Rome, 24 September 2012 – The 36th session of the Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will elect a President to lead the organization for the next four years.
The Governing Council is the Fund’s principle governing body with full decision-making powers. It consists of all of IFAD’s Member States and meets annually. The election will take place on 13 February 2013 at IFAD’s Rome headquarters. Candidates for the presidency of IFAD are nominated by Member States of the Fund. The closing date for nominations is 15 December 2012.
IFAD’s goal is to enable poor rural people to improve their food and nutrition security, increase their incomes and strengthen their resilience. Working with poor rural women and men, governments, donors, non-governmental organizations, UN agencies and many other partners, IFAD focuses on country-specific solutions to increase access for rural people to financial services, markets, technology, land and other natural resources. It works in collaboration with its Member States and multilateral and bilateral partners in the global effort to achieve food and nutrition security, and sustainable agriculture.
IFAD, like other international financial institutions, mobilizes core resources through periodic replenishments from its Member States and additional funding from other sources. To date, almost US$14 billion has been invested through IFAD supported programmes and projects, which have in-turn attracted $21 billion in cofinancing and funding from domestic sources. At the end of 2011, IFAD’s portfolio consisted of 240 on-going programmes and projects in 94 countries and territories, with a total IFAD financing of $4.6 billion.
The President of IFAD, under the direction of IFAD’s governing bodies, is responsible for managing the Fund and is the chairperson of its Executive Board, whose membership consists of representatives of IFAD Member States. The President serves a four-year term, renewable once.
More information on nomination and election procedures can been found on the IFAD website at: http://www.ifad.org/election/index.htm.
