4 November 2011: Kanayo Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), is scheduled to meet with various members of the Dutch Government to discuss how best to support developing country governments to create stronger policies for rural development and infrastructure, including strengthening responses to risks such as climate change.

Many of IFAD’s activities support farmers in reducing unpredictability and IFAD’s work has increasingly focused on providing tools to respond to climate change, including drought resistant seeds, on-farm storage, and rainwater catchment systems. The Netherlands has been the second largest contributor to IFAD since 1978, and has recently contributed $2.5 million to safeguard crop seeds and planting materials in gene banks around the world. [IFAD Press Release]