 Ond byddwn i'n gael Nicola Brennan a gynnydd i gythwilio Gilbert, ac mae'n ddweud nhw'n digwydd i'r gwaith, a ddim yn cael eu ddweud o gael. Thank you very much Norah, and good afternoon everyone. I think I'll just start off by saying thanks to Norah, and indeed your interference over the last number of years since that committee has been fantastic. And I must say has contributed to I think a very strong direction in our International Development Cooperation and Engagement, As Nora said, I'm the director of policy on international development in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It's a great pleasure to be here this afternoon and an even greater pleasure to introduce the president of EFAD, the International Fund for Agriculture Development, Gilbert Wongbo. Gilbert, we've been trying to get him here for some time so it's taken us a while to get the dates and the times etc to meet. So we are really pleased to have him here for today and tomorrow. I think a number of you know he will be speaking at the annual conference of EFAD, which is the Irish Forum for Agriculture Development, and that's tomorrow. So you're all very welcome to attend that too and tell your friends so you can get a chance to listen to him twice. And I think we are in for an excellent conversation and an excellent presentation and discussion with him. We've had an excellent discussion over lunch and has raised a lot of issues that I'm sure President Wongbo will speak about in his presentation this afternoon. He's a native of Togo in West Africa. He has an exceptionally distinguished career including the highest, holding the highest political office in his country as Prime Minister for a number of years and has been in the UN system for many years and has held a number of very influential positions including in the UNDP, United Nations Development Programme, including in ILO, the International Labour Organization. He's not a stranger to Ireland. He was here before in 2003, he told me earlier, was his last time. So we're delighted to get him back and hopefully it won't take 16 years to get you back again indeed. I should say that EFAD is a very close partner of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. We've been working with and funding EFAD for many years and it has a very strong reputation as an organisation. We depend on independent assessments and evaluations of the organisations that we invest Irish taxpayers' money in. EFAD has been identified as an agile, responsive and well-performing organisation with a strategy, a structure and a model well geared to deliver on its mandate. Its mandate is core to our priorities. Its mandate focuses on agricultural development, particularly in least developed countries. For Ireland that's hugely important and for our international development policy that's hugely important. So there's very close alignment with the work of EFAD and our international development policy. We launched a new policy earlier this year, a better world for those of you who haven't heard about it or haven't actually seen it yet. But that policy puts the furthest behind first at the centre and it's our ambition as Ireland to contribute to improving the lives of the furthest behind. And EFAD and the alignment of their policies with our objectives will ensure that we work together very closely in partnership. And as I said they have a very impressive track record EFAD has of transforming the lives of millions of smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. And that's led us to increase our funding to EFAD over the next three-year period by 25%. Colleagues in the room know that the Irish government is very committed to reaching point 7 of our GNI allocated to ODA. So there will be further opportunities for going to scale in the future and EFAD as a well-trusted partner. We hope to work more collaboratively with them into the future. We had some talk over lunch and I'm sure President Wang will mention it that EFAD is very much engaged with some of the other Rome-based UN agencies. In setting up and supporting a global summit on food systems transformation in 2021. And Ireland is fully behind EFAD and the other organisations in organising this. I think our own history of transformation in the agricultural sector and our agri-food business. We have a huge role to play internationally in sharing our experiences in learning from others and in bringing agricultural development forward. So it gives me great pleasure to call on President Gilbert Hugo to share with us his vision on how we can harness the power of agriculture to end hunger and poverty over the coming decade. President, thanks very much. Hugo is taking his seat there. We're very glad today. We have Richard Kennedy here who's the Deputy President of the IFA. And so if there's any hard questions about Irish agriculture, Richard will hear and answer them. And then we also have, don't smile there Ray, we also have Ray who is head of our self-help. So we're delighted to have a number of people who were with us earlier on and have joined us here today. So the floor is yours now President. Thank you so much. Let me start by expressing my gratitude and thank you to the Institute of International and European Affairs for inviting us today. It's true that I have not been in Ireland for 16 years. I've been also kind of looking forward to come back and allow me to, which I will come back to on that in terms of our cooperation with Ireland up to two years ago. I think Ireland was a year actually. Ireland was part of our executive board, which is our board of directors. And I can tell you that during our last replenishment, which was what we called IFA 11, Ireland has been one of the champions to help us on solving a lot of critical issues, including how to allocate resources to 80 countries. So we talk about allocation of resources. I'm sure as a minister you know very well how complicated it is. And I really want to express our thanks to you and to international development colleagues for that. And two weeks ago the issue came back again and people were okay when is Ireland coming back on that. So it's true that IFA is not the most known institution in the UN system. But let me quickly remind you that it was created actually in 77 following the establishment of OPEC in the late 60s, early 70s, and then the crisis in terms of the food prices, just like what happened in 2008. We had the same in the early 70s, which had led with the annual conference on food and agriculture in 76, which led to the creation of IFA in 77 with the objective of focusing on the poorest of the poor. We are therefore specialized agencies. What we do is to finance and to fund through a concessional loan and two-thirds of our portfolio are concessional loan to the rural communities. We never intervene in outside rural communities. But within those rural communities we intervene both in farm and non-farm activities in what we call the transformation of the rural economies. Those of us that are now used to live in the cities, we tend to think that poverty and hunger are urban problems. But in fact let me recall that 80% of the world poorest people live in rural settings. These are the areas where we work. I remember when I took office in 2017 and my first project visiting IFA project was Uganda. So I have to fly from Rome to Addis Ababa and Addis Ababa to Antebe, which is a very difficult flight overnight, etc. I arrived in Antebe in Uganda at 6 in the morning. Then I need to take another flight for two hours. Then I need to take a 4x4 by-road for four hours before getting to the sites. Just to tell you that we really focus on the remotest area possible. This is where we try to do our work. So it's important for us to keep in mind that poverty remains really with a rural face. As I was saying, Ireland and IFA, our partnership goes way in the last 30-40 years. We share a common vision and we are again going through your new development policy, the better world. I was very fascinated about, I don't know if it's here, the expression that was used on the 40th left behind. Then when I read it, I was thinking, this is IFA, it's not Ireland. Really how there is an alignment of our direction. Just to, when I'm talking about our focus, almost dogmatic focus on the poorest and the remotest area, my next film will tell you is also the gender. Start even in the 90s if I started really targeting the gender for obvious reasons. Since I've been in government, I can confirm to you that when you invest in the women, they multiply in effect. If you don't believe in the gender cause, if you believe in the economic cause, still invest in gender on that. This has been one of the things that for us under the guidance of our executive board has been quite critical. Recent gender has not been to gender. We have had the climate change in the past two, three cycle and nutrition. What you were saying during the lunchtime, it's true that maybe 20 years ago we were not talking too much about nutrition. So now we are really, IFA is also catching up on nutrition. And our fourth area of mainstreaming is the youth dimension. So let's, we just prepared one quick video just to give you a sense of what we're talking about. It's tough to be a migrant. Italy was a good country. But since I was a clondestine, it was difficult. You cannot have a bank account. You cannot have work. You cannot have anything. You cannot understand the language. There is a great variety of problems at all levels. And you have to face these problems because your parents have expectations. They ask for money on any occasion. Since you're there, they think you have money. And this is often not the case. I saw that European farmers were able to make money out of agriculture. And I asked myself, why not me? Why don't I go back and put in place a small business? Now I have a lot of rice in abundant quantities and its quality rice. And I've also invested in a house. I advise young people to stay because the idea they have of migration, like the one I had myself before leaving, does not correspond with reality. Here there is land. It rains. We are young. We can stay at home, develop activities and have a successful life. As you have just heard, Pap Sambad-Dian, this is his name, what we are saying here is that with the right investment, farming can offer a pathway out of poverty and provide new opportunities so that migration can stop being a necessity. Migration to be what if I would believe to be a choice rather than a force or a necessity. To be quite honest, I'm sure that I always see the glass half full. So I have great conviction that agriculture remain an untapped treasure that holds out of promise for a brighter future for Africa, particularly for the youth in Africa. Why am I saying that? Because Africa is experiencing unprecedented growth, not just in a population that we all know about, but also in income. And where there is growth, there is also an increase in demand, even if the gains are not spread equally. So we can see that the demand from better food for nutritious food is also in itself increasing. The food and beverage market in South Sahara Africa is expected to reach 1 trillion by 2030. And by 2025, Africa's population is predicted to grow by 20%. Each percentage of population growth translates directly into a percentage increase in demand for all the ingredients needed for a healthy diet. Clearly, there will be new opportunities in Africa for those who grow, process and sell food. You may wonder why we should invest in agriculture when Africa has so many other riches. After all, let's also keep in mind that 74% of the world platinum is in Africa, 54% of the world diamond. And also there's an abundance of gold, uranium, oil and gas and etc. We all know that. But we also know that those natural resources at least so far have not provided the answer. They have not translated into sufficient improvement in social well-being and stability for the African nations. They have not yet fed hungry children. They have not ended poverty. So for Africa, agriculture has a particular importance. 