..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

Date 28 July 2005
Press Release No: N/35/2005

Subregional round-table workshop to focus on impact of IFAD-supported development projects in Asia and the Pacific

Bangkok (UN Information Services) -- A subregional round-table workshop, organized by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will be held in Bangkok on 30 July 2005.

The workshop is expected to be attended by development practitioners and decision-makers from Cambodia, China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. Representatives from Australia, Japan and New Zealand will also participate. A similar round-table workshop focusing on the South Asian subregion was held in Islamabad on 21 July.

All these countries, who are working with IFAD on rural poverty issues in the region, will discuss the launch of IFAD’s Evaluation of the Regional Strategy (EVEREST) in Asia and the Pacific.

Representatives from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Bank will also participate in the workshop.

The workshop will be led by James Carruthers, IFAD Assistant President, Programme Management Department and Luciano Lavizzari, Director, Office of Evaluation of IFAD.

The goal of the workshop is to discuss the overall objectives and time frames of EVEREST and to seek the views and experiences of governments, civil society and other development partners concerning IFAD’s efforts to reduce rural poverty in the subregion. The findings and recommendations of EVEREST, which will be made available in early 2006, will serve as building blocks for IFAD’s new poverty reduction strategy for the Asia and Pacific region.

IFAD’s projects focus specifically on addressing the needs of countries’ most vulnerable groups in rural areas, including ethnic minorities, indigenous peoples and women.

Poverty in Asia and the Pacific remains a problem and one that will determine success or failure in achieving the primary Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people living in poverty by the year 2015. More than two thirds of the world’s poor people live in Asia, with South Asia alone accounting for nearly half of these.

The region’s less favoured areas are home to some 40 per cent of Asia and the Pacific’s rural poor people. They are rainfed farmers, forest dwellers, highlanders and indigenous peoples. Agricultural productivity is relatively low in upland areas, where ethnic minority groups are dominant.

Since 1978, IFAD has funded 168 investment projects in the region for a total commitment of about US$2.7 billion. In addition, many grant-funded projects have been implemented in agricultural research, training, policy analysis and implementation support.

For more information:

Ms. Farhana Haque Rahman,
Chief, Media Relations, Special Events
and Programmes, IFAD
Tel: +39-0654592485+39-0654592215
Email: f.haquerahman@ifad.org

Mr. David Lazarus
Chief, UN Information Services, Bangkok
Tel: +(66-2) 288-1861-66
Fax: +(66-2) 288-1052
E-mail: unisbkk.unescap@un.org

IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries. Seventy-five per cent of the world’s poorest people – 800 million women, children and men – live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihoods. Through low-interest loans and grants, IFAD works with governments to develop and finance programmes and projects that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves.

There are 192 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totalling US$6.5 billion. IFAD has invested about US$2.8 billion in these initiatives. Cofinancing has been provided by governments, beneficiaries, multilateral and bilateral donors and other partners. At full development, these programmes will help more than 100 million rural poor women and men to achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested almost US$8.7 billion in 689 projects and programmes that have helped more than 250 million poor rural men and women achieve better lives for themselves and their families.

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