INCREASED RESOURCES FOR GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT SHOULD AIM TO HELP POOR NATIONS REACH ECONOMIC VIABILITY, COMMITTEE IS TOLD

Preparatory Committee for the

International Conference

 on Financing for Development

5^th Meeting (AM)

INCREASED RESOURCES FOR GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT SHOULD AIM TO HELP

POOR NATIONS REACH ECONOMIC VIABILITY, COMMITTEE IS TOLD

Head of United Nations Agricultural Fund Calls for Conference

Document To Give More Attention to Market-based Fund-raising Methods

The achievement of global development goals required not only greater resources, but also channelling those resources to reach the poor and support their efforts to earn a viable livelihood, the Preparatory Committee for the International Conference on Financing for Development was told this morning.

The President of the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), Lennart Bage said that official development assistance to agriculture and the rural sector had declined by an estimated 40 per cent over the past decade.  At the same time, domestic resources for agriculture and other productive activities of the rural poor had dropped in most developing countries.

Speaking also for two other Rome-based United Nations agencies -– the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) –- he said that achieving the poverty and hunger goals of the Millennium Summit declaration required a sharp increase in economic growth.  Since agricultural and rural activities provided the bulk of employment, as well as a large share of the exports, in poor countries, the best way to increase overall growth for them was to accelerate the pace of rural development and agriculture.

The conference on Financing for Development takes place in Monterrey Mexico, from 18-22 March 2002.  Turning to the draft final outcome document for the conference, Mr. Bage said his main concern was over its lack of specificity in its prescriptions for raising both development assistance as well as funds for an enhanced supply of global public goods.  He said greater attention was also needed on the issue of innovative fund-raising methods, especially market-based methods.

The Preparatory Committee is currently holding its resumed third session to discuss arrangements of the Monterrey Conference.  The conference seeks to address broad development concerns, primarily obstacles faced by developing countries in mobilizing the resources needed to finance their development.

For their consideration, delegations had before them a draft final outcome prepared by the Facilitator, Mauricio Escanero (Mexico), contained in document A/AC.257/25.  (For a summary of the draft, see Press Release DEV/2345 issued on

15 October.)

The next formal meeting of the Preparatory Committee will be announced in the Journal.