Credible Future - Can Micro Loans Make a Macro Difference?, Development & Aid, Europe, Global, Global Geopolitics, Headlines, Poverty & SDGs

DEVELOPMENT: ‘Make Rural Poverty History’

José Rampal*

ROME, Feb 15 2005 (IPS) - ‘Make rural poverty history’ is the centrepiece of a global gathering this week in Rome. The meeting will be joined by government ministers of finance, agriculture and rural development from 163 member states of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

They will assemble in Rome for the 28th session of the IFAD Governing Council Feb. 16-17. The Governing Council is IFAD’s highest authority, and its annual meeting serves as a forum for decision-making on administrative, budgetary and policy matters. IFAD is a specialised agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries.

The ministers will focus on rural poverty because while the importance of poverty reduction is overwhelmingly acknowledged, inadequate attention is being given to rural poverty reduction. In fact, there appears to be insufficient appreciation of the contribution that the rural poor can make to confront the new development challenge.

Some 900 million people – 75 percent of the world’s 1.2 billion extremely poor – live in rural areas. Rural poverty must therefore be given priority if the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly the one relating to poverty, are to be achieved.

The rural poor rarely choose or control the conditions under which they earn their livelihoods. Many poor farmers in the developing world are denied access to land, water, credit, markets and the other basic resources they need to survive.

They are unable to compete in selling their produce in local markets because the markets are flooded by cheap produce from subsidised producers in wealthier countries. In fact, because of poverty and lack of appropriate technologies, they are often forced to use cultivation practices that destroy the very soil they till.

Among the highly diversified poor rural populations, one significant group stands out: women. The majority of women still remain economically and politically marginalised, although their contributions to the resilience of rural households and their potential as agents of change has been acknowledged.

“The MDGs can be realised only if these food-insecure, extremely poor rural people are prioritised in the war against hunger and poverty,” says IFAD spokesperson Farhana Haque Rahman. “Agriculture and rural development must top the development agenda for all countries striving to achieve the MDGs.”

Poverty eradication has been at the centre of the Ugandan government’s policies, which have supported efforts to modernise agriculture, says Haque Rahman. Today, Uganda is one of three African countries to have seen sustained economic growth over the last 15 years.. Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni will speak about his country’s experiences in his inaugural address Feb. 16.

Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt will give the keynote speech, underlining that Belgium and IFAD have built a strong partnership. In 1994, the Belgian Government made IFAD the lead agency of the Belgian Survival Fund, which was created to finance development projects in some of the poorest countries in Africa.

These projects address the needs of African people threatened by famine, malnutrition and poverty. This year the Belgian Survival Fund will observe its 20th year of working towards eradicating poverty worldwide.

IFAD’s ongoing work and its critical role in helping the world achieve the MDGs will be spelt out by IFAD president Lennart Båge in a statement during the opening session of the meeting.

The MDGs were endorsed by all member states of the United Nations in 2000. A set of eight measurable and time-bound goals, they outline the widely supported, comprehensive and specific poverty reduction targets the world has ever established.. They have become the common benchmark for governments, international development organisations, civil society and social movements.

Last January a report from the Millennium Project, an independent advisory body commissioned by the UN Secretary-General, warned that the Millennium Development Goals will not be met in many countries unless there is a major global policy breakthrough in 2005.

“We have the time and the resources to reach the MDGs in all countries – if we act quickly,” said the report. It also recognises the important role agriculture and rural development will play in achieving the MDGs. It clearly acknowledges that the real crisis is in rural areas.

IFAD believes the MDGs cannot be achieved unless investment is channelled into supporting people in rural communities to direct, manage and control their own circumstances. The issue is not just more resources, but resources and opportunities that are directly in the hand of poor people themselves.

“Most of the report’s recommendations have Africa clearly in mind,” says UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. “Africa has an indispensable contribution to make to ensuring that 2005 becomes a turning point for the continent, the United Nations and the world.”

The tsunami devastation has provided a compelling wake-up call to the world to fulfil its commitments to the world’s poorest communities through pledges enshrined in the MDGs.

“Invariably, when natural disasters strike it is the poorest people who suffer the greatest hardships,” says Båge. “These poor communities have lost everything to the tsunami, but the degree of resilience demonstrated is remarkable. We have seen local people show incredible determination to cope with this calamity. But to help them to get back on their feet, IFAD believes that development assistance should not be limited to providing immediate relief but should also help build the communities’ skills and assets for the future.”

Focusing donors on eradicating worldwide poverty is “paramount if we are to have any hope of helping people cope with future catastrophes like the one currently being experienced in Asia,” says Båge.

Haque Rahman says IFAD’s activities are guided by the ‘Strategic Framework for IFAD 2002-2006: Enabling the Rural Poor to Overcome Their Poverty’. The framework’s three strategic objectives are to: – strengthen the capacity of the rural poor and their organisations – improve equitable access to productive natural resources and technologies – increase access by the poor to financial services and markets

All of IFAD’s decisions in 2004 – on regional, country and thematic strategies, poverty reduction strategies, policy dialogue and development partners – were made with these objectives in mind, says Haque Rahman.

The Governing Council Session this week will also elect a new president of IFAD. Two candidates have been nominated. Current president Lennart Båge, a Swedish national, is seeking a second term. Båge began his current four-year term in April 2001. Prior to his appointment at IFAD, Bage served as the head of Sweden’s Department for International Development Cooperation.

Indonesia has nominated Jannes Hutagalung. Hutagalung is senior adviser to the Minister of Finance, Department Management, and a former deputy minister for Indonesia’s International Economic Cooperation.

*José Rampal is a journalist specialising in international development cooperation.