8 July 2010: The President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Kanayo Nwanze, underscored the need to address climate change and food security by focusing on sustainably intensifying agriculture during a speech at the East Forum, which took place in Rome, Italy, on 8 July 2010.

While noting the importance of the Green Revolution to improve crop yields, he underscored its negative impacts on the environment and smallholder farmers. Nwanze said IFAD supports low-input sustainable agriculture and location-specific practices. He called for policy reforms to remove insecticide subsidies and increase support for farmer education, highlighting the potential for microfinance services to contribute to agricultural growth.

On the international climate negotiations, Nwanze stressed the need for more work on agricultural research and knowledge generation in order to increase its role in addressing climate change. [IFAD Press Release] [East Forum Website]