IFAD Regional Office – Asia and the Pacific

by Alvaro Lario

I am pleased to announce that Bangkok, Thailand has been selected as the location for IFAD’s first regional office in the Asia and the Pacific region (APR). This is a significant milestone in IFAD's 46-year history, and a key part of IFAD’s decentralization strategy.  

This strategic move brings us ever closer to our valued regional counterparts and reflects our steadfast commitment to enhancing collaboration and efficiency. Establishing IFAD’s first regional office in Asia will strengthen our presence and impact in the region, enabling us to forge even stronger partnerships and drive meaningful change. 

APR holds the distinction of being IFAD’s largest investment portfolio, a testament to the region’s immense significance in our mission. With a regional office presence, we will be able to enhance efficiency, bridge time differences, and ensure seamless coordination among offices in the region. By being closer in proximity, we will deepen collaboration with valued partners, strengthen our networks, and amplify our efforts towards inclusive and sustainable rural transformation. 

This move reflects our dedication to delivering enhanced support to our valued clients, including governments and rural populations. Bangkok’s strategic positioning will enable our operational teams to serve our clients with greater efficiency and achieve even greater impact. Moreover, the prominent presence of 21 UN regional and other offices in Bangkok presents valuable opportunities to enhance our collaboration within the UN system, particularly with FAO and WFP regional offices. In addition, exploring stronger partnerships with IFIs, also located in Bangkok, will further bolster IFAD’s initiatives in the region.

This decision is firmly based on our commitment to transparency and fairness. We have obtained multiple offers from countries in the region for which we are very grateful. Each proposal has been evaluated objectively and the assessment has benefited from a detailed review from an independent external consultancy firm. We considered an array of critical factors, including cost-effectiveness, travel accessibility, IT connectivity, visa considerations, alignment with IFAD’s strategy, proximity to other UN and multilateral agencies, and the overall impact on the staff costs. In addition, a large number of international and regional media outlets based in Bangkok presents opportunities for visibility and outreach.

Led by the Regional Director, the regional office will serve as a strategic nexus, uniting IFAD staff from diverse departments. By optimizing our resources and strategic responses, we can address regional challenges and champion rural policy priorities like never before.

A tentative timeline for the establishment of the regional office has been set for Q3 of 2024. In line with the established regional office model, this office will eventually house the APR Regional Team as well as the COM, CSD, FMD, and SKD staff members mapped to APR.

• Stronger strategic focus on China and India

To ensure comprehensive coverage across Asia, IFAD will further strengthen its office presence in Beijing, China, and New Delhi, India. India will operate as a multi-country office (MCO) in the APR region, while the office in China will have a particular focus on South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) as IFAD SSTC Centre in Asia. In this unique capacity, the office will actively strive to secure substantial additional SSTC funds, significantly enhancing outreach efforts and maximizing the profound impact of IFAD-supported rural development and poverty reduction initiatives throughout the region.  We will also be exploring the possibility of strengthening the role of these offices further as centres for development financing, digital transformation, and more. 

The two offices will oversee various country portfolios, thereby reinforcing IFAD’s strategic positioning and expanding partnerships at both country and regional levels in APR. The China office will continue to cover Mongolia, while the India office will continue to cover Sri Lanka and Maldives. As a result, they will foster robust client relationships and effectively reach rural communities in those countries.

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Distinguished Representatives, 

on July 21, 2023, FAO hosted the RBA Senior Consultative