IFAD head: Russia is one of main players in market for agricultural products
Russia is a major regional sales market for agricultural products, one of the world’s biggest grain exporters, and plays an important role in ensuring global food security, according to Kanayo Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
“Russia is one of the biggest players in the global market for agricultural products. In particular, it is one of the main exporters of wheat and other grains, and plays an important role in ensuring global food security. A large proportion of the wheat imported by North African countries such as Algeria and Egypt is grown in Russia”, emphasized the head of the specialist UN agency, which is based in Rome.
In addition, Nwanze highlighted the fact that Russia is also a major regional sales market for agricultural and food products.
“A number of countries in the region send Russia their horticultural produce, which is grown mainly by smallholders. As such, Russia can play an important role in supporting small farmers”, he said. One of IFAD’s main goals is to provide assistance to small agricultural producers in developing countries.
Nwanze recalled with satisfaction that he had visited Russia twice in 2015. In June, he was a guest at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), and in October he participated in the Russian Agricultural Exhibition and Agribusiness Forum in Moscow.
According to Nwanze, attending SPIEF opened his eyes to many things, as he had a number of important meetings with development project partners and European scientists. His October visit to Moscow gave him the opportunity to learn about Russian research in the agrarian sector, and about the education available at agricultural universities and colleges in the country. “This gave me the chance to assess the potential of the Russian agribusiness sector”, he said.
Nwanze emphasized that the international financial institution he heads is already actively engaging experienced Russian specialists to develop and implement programmes for countries in the former Soviet Union. “We look forward to strengthening our partnership with the Russian Government as we design new programmes and projects especially in the Central Asian Republics and other regions where input from Russian specialists [is] very valuable”, the IFAD President said.
IFAD, which currently has 176 member states, was established as one of the outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. It focuses on mobilizing financial resources and making them available on concessional terms to developing countries for the purposes of agricultural development. Together with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP), it forms the UN's agricultural ‘hub’ in Rome. Russia joined IFAD as a donor country in 2014.
Source: ria.ru (Russian)
