As the world grows increasingly fragmented and the future uncertain, global leaders and financiers at the 48th Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) today emphasized the strategic importance of investing in rural areas of developing countries to achieve food and nutrition security, economic growth and stability.

Nearly half of the world’s 8.2 billion people live in the rural areas of developing countries, where hunger and poverty are entrenched. These regions are home to small-scale farmers who produce 70 per cent of the food consumed in low- and middle-income countries. This makes rural areas the ‘first mile’ for reducing poverty and inequality, ensuring stability and feeding the world.

“Stabilising rural communities, through investing in their productivity and their economies, is a major step to our common goal because it creates jobs, increases incomes and can be an engine of growth for the entire economy,” said Alvaro Lario, President of IFAD, in his opening statement. “At the core of our business model is the recognition that small farmers are business owners, part of a global and a local economy. And small farmers need what any other businesses need -- better technology, working capital, and access to markets.”