By Ebikiseiye Thompson, Abuja
THE International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, Thursday, disclosed that 177 Member States are to nominate candidates for its president’s position before November 23, 2020.
The Fund made it known in a statement, where it explained that following the nomination process, the appointment of the next President will take place on 17 February 2021 during IFAD’s annual Governing Council meeting. The Governing Council is IFAD’s principle governing body with full decision-making powers.
Some of IFAD’s Past presidents include Abdelmuhsin M. Al-Sudeary (Kingdom of Saudia Arabia) – appointed in 1977; Idriss Jazairy (People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria) – appointed in 1984; Fawzi Al-Sultan (State of Kuwait) – appointed in 1993; Lennart Båge, (Kingdom of Sweden) – appointed in 2001; Kanayo F. Nwanze, (Federal Republic of Nigeria) – appointed in 2009; Gilbert F. Houngbo – appointed in 2017, and will complete his first term of office on 31 March 2021.
IFAD is a specialized United Nations agency and international financial institution focused on the alleviation of rural poverty and hunger.
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The statement reads in part, “The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) today announced a call to its 177 Member States to nominate candidates for the Fund’s next President.
“IFAD is a specialized United Nations agency and international financial institution focused on the alleviation of rural poverty and hunger.
“The President is IFAD’s most senior position with responsibility for leading the organization and chairing its Executive Board. Nominations for President can only be made by IFAD Member States and must be received by the Secretary of IFAD no later than 23 November 2020.
“The President will lead IFAD at a crucial time. The COVID-19 pandemic is predicted to leave more than 83 million people hungry by the end of the year, and raise the number of people living in poverty for the first time in decades.
“Increased investments in rural areas are not only needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of ending poverty and hunger, but also to help people recover from the impact of the pandemic, rebuild more sustainable food systems, and increase the resilience of small-scale farmers to shocks.
“Following the nomination process, the appointment of the next President will take place on 17 February 2021 during IFAD’s annual Governing Council meeting. The Governing Council is IFAD’s principle governing body with full decision-making power.”
The statement also added that the President of IFAD serves a four-year term, renewable once. The newly appointed President will take office on 1 April 2021.
