The President of the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD), Dr Kanayo Nwanze, will during his one week working visit to
Nigeria next week, deliver a lecture at IITA, reports said.

It is his fourth visit to his home country since assuming
headship of the UN agency as its fifth president on April 1, 2009.

A programme of
activities, made available to our correspondent, by the IFAD Country
office, showed that Nwanze would meet with President Goodluck Jonathan at the
Presidential Villa on August 24, after which he would be involved in a media
forum.

He would also hold separate meetings with the Ministers of
Agriculture and Rural Development and Foreign Affairs on August 23. However,
the focus of their discussions were not disclosed.

The programme also showed that the president of the
Rome-based UN agency would also hold separate meetings with Dr Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the
Economy, and CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi on August 24.

According to the programme, Nwanze and Okonjo-Iweala would
sign the loan agreement for the new IFAD-assisted Value Chain Development
Programme in Nigeria and address a news conference after the event.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by Mr Godwin Atser, the IITA
Communication Officer for West and Central Africa, made available in Abuja on
Monday, stated that the IFAD President would pay a working visit to the
institute from August 20 to August 21.

The statement said that he would address scientists and
stakeholders in the agricultural value chain, including financial sector
operators who have a bias for agricultural financing.

It said that he would also deliver a lecture on “Investing
for and with the Youth: A Private-Public Partnership to Advance Participation
of Youth in Agribusiness.”

According to the statement, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, who is charged with the
responsibility of implementing reforms aimed at transforming the nation’s
agricultural landscape, would participate in the lecture.

The reforms are expected to cut the country’s food import
bills, improve food security, generate wealth, and create jobs for youths.

The statement quoted IITA Director-General Nteranya Sanginga
as saying that Nwanze’s visit to IITA is significant for Africa’s agricultural
development.

Established in 1967, IITA is a non-profit agricultural
research organisation committed to fighting hunger and poverty in tropical
nations, through improvement in the productivity of crops.

The institute became the first link of international
agricultural research from Africa to the global network of agricultural
research, also known as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research (CGIAR).

IFAD is a specialised agency of the United Nations,
established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the
major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference.

It focuses on country-specific solutions, which can involve
increasing poor rural peoples’ access to financial services, markets,
technology, land and other natural resources.

The agency is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in
developing countries by working with poor rural people, governments, donors,
NGOs and many other partners.

Under Nwanze’s leadership, IFAD has stepped up its advocacy
to ensure that agriculture is central to the international development agenda.

It has also ensured that the concerns and needs of small
holders and other poor rural people are recognised by governments around the
world.

Nwanze has more than 30 years of experience in poverty
reduction through agriculture, rural development and research.