6 out of every 10 Africans, so 60%, live in rural area. In a lot of countries, it's even up to two-thirds. In South Sahara Africa, it's even 70% that are farmers and mainly on farm of 10 hectares or less. Agriculture contributes more than 40% of South Sahara GDP, particularly when we exclude South Africa. To put this in context, here in Ireland, agriculture is about, I was told, 4% of GDP, so just compare 4 to 40%. So it's very clear that agriculture is expected to remain the biggest source of income, source of jobs in Africa for the foreseeable future. Today, 60% of South Sahara Africa workforce is under the age of 35. And every year, we have 10 to 12 million of new graduates that enter the job market in Africa. So obviously this is a potential blessing or it can also be a risk as we know. Too often, young people are marginalized and they are excluded from decent employment and position of authority and responsibility. The rural economies that offer a range of employment options can provide an outlet for the energy and the creativity that we know from the youth. So investment in agriculture matters because it's not only create jobs on the farm but it also create employment in related activity including trade in the cities. What will it take for Africa agriculture to fulfill its potential? This is really the question. When we start talking about potential and moving to action, moving to reality. So I don't have the silver bullet but I just want to share a few thoughts. For me to start, Africa could significantly increase its productivity, particularly by addressing the inequalities and the obstacles faced by the rural women. In some Sahara Africa, women make up to 50% of the agriculture labour force. Unfortunately, they also face gender-based discriminations. In every region in the world, we know that women are more likely to be food insecure than men. And this has been confirmed by the SOFI report, which is the state of food insecurity that Rome-based agency and the WHO UNICEF are producing. They have fewer rights to the land that the farm and less access to the financing and input they need to farm successfully. Simply giving women the same access to productive resources as men would increase their farm yield by an estimated 20% to 30%. And also let's keep in mind that right now if the constitute in South Sahara Africa 50% of the workforce, but only 15% when talks access to land, which is also one of the critical barrier that we are facing. So there are huge gains to be realized by introducing better management of existing farmland. And this includes introducing the best seed varieties for each individual depending on the context and the use of the best soil and water management techniques, which include as well the appropriate level of fertilizer and the eco-friendly pest control. Another point is the irrigation intensity in Africa is the lowest in the world at only around 5% of cultivated land. Climate change is also already affecting the poorer communities. Reducing the quality and quantity of crops and lowering the yield. And what we are also seeing is the more and more we have to deal with crop pests and diseases that are emanating from the climate change. The small holders who depend on rain-fed agriculture have been particularly hard-hates with more unpredictable and severe weather conditions, extreme even that affect not only the harvest, but the quality and the quality of the soil. So under these conditions, the resilience, building the resilience of small holders is highly critical. At the same time, dependent on diversifying the production of crops and livestock, and having access to technology and renewable energy so that they can grow more and safely store their harvest. If anyone today still believes that development efforts should be concentrated in cities, I would really like to recall that urbanisation, which is the other challenge that we face worldwide, particularly in Africa, that urbanisation comes with its own problem, including the overcrowding, the pollution, the diseases. So shifting population from the rural to the urban still not solve the problem of poverty, hunger or inequality. At the same token, the same urbanisation creates also a market for the rural production if we are able to increase the production by the rural communities. While rural migration to cities is unavoidable, we also have to keep in mind that in sub-Sahara Africa, sub-Sahara Africa is the only region in the world, we just published our rural development report last July, which focused on the issue of the youth, and clearly we know that sub-Sahara Africa is the only region where the youth population is expected to grow. From 105 million in 2015 to around 175 by 2050. Globally, the economic growth model is also changing. Modern technology, particularly information technology, has transformed the way that we live and the way that we work, and that is also affecting the agriculture sector in the continent in Africa. The industries are no longer able to absorb all the rural people who migrate to the cities. Skilled services are a bigger component of growth market than unskilled ones. At the same time, regional and global markets are growing for agriculture goods, tend to better transportation, low-cost communication and increased trades. One of the questions that we often also get is what are the obstacles that we face in Africa when it comes to the transportation, or the trade and related issues that I just referred to. For one thing, Africa has not developed the infrastructure needed to modernise and connect to the global market. In 2019, more than 600 million Africans still have no access to electricity, and those who do pay so high prices, that is unaffordable for them. A farmer in rural northern Nigeria pays roughly 80 times more for electricity than the average New Yorker. Then there are Africa's roads which are inadequate and badly maintained, we have to admit it, making it slow and expensive to ship goods over land. So even as rising demand for food and new market hold out the promise of higher income and livelihood for small farmers, poor infrastructure is a huge, huge barrier. Young people