17
June 2008: In a message on the occasion of UN World Day to Combat
Desertification, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
highlighted the role of poor farmers and herders in stopping or reversing land
degradation in areas affected by desertification.

The
message underlines that ill–conceived agricultural practices can worsen the situation “as poor
populations often have no choice but to adopt short–term survival methods, putting more pressure on increasingly
scarce local resources.” In light of increasing pressures from climate change, the
agency called for more efficient water use, improved cropping systems and
better forest management, adding that hardier seeds will also help poor farmers
withstand droughts and floods. The message further notes that its
poverty reduction programmes and projects, 70 percent of which are in
ecologically fragile, marginal environments, are routinely screened for
potential adverse effects on the environment, natural resources and local
populations. [UN
press release] [IFAD
statement]