FG leads war against rural poverty

Idowu Samuel, Abuja - 18.02.2008

The Federal Government has made a case for speedy execution of the programmes by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) aimed at reducing poverty in the rural areas across the globe.

The government said it made the call as part of its desire to ensure early attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) made to reduce extreme poverty and hunger across the world by half before 2015.

The Minister of Agriculture, Dr Abba Sayyadi Ruma, made the call while declaring open the 31st session of the Governing Council of IFAC held in Abuja.

The Minister is the current chairman of the IFA. This would be the first time any Nigerian would be appointed to hold the post in the IFAD’s 31 years of existence.

IFAD is a specialised agency of the United States founded in 1978 as an international financial institution and has over the years, harnessed about $26.8billion for the improvement of agriculture among the rural people in countries across the world.

Ruma at the IFAD session which was held during the week harped on the need for changes in the operations of the organisation, thus calling for increased funding by it to developing nations.

“There is need for change in speed of execution of the IFAD policy initiatives. Millions of people are still suffering from poverty despite the accelerated progress in the world’s knowledge base, technology, communication and others.

“There is need for refinement of our implementation tactics to cater for diversities of our operating landscape taking into account that different tactics would work differently in varying locations,” he said.

The minister emphasised the need to tackle rural poverty by concerted efforts by all the IFAD organs, calling on the organisation to find an avenue for bridging the wide gap between the rural poor and the urban elite.