[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

                                 ______
                                 

                           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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