ICARDA Caravan 18/19

Improved Public Perception Critical to Expanded Rural Development Effort

H.E. Prof. Dr Youssuf Wally (center), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Egypt, inaugurated the two workshops in a joint opening session. Present with him were Dr Mahmoud Ayoub (left), Director, World Bank Country Department, Cairo; Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy (second from left), Director General, ICARDA; H.E. Mr Sayed Hussain Anwari (second from right), Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Afghanistan; and Dr Kevin Cleaver (right), Director, Rural Development Department, the World Bank.

The public must be informed about the value of, and urgent need for, rural development if funding for research and development is to rise from its present low levels, participants agreed at ICARDA and World Bank-organized consultation workshops held in Cairo. The first consultation workshop for Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) focused on the “World Bank Strategy for Rural Development: Reaching the Poor,” and was held on 23-24 February. It was followed by a second workshop on the proposed “International Assessment of the Role of Agricultural Science and Technology in Reducing Hunger, Improving Rural Livelihoods, and Stimulating Economically Sustainable Growth,” on 25-26 February.

At the joint opening session of the two workshops, His Excellency Prof. Dr Youssuf Wally, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Egypt, appreciated the initiative, “which would greatly help in the rural development efforts in the region,” he said.

Dr M. Ayoub, Director, World Bank Country Department, Cairo, and ICARDA Director General Prof. Dr Adel El-Beltagy made opening statements. In his statement, Prof. Dr El-Beltagy emphasized that the development process was firmly in the hands of national programs and driven by them. The workshop should help in this effort.

H.E. Mr Sayed Hussain Anwari, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Afghanistan, was among those who participated in the workshop. Drs Kevin Cleaver, Latitia Obeng, and Csaba Csaki, from the World Bank, presented the latest strategy papers from the Bank.

“The workshop reinforced the commitment for rural development. However, there is a challenge to change the prevailing public perception in order to overcome the insufficient commitment from both the developed and developing countries,” Prof. Dr El-Beltagy said.