[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 140 (Thursday, October 8, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1946-E1947]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[[Page E1946]]
TRIBUTE TO IFAD'S TWO DECADES OF OPERATIONS: SMALL, EFFECTIVE
INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION TURNS TWENTY
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HON. TONY P. HALL
of ohio
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, October 7, 1998
Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, this year an extraordinary
organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD), celebrates twenty years of successful work to help the rural
poor. I was pleased to recently participate in a workshop marking this
milestone, in which IFAD gathered public and private sector
representatives to find new ways to work together and advance in fight
against rural poverty. I would like to share the recommendations made
by the workshop participants, and to recognize IFAD for its many
achievements in helping the impoverished citizens of the world.
For twenty years, IFAD has effectively pursued its mission of
combating rural poverty and hunger in developing countries. Since 1977,
IFAD has financed innovative projects that provide poor farmers with
the technical assistance, training, equipment and supplies they need to
increase food production and income. Throughout its work, IFAD
emphasizes community-based approaches that enable the poor themselves
to identify local solutions to local problems. With over 489 projects
in 111 countries, IFAD has already touched the lives of over 200
million poor rural people around the world.
IFAD viewed its Twentieth Anniversary as an opportunity to take stock
and prepare for challenges that lie ahead. The nature of poverty is
becoming more and more complex. As it does, the need to engage an ever
widening array of groups in the fight against poverty grows.
Recognizing these trends, IFAD hosted an anniversary workshop in which
representatives of civil society, the business community, government
agencies and academia came together and explored new ways to tackle
poverty through partnership.
Those who participated in IFAD's workshop examined opportunities for
partnerships in microfinance--the valuable development tool through
which poor people gain access to the small loans and savings facilities
they need to lift their families out of poverty. They explored ways to
combat desertification--the degradation of drylands that is a
fundamental threat to the ability of subsistence farmers to feed their
families. Finally, the workshop also took a close look at one
innovative and successful alliance of public and private actors, the
Popular Coalition to Eradicate Poverty and Hunger. Their
recommendations in these three areas were thoughtful and valuable, and
I would like to share them with my colleagues by submitting them for
the Record.
Recommendations of the Microfinance Working Group
1. IFAD should identify its implementing partners early,
and create alignments with such partners on objectives and
policies while not losing its grassroots approach.
2. IFAD should continue to reinforce linkages to non-
governmental organizations (NGOs).
3. Because of its grassroots perspective, IFAD has a
comparative advantage in identifying barriers to the
development of microfinance institutions (MFIs). IFAD should
capitalize on that perspective to inform and improve the
policy environment for microfinance, especially in dialogues
with UN agencies and other multilateral institutions.
4. IFAD should consider organizing working groups to
encourage private sector engagement in the microfinance
sector. Possible activities include selling products,
providing training, and facilitating private sector
investment in MFIs. IFAD could also consider providing grants
to match private sector grants for purposes of developing
MFIs.
5. IFAD should promote among governments and other policy
making entities the use of alternative regulations specific
to the microfinance industry, for the regulatory environment
presently overseeing large, well-capitalized financial
institutions may not reflect the unique nature and purpose of
MFIs.
6. IFAD could develop a training agenda to promote ``best
practices'' among MFIs, especially for those MFIs (e.g. local
and indigenous NGOs) that do not have access to international
best practice literature and curricula. IFAD's NGO Advisory
Group could have a role in this effort.
7. IFAD should create microcredit workshops in regions
around the world.
8. IFAD's NGO Advisory Group should work to create a
``lateral'' dialogue among other NGO Working Groups linked to
multilateral organizations such as the (World Bank's).
9. IFAD should convene NGO working groups on MFIs in post-
conflict countries and ``reconstructing'' economies.
10. IFAD should continue to explore new instruments and
innovations for mobilizing and facilitating savings of the
rural poor.
11. IFAD should engage in applied research on what is
working in the field of microfinance (e.g., engaging in a
dialogue with Ms. Marguerite Robinson of the Harvard
Institute for International Development, an expert who has
advised governments world-wide on MFIs).
12. IFAD should continue to explore linkages between
microfinance, land tenure and desertification.
Recommendations of the Popular Coalition To Eradicate Hunger And
Poverty Working Group
1. How can the Popular Coalition broaden the leadership and
input to the Coalition from NGO's, governments, multilateral
institutions, faith communities, and the private sector?
Action: IFAD should convene the General Assembly from which
a broad based steering committee would be chosen. Care should
be taken to ensure that representatives from all faith
communities (Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and
others) are chosen, as well as representatives from private
sector industry.
2. Beyond having overarching input from the new Steering
Committee noted above, there is a need to develop more
specific strategies for greater involvement of the private
sector and the faith communities. How can this be achieved?
Action: In conjunction with the new Steering Committee, the
Secretariat of the Popular Coalition will develop multiple
strategies to increase participation of all actors, with a
``menu of options'' for involvement to offer them.
3. How can the Popular Coalition develop a greater
awareness and recognition of its successes and needs? How can
it educate and inform its current and future constituents?
Action: The Secretariat of the Popular Coalition in
conjunction with the regional nodes of the Popular Coalition
will refine the mission and develop a ``niche slogan'' in a
``building-block architecture'' that can convey the many
activities and goals of the Popular Coalition. The mission
and slogan will not be overly complex, so as not to create
confusion, but will not be overly simplistic either.
4. How can the Popular Coalition members in the South link
with already exiting coalitions in the North?
Action: The Secretariat should task a committee comprised
of members from the regional nodes to do the following:
a. conduct an inventory of existing coalitions in the North
via sectoral activities (technical assistance for
agricultural development, legal and negotiating expertise for
land reform, etc.) to understand what the possible assets
are; and,
b. develop specific requests from Popular Coalition members
that could be developed into a list of concrete assistance
needs to be presented to northern coalitions.
5. How can the Popular Coalition target their success
stories and their needs to northern NGO's, governments,
multilateral institutions, and the private sector? What kind
of information moves people to action and involvement on the
issues the Popular Coalition addresses?
Action: The Secretariat will engage an outside evaluator to
conduct market research into how the success stories of the
Knowledge Networks can be communicated to potential partners
in the north with the end goal in mind of strengthening the
Coalition members and leveraging resources to build their
capacity.
Recommendations of the Desertification Working Group
1. Discussants should support, as a group, U.S.
ratification of the Convention to Combat Desertification
before the end of the 105th Session. Reasons:
It provides the leadership the world expects from the
United States on such issues, and will provide the U.S. an
opportunity to influence decisions at the Second Conference
of Parties to the Convention;
It is good for U.S. business and for the U.S. university/
academic community where desertification expertise resides;
The humanitarian need is urgent;
The practical need is also urgent: biodiversity is
declining, food sources are dwindling;
National security could be threatened by environmental
flash points in fires and other natural disasters where
desertification is a factor, and in conflicts over water and
other scarce natural resources;
Migration within nations and across borders is prompted by
spreading deserts, causing conflict within and among nations;
Desertification is linked to global climate change, and
amelioration could help slow global warming;
The treaty's provisions interlink with U.S. obligations
under existing treaties, such as national environmental
action plans, measures to promote women's rights and
sustainable development, and so on;
The treaty would enable the use of revolutionary strategies
and methods to combat the spread of deserts; and
It would improve coordinated work with U.S. partners in
other areas including foreign aid programs, and global
cooperation is an avowed U.S. policy goal.
2. Raise awareness and understanding among the media and
the U.S. private sector to generate support for the CCD. The
treaty is not about ``deserts,'' for example, as media
reports have said, but about preservation of drylands in
their current useful state for agriculture.
3. Mobilize scientific analysis of the relationship between
desertification and other
[[Page E1947]]
phenomena such as fires, climate change, damage to the ozone
layer, etcetera.
4. Change U.S. trade policies to discourage actions abroad
that contribute to desertification.
5. Support coordination between scientists, government
agencies, NGOs and localities to develop useful technologies
and methodologies to prevent and combat desertification.
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