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IFAD/AwardBack
[Published: Tuesday July 07 2015]

Milan, Italy, 7 July. - (ANA) - The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) won a ‘best sustainable development practise in food security’ award for its work promoting the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Madagascar. This unique approach allows smallholder farmers to maximise rice yields while reducing the amount of seeds, water and land used.
The awards ceremony took place at the EXPO Milano 2015 world fair and was hosted by the Feeding Knowledge Program – an international network for research and innovation in food security. The competition was implemented by the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari.
Together with Cornell University and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, IFAD began applying the SRI method in the Upper Mandraré Basin Development Project in Madagascar in 1997. The success of the project, which ran in two phases until 2007, has lead to the adaptation of the SRI method in at least 50 countries around the world and by as many as five million smallholder farmers.
“We are very proud of the work that IFAD has done to promote the SRI method, especially with regards to Madagascar’s specific agro-ecological conditions. It offers poor farmers an opportunity to grow healthy rice yields while containing costs and impact to the environment,” said Sana F. K. Jatta, IFAD Director for East and Southern Africa Division.
The SRI methodology helps to substantially increase rice production and reduces water consumption by an average of 40 percent and in some cases as much as 85 percent. It relies on a significant reduction in the use of seed and can cost little or nothing to adopt.
Rice is the staple food for more than half of the world's population. Increasing rice production is key to improving household food security and reducing rural poverty. Almost a billion households in Asia, Africa and the Americas depend on rice systems for their main source of employment and livelihood. About four-fifths of the world's rice is produced by small-scale farmers and consumed locally.
IFAD invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, we have provided nearly US$16.6 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached about 445 million people. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency based in Rome – the UN's food and agriculture hub.- (ANA)

AB/ANA/ 7 July 2015 - - -

 


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