24 February 2015 – Philippine Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes and Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization (PAFSAM) Secretary Francis N. Pangilinan co-led the country’s delegation to the 38th Session of the International Fund for Agricultural Development Governing Council (IFAD-GC) convened from February 16 to 17 at the IFAD Headquarters in Rome.
The strong presence of the Philippines to the meeting demonstrated the country’s commitment to this year’s focus on rural transformation as a key to sustainable development. In its country statement, the Philippines supported the call to increase investments in agriculture/rural development.
Agrarian Reform Secretary de los Reyes pointed out the vital role of smallholder farming and family farming to reduce hunger, protect key natural resources and biodiversity and help farmers adapt to climate change, and provide decent incomes and working conditions for rural workers. He informed on the country’s holistic approach to enable smallholder farmers with investments not only in better rural infrastructures but also in programs to make land productive and strengthen bargaining position vis-à-vis investors, buyers and policy-makers.
The Philippines was also recognized at the launch of the International Day of Family Remittances. With the country’s huge Filipino diaspora around the globe, the country is one of the world’s top remittance-receiving countries in the world, which reportedly reached US$ 24.4 billion dollars as of November 2014.
At the launch, Secretary Pangilinan spoke on the invaluable contribution of overseas Filipinos and their remittances to the country in national development, particularly in the rural areas. He underscored the country policy to engage overseas Filipinos in nation-building as partners for progress, a principle given concrete expression in the current Philippine Development Plan.
Secretary Pangilinan stated the Philippine country statement at the Launching of the International Year of Family Remittances.
Aside from the Philippines, high-level government officials from among the other 175 IFAD member countries were in attendance. Keynote speakers included Italy’s Economy and Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan, Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama and Tonga’s King Tupou VI.
Discussions in the two-day event also included topics on indigenous peoples and sustainable food systems, overcoming challenges to rural transformation through the post-2015 sustainable development goals, innovations in financial inclusion, and empowering women to transform rural areas.
At the sidelines of the 38th IFAD-GC, Secretaries de los Reyes and Pangilinan had a meeting with IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze and Asia Pacific Director Hoonae Kim and discussed the partnership between the Philippines and IFAD in support of rural development in the country.
The Philippines is a founding member of IFAD, a specialized agency of the United Nations, established as an international financial institution in 1978. END