Luanda – A total of 257 million US dollars were invested in eight projects financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Angola, in recent years, reaching more than 486 rural families.
The information was provided to the press Thursday by the head of the Program Management department of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Donal Brown, on the sidelines of an audience granted by the Vice-President of the Republic, Esperança da Costa.
The IFAD official stressed that during the meeting the cooperation between Angola and IFAD in various projects was analysed, mainly in the aquaculture area, having also expressed his satisfaction with the results found during the visits made to the projects developed in the country.
Brown said the aquaculture project was a success and that Angola is a champion in this regard, adding that identical actions are expected to be multiplied at national level.
The Angolan ambassador to Italy, Fátima Jardim, who witnessed the audience, stressed that the head of IFAD was very satisfied with the results found in Angola and wants to continue to invest in the existing partnership.
The ambassador reaffirmed that Angola is an example of the transformations that the government is undertaking in the productive sectors of agriculture and fisheries.
“We have here the statement and commitment that the institution will, within the framework of IFAD 13, continue its partnership with the country”, Jardim said.
The diplomat underscored that the IFAD invited Angola to co-chair an international conference of the institution, which will take place in December this year, in France, as it is an African country with positive results.
Created in 1977 to respond to the drought and famine that have affected Africa and Asia over time, the IFAD works in more remote regions of developing countries and in fragile situations, where few international financial institutions operate.
The institution promotes increased public and private investment in agriculture and the development of rural infrastructure, aiming to combat poverty, hunger and increase resilience among rural women, at a time when it positions itself as the second largest multilateral investor in security food and nutrition in the world, focusing on financing and mobilizing co-financing from Member States and developing countries.
As a result of this work, the institution has managed to contribute to date, with 19.7 billion dollars in loans and donations and mobilized additional resources of 27.1 billion dollars in co-financing and domestic sources.
In 2017, around half of the approved funds were absorbed by the African continent and 35% were destined to countries in situations of fragility.
Research shows that IFAD investments reduced poverty by 5.6-9.9% compared to 3-7% in cash transfer programs.
Currently, the organization has the challenges of working on raising funding for development, maximizing the allocation of funds to low-income countries with a view to promoting a systematic integration of adaptation to climate change, making this the central element of a new program of rural poverty reduction.
