IFAD / GOVERNING COUNCIL

The President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said rural development was a moral obligation adding that when people faced the prospects of dying in poverty and hunger “no ocean is wide enough” and “no fence will ever rise high enough” to keep them out. IFAD

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:53
• Production Date: 14 February 2017
• Asset Language: Original; English
• Corporate Name: INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT - IFAD
• Subject Topical: AGRICULTURE
• MAMS Id: 1831228
• Parent Id: 1831228
• Alternate Title: unifeed170214e

Description

STORY: IFAD / GOVERNING COUNCIL
TRT: 01:53
SOURCE: IFAD
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ITALIAN / NATS

DATELINE: 14 FEBRUARY 2017, ROME, ITALY

Shotlist

14 FEBRUARY 2017, ROME, ITALY

1. Various shots, IFAD building exterior
2. Med shot, officials walking through hall
3. Wide shot, meeting
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Knayo Nwanze, President, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD):
“When people face the prospects of dying in poverty and hunger, they migrate. They migrate to cities, urban areas and beyond. For them, no ocean is wide enough, no fence will ever rise high enough, no border will ever be impregnable enough to keep out desperate women, children and men.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. Zoom in, President of Mauritius at podium
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Bibi Ameenah Firdaus Gurib-Fakim, President, Republic of Mauritius:
“In the absence of a flourishing agricultural sector, the majority of Africans will be excluded from the rising tide of prosperity.”
8. Close up, delegates
9. Med shot, Maurizio Martina at podium
10. SOUNDBITE (Italian) Maurizio Martina, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policy, Italy:
““Up until a few years ago, we spoke of simply reducing the number of people suffering from hunger and malnutrition, to reduce extreme poverty. Today, we can rightly say that there is no such thing as an acceptable number, we are working for rural development that will bring us to one target - zero hunger.”
11. Med shot, delegates
12. Wide shot, meeting hall

Storyline

The President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said rural development was a moral obligation adding that when people faced the prospects of dying in poverty and hunger “no ocean is wide enough” and “no fence will ever rise high enough” to keep them out.

Kanayo F. Nwanze was speaking today (14 Feb) at the opening of IFAD’s 40th Governing Council where he made his final appeal to governments as his second and last term as president comes to an end on 31 March. He emphasized the need for continued rural investment in order for countries to meet their commitment to ending poverty and hunger by 2030 which is outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Nwanze said, “No border will ever be impregnable enough to keep out desperate women, children and men.”

Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib told delegates a crisis was unfolding on the ground in many African countries. She said Sub-Saharan Africa remained the locus of poverty, with too many living below the poverty line adding that nearly two in five children are malnourished and one in eight women is underweight. Gurib stressed that in the absence of a flourishing agricultural sector, “the majority of Africans will be excluded from the rising tide of prosperity.”

Italian Agriculture Minister Maurizio Martina said the international community had come far in rethinking its goals and objectives to tackle poverty and hunger. He said today there was “no such thing as an acceptable number” of impoverished people as the world worked “for rural development that will bring us to one target - zero hunger.”

During the two-day conference, member states will appoint IFAD’s new President from among eight nominated candidates, including three women. The Governing Council is IFAD’s main decision-making body and the President is the most senior position with responsibility for leading the organization.