will not stay in a rural area that lack decent housing education, healthcare, electricity, internet connection and human security. This may sound negative, but quite frankly it's not. If at every day we see the benefit that accrue through the smart and targeted investment and the advent of new technologies, satellite or solar panels, this could mean that small business can grow and thrive in more remote locations. We have seen over the years that growth generated by agriculture is two to three times more effective in reducing poverty than growth in any other sector in Africa. Agriculture share, which I want to talk how this issue is now the industrial obstacle vis-à-vis the ODA, the Official Development Assistance. We know that agriculture share of ODA has remained flat below 6% since 2015. It is not very surprising that in the same period, the same period, the progress also has flattened in that. It is quite interesting. I'm sure the researcher will try to see if there is any covariance or causality in that. Yet agriculture underpins so many of the sustainable development goals. A child cannot learn on an empty belly. A chronically undernourished person is more vulnerable to disease and less able to contribute to the growth of the community as an adult. Without a robust agriculture sector, we are all at risk. To achieve the zero hunger SDG 2, it is estimated that we need an annual investment of 115 billion, which is huge. So far, the total ODA is around 10 billion in agriculture. That tells us about what is the gap on that. Traditionally, donors have an important role to play. The partnership with the private sector, that's the point I'm trying to make, that ODA itself cannot be the answer. We've only 10 years left to meet our agenda by 2030. It's quite important to get SDG 2, zero hunger, back on track. Over the next two years, it will be crucial to build political commitments and mobilise resources. This is what I believe we all have in mind. I'm very, very, very happy that Secretary General Gutierrez has decided to convene the food system summit in 2021. I have to say that two colleagues that are here that Ireland has been one of the countries that has really been pushing in this direction. So I want to express my gratitude to you for that. I would like to leave you with three possible actions I believe we can take to increase the momentum of the investment in agriculture and rural transformation first. We need to start doing a better job of delivering the message that agriculture in Africa can be profitable. That working with small holders is beneficial for the private sector partners, for the government alike, and that poor farmers are not, they are not looking for a handout. They are looking for economic opportunities. For Africa, agriculture to meet its full potential, its need investment, not just in high productivity and profitability but investment, public investment in infrastructure in research and in policies that results in modern and completely value chains. I would like to give one example in Uganda, not the project that I visited. We have another project in Uganda where what we do, we provide financial inclusion in rural area targeting 700,000 youth, women and men into a saving and credit cooperative and community. And they can use, because of that saving and credit cooperative, they can invest it, be it in farm or in non-farm activity as much as it is part of the rural economy. And this has been so successful that the Barclays Bank through the CSR have decided to really put a lot of money to push up the capital of this system. In Benin, we have the Songhai Centre integrating agriculture, animal husbandry, fish farming and food processing and catering. And has been doing that for 20 years with the concept of renaw seqray. Nothing is lost. Everything has been transformed, one with the other, including the production of gas. So there's a lot of those projects that we, IFAD, are really behind in financing to just prove that there is hope. We really need the government, we need the private sector, we need foundations, we need the researchers, the academics to all recognize that when small holders are linked to markets and have access to financing, training and technology, yes, they can be bankable and they can be reliable partners. My second point is they need to take a proactive approach to risk management, particularly when it comes to climate change. This is particularly true for Africa, but climate change of course affects all of us in the world. So the risk management, particularly as related to the need for climate adaptation, the extreme weather condition, is one of the key things that we see as potential for, if you really want the agriculture to be vibrant in the continent. Lastly, we need to just make sure that development efforts respond to the need of the most vulnerable members in the societies. So I want to end with what I start with, the most vulnerable, if you really want not only to end hunger, but also to end poverty. So let me therefore conclude by letting you see for yourself. So I'm going to show you a second video, the different phases and the power of the rural women with something we prepared for two projects that we had in Nepal and in Mozambic. Everyone in the world has gone to bed one night or another with fear or pain or loss. And yet each of us has awakened and risen. Somehow made our ablution, seen other human beings and said, morning, how are you? You may write me down in history with your bitter twisted lies. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still like dust. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes. Shoulders falling down like tear drops. We can divide my soul for fries. That's my sadness of sadness. Don't take it so hard just because I laugh. As if I have gold mines digging in my own backyard. You can shoot me with your words. You can cut me with your lies. You can kill me with your hatefulness. But just like life arrives. Up from a past rooted in pain I rise. A black ocean leaping and white. Welling and swelling. I bear in the time we rise.