International Cooperation Crucial in Tackling Hunger and Poverty

By Irene Gaitirira
Published February 27, 2021

Gilbert F Houngbo, who was reappointed on February 17, 2021 as IFAD’s President for a second term, said in his opening statement that international organisations and government partners need to rethink the nature of food systems that often lead to greater inequalities, poverty and hunger. Fighting growing global hunger and poverty needs to be addressed through global partnerships and greater long-term investments in the people who grow food.

The annual Governing Council meeting of the Rome (Italy)-based United Nations’ International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has stressed that eradicating poverty and hunger will be impossible without urgent and focused international cooperation.

“We need a common plan and strategy for global recovery and the survival and prosperity of all humanity,” Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, told representatives of IFAD’s 177 Member States. “The COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis should drive home the message to all – rich and poor, weak or powerful – that their destinies are intertwined. We will perish or survive together.”

“My conviction remains intact. We can achieve a more fair and equitable world, a world without abject poverty, a world without hunger,” he said. “But the pandemic and the effects of climate change are forcing us to radically rethink the way we produce and eat.”

Announcing a significantly increased financial commitment to IFAD of €84 million for its work over the next three years, Luigi Di Maio, Italy’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, said ‘guaranteeing the right to food is a moral imperative’.

“We need adequate and sufficient resources to intervene on the ground, to invest in rural economies, food security, access to food and sustainable production cycles,” Luigi Di Maio said.

The 44th session of IFAD’s Governing Council meeting that was held February 17 – 18, 2021 noted that economic growth in agriculture is two to three times more effective at reducing poverty than growth generated in other sectors. With long-term investments in environmentally sustainable rural development, poor small-scale farmers can increase their food production and generate employment, which in turn stimulates local and national economies and creates more stable and prosperous societies.