Deepening IFAD’s engagement with the private sector

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This strategy was prepared in response to the recommendations made in the Report of the Consultation on the Eighth Replenishment of IFAD’s Resources. It builds upon IFAD’s 2005 Private-Sector Development and Partnership Strategy and the corporate-level evaluation of that strategy completed by the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD in May 2011. It also incorporates feedback received from Executive Board members at the informal seminar held on 13 September 2011.

More specifically, the strategy proposes the following three
broad themes to deepen engagement with the private sector:

1. Strengthen IFAD’s existing instruments, such as country strategic opportunities programmes (COSOPs), project loans and grants, partnerships, and policy dialogue as related to rural pro-poor private-sector development;
2. Further build the capacity and knowledge of IFAD and its staff in engaging with the private sector and establishing partnerships;
3. Explore further and in a gradual manner the options for IFAD to better support the growth of rural small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries, in line with its mandate.

Related:

In this video, Dr. Kandeh K. Yumkella, UNIDO Director General, on Agribusiness for Africa’s Prosperity harps on the need to commercialize agriculture in Africa.

Agribusiness for Africa’s prosperity

Opportunities and challenges for African agribusiness and agro-industries are the focus of a new book published by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). ”Agribusiness for Africa’s Prosperity” outlines the current status of agribusiness and agro-industrial activities in Africa, and situates them in historical and global context. It analyses the opportunities for diversified growth, and assesses the existing and potential sources of demand growth for agribusiness development on the continent.

In recent years, a renewed focus on agriculture has been evident in policy and development agendas for the African continent, yet little knowledge has been generated on the inter-linkages of production, agro-industry and markets, as well as the potential and capacities for developing them.

Edited by Kandeh K. Yumkella, Patrick M. Kormawa, Torben M. Roepstorff and Anthony M. Hawkins and with contributions from a wide range of international experts, the book fills what UNIDO perceived as a significant gap in knowledge concerning these issues.