Rome — The chairman of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Kanayo Mwanze, will pay this year a working visit to Angola, at the invitation of the Angolan authorities.

The invitation was made on Friday by the Angolan Agriculture Minister, Pedro Canga, during an audience, at the end of the 36th session of IFAD governors' council, which happened on 13-14 February in Rome, Italy.

During the meeting, the Angolan minister congratulated IFAD chairman on his re-election for a four-year term and expressed the interest of Angola to benefit from more funds and have represented its cadres in the structures of IFAD.

On his turn, Kanayo Mwanze thanked the contribution of Angola for the 9th Reconstitution in the amount of AKZ 190.0 million and expressed his openness to receive Angolan on-the-job trainees in the structures of the organization and visit this year Angola.

The Angolan permanent representative to IFAD, Ambassador Florêncio de Almeida also integrated the country's delegation.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development, a specialized agency of the United Nations, was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference.

IFAD is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries and is involved in the development of indigenous peoples due to its targeted approach to rural development. By 2007, it had so far provided a total of US$1,134 million equivalent in loans (or about 12.6% of its total loan portfolio) in support of indigenous peoples, mainly in Latin American and Asian countries.

Regarding Africa, although the Fund provided several loans in support of pastoralists and other marginalized groups in the late 1980s and early 1990s, by the end of the 1990s this support had dwindled.

Recently, the Fund has shown renewed interest in supporting pastoralists in northern and western Africa, and some of its ongoing projects are also helping hunters and gatherers in central and southern Africa regain their livelihoods.