Biotech Updates

IFAD: Invest in Agriculture to End Poverty

March 30, 2012

African governments must invest in agriculture to alleviate poverty and meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), said Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Nwanze spoke about this in a meeting with the different African ministers on March 27, 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

"Investments in agriculture are more effective in lifting people out of poverty than investments in any other sector - they not only drive economic growth and set the stage for long-term sustainable development, they pay high dividends in terms of quality of life and dignity for poor rural people," Nwanze explained.

IFAD aims to build the capacity of smallholder farmers so that they can become viable rural entrepreneurs, especially the women and the young generations who will inherit the future of African smallholder farming.

Read more at http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2012/26.htm