Washington, January 21, 2013
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and FAO, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, signed an agreement to deepen their partnership in promoting private investment in agriculture in low-income countries.
The two institutions plan to jointly formulate business proposals for agricultural investments in selected low-income countries, and IFC will utilize FAO’s technical expertise and knowledge networks as it implements its strategy for promoting food security and rural incomes. IFC and FAO will also work together to further best practice guidelines such as the Principles for Responsible Agriculture Investment.
“IFC is rapidly increasing investments across the agribusiness supply chain to promote food security and rural incomes,” said IFC Executive Vice President and CEO Jin-Yong Cai. “We know we can have even greater development impact by working more closely with partners like FAO.”
“The private sector, from smallholders to large agribusiness companies, is one of the driving forces behind increased agricultural production and economic growth worldwide,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva. “This agreement with the IFC, which has an impressive track record of successful support to private agribusiness, will strengthen our cooperation in this area.”
IFC made $4.2 billion in agriculture-related investments during FY12, more than double the prior year.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About FAO
FAO is a specialized UN agency whose mandate is to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute to the growth of the world economy. FAO has 191 Member Nations, two associate members and one member organization, the European Union (
www.fao.org
).
|