Pope to attend IFAD meeting on rural innovation

Annual IFAD meeting

ROME - Pope Francis will attend the 42nd session of the annual Governing Council gathering of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The two-day event, taking place on Feb. 14-15, 2019, will include interactive sessions investigating investment opportunities, technical innovations and development challenges facing smallholder agriculture.

 The event will provide the opportunity to discuss the link between rural innovation and entrepreneurship.The pontiff will be joined by notable speakers, including the President of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina Sánchez, the President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, and the Prime Minister of Italy, Giuseppe Conte.

 The first day of the event, will focus on investing in rural youth. IFAD will be announcing a new official role for the MTV award-winning Rwandan choreographer, dancer and actress, Sherrie Silver.

 IFAD experts and youth advocates will join Silver to underscore how investing in employment opportunities for young people is key to reducing forced migration in Africa.

 On the second day of the event, leaders and experts from IFAD, the European Commission, the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States, the Government of Luxembourg and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa will launch an innovative new impact fund.

 The aim of the fund will be to boost investments in rural areas of developing and emerging countries to help with job creation and to aid the growth of small businesses.

 IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations (UN) agency based in Rome, the UN’s food and agriculture hub. The organisation invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience.

 This year, the IFAD Governing Council meeting and media accreditation will take place at FAO headquarters in Rome, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla.