MEDIA ALERT: G8 New Alliance on Food Security and Nutrition: “A new chapter in North-South partnership” / Virtual Press Briefing by IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze

ROME, Italy, May 21, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Virtual Press Briefing by IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze

What: Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) (http://www.ifad.org), will brief media on what the G8's New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition could mean for countries in Africa. What impact will it have on the poor farmers who grow most of Africa's food? The initiative, announced last week in Washington, will initially focus on three countries – Ethiopia, Ghana and Tanzania – with expectations that it will expand to three other African countries in the near future.

Nwanze will provide IFAD's perspectives on this new initiative, particularly with regard to involvement of the private sector, the need to focus on making smallholder farmers more profitable, and the focus on managing for results, accountability, and scaling up impact. IFAD has supported the development of the New Alliance and will be contributing its expertise as the effort moves forward.

When: 23 May, 2012 at 1:30 pm GMT (2:30 pm Rome time)

Where: via webcam, IFAD Headquarters, Rome, Italy

Language: English

How it works: This service is FREE and only requires a computer connected to the internet.

Technical Contact: +41 22 534 96 97 – Email: [email protected]

Live Facebook and Twitter chat: The IFAD President will also answer questions from around the globe on the above topic on IFAD's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/IFAD and on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/ifadnews using#ifadchat .

For more information on this briefing, contact Jessica Thomas, [email protected], +39-06-54592215

Please visit www.ifad.org

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) (http://www.ifad.org) works with poor rural people to enable them to grow and sell more food, increase their incomes and determine the direction of their own lives. Since 1978, IFAD has invested almost US$14 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries through projects empowering about 400 million people to break out of poverty, thereby helping to create vibrant rural communities. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome – the United Nations' food and agriculture hub. It is a unique partnership of 168 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).