Nominations for next IFAD President begin

In preparation for the expiration of the current term of Nigeria’s Kanayo F. Nwanze as President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on 31 March 2017, the 176 member states of the specialised United Nations agency and international financial institution have been called to nominate candidates for the Fund’s next president.

Nwanze was elected in February 2009 and will complete his second term of office on 31 March 2017.

The office of IFAD president confers on the occupant the most senior position with responsibility for leading the organisation and chairing its Executive Board.

According to IFAD, its next president, who will resume office on April 1, 2027 following an appointment which will take place on February 14 2017 during IFAD’s annual Governing Council meeting in Rome, will take up the helm at a time “when boosting investments in smallholder agriculture will be essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of ending poverty and hunger.

“Indeed, in a rapidly changing world with growing demand for food, increased migration to cities and the impact of climate change and environmental degradation, IFAD investments in rural areas of developing countries have never been as relevant and important.”