IFAD President welcomes IATI Members’ Assembly to Rome

This blog is written by Gilbert Houngbo, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development who are hosting IAT’Is Members’ Assembly 2017 this week.

As many of you know, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations that invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience.

Since 1978, IFAD has provided some US$18.9 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects and programmes that have reached some 470 million poor women and men.

IFAD’s new Business Model, which will cover the period of its 11th replenishment cycle from 2019 to 2021, places utmost importance on enhancing transparency in all of the Fund’s operations.

There can be no doubt that transparency provides a strong incentive for better data quality, more efficient use of resources, more careful monitoring, better policy compliance and benchmarking.

To this end, IFAD management will be presenting a comprehensive Action Plan to increase transparency for consideration of its Executive Board in December 2017.

IFAD prides itself on having been a signatory to the IATI protocol since November 2011. The publication of transparent and accessible data contributes to informed decision-making and better results on the ground, adding value to our efforts to promote the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

We look forward to participating in the Assembly and to interacting with you all.

Welcome to IFAD, and to Rome!