PM urges IFAD to help boost rural economy in poverty fight

FE Team | Published: February 13, 2018 23:48:13

ROME, Feb 13 (BSS): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Tuesday enhanced investment in rural economy under a global partnership was a key factor in fighting poverty as she presented her key-note address at the council meeting of IFAD, the UN's specialised agency on agriculture.
"We believe that in order to ensure resilience, investment in rural economy is a key factor. This, we believe, cannot be achieved without global partnership and cooperation," she told the 41st Governing Council Meeting of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
The Bangladesh premier asked the development partners to be "a little more generous" to eliminate poverty and hunger as "the world appears to me to be ready now for it".
"I would like to urge you for investing in sustainable rural economies," she told the council session with its theme being "From fragility to long-term resilience: Investing in sustainable rural economies".
The premier said sustainability could not be achieved without creating long-term resilience while a comprehensive sustainable rural economy "requires investment in the development of the rural social fabric and climate resilience".
She described the IFAD's model of mutual help and partnership to be "very different" from that of other UN agencies and organisations and "we hope and pray that in continuing such a partnership, IFAD will play an important role".
"And we sincerely believe that this ideal model will work in the promising future that is before mankind now," Sheikh Hasina said.
She also expected the development partners continued cooperation with Bangladesh as they "came forward with eager and generous hands and jointly we made proud progress".
The premier sought their effective support to help realize Bangladesh's goal to be a middle income nation by 2021 and developed one by 2041.
Sheikh Hasina said she always tried to plead for sustainable rural economies through investments to develop people's resilience as it worked in Bangladesh as the country "has been very lucky with stable governance for almost a decade".
"We have formulated our strategy of socioeconomic growth very carefully over a period of about four years. And then we tried to implement it in the last nine years . . . we made adjustments as needed and as demanded by circumstances very carefully," she said.
Sheikh Hasina said despite being dubbed as a fertile land for centuries, Bangladesh reputation was marred time and again for a long period till late 1990s while during its turbulent 1971 emergence it faced serious food shortage as the yield then was only 11 million tonnes of grains for 75 million people.
Soon after the independence, she said, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman laid utmost importance on increased agro production calling for the 'Green Revolution' by taking some pragmatic measures like revised land ownership and management system, relaxed land tax and launching of research bodies.