IFAD Trains Anglophone Countries On Financial Management

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on Wednesday trained 130 persons from Anglophone countries in West and Central Africa on financial management.
The  Country Director, IFAD, Dr Dede Ekoue, said this in Abuja at the first regional workshop on Financial Management of IFAD-Funded projects for Anglophone countries in West and Central Africa (WCA).
The Tide’s source  said participants were drawn from Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
According to Ekoue, the training was organised by the organisation’s Financial Management Division (FMD).
She said it was to provide effective and sustainable support for the financed projects to improve the living conditions of three-quarters of the global population living below extreme poverty.
“The primary objectives of the workshop are to discuss the practical implementation of the reforms, specifically the interim financial report and disbursements.
“The workshop objectives are noble if we are to fulfill our mandate, while also ensuring value for money that improves the quality and standard of living and livelihoods of the most vulnerable communities and smallholder farmers.
“Smallholder farmers are central to IFAD’s strategic objectives and mandates”, she said.
Ekoue stated that the current portfolio of IFAD’s WCA region consists of 62 programmes in 23 countries, with a total financing of approximately four billion dollars of which the organisation contributes approximately 1.9billion US dollars.
In a remark, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,  Dr Ernest Umakhihe, identified West and Central Africa as a region of great diversity and potential.
Umakhihe, who was represented by the Director, Planning and Policy Coordination of the ministry, Mr Tanimu Ibrahim, stated that the region is home to about 400million people, of whom about 60 per cent live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihood.
He said agriculture is also a key contributor to the region’s economic growth, trade, and food security.
Umakhihe said the region also faces many constraints, such as climate change, conflict, instability, poverty, inequality, malnutrition, and disease.
These challenges, according to him, required concerted and coordinated efforts from all stakeholders, including governments, regional organisations, development partners, civil society, and the private sector.
This training is very timely and relevant. Through it participants will gain new knowledge and skills on how to manage financial resources better.
“As you all know, agriculture is a key driver of our economy, contributing about 25 per cent of our GDP and employing about 70 per cent of our labour force.
“Finance management is essential for ensuring, accountability, and value for money in our agricultural programmes and projects”, he said.
The Project Coordinator for the Agriculture Value Chain Project in Sierra Leone and a participant, Monica Kwame-Greene, described financial management as key for any project.
“It is key. We know the best practices, and also to be able to manage funds that are for rural poor.
“We are here to learn how to manage these funds that are in the hands of the donors to the benefit of our people in different countries”, she said.