering indigenous peoples is a must for sustainable rural development, says IFAD President

IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze

IFAD at UN World Conference roundtable on advancing indigenous peoples' rights

 Rome/New York, 23 September 2014 -- The President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) called for greater support to indigenous peoples whose economic and social empowerment is a prerequisite for the kind of sustainable development that can transform struggling rural areas in developing countries.

“Today, many of the world's indigenous peoples and communities still struggle to preserve their identity, culture, land and resources – despite the real progress they have made," IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze said in an address during a roundtable discussion at the United Nations World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, a high-level plenary meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. “Too often, indigenous peoples are still neglected by development efforts or vulnerable to discrimination.”

While indigenous peoples account for just 5 per cent of the world’s population – more than 370 million people – they account for 15 per cent of those living in poverty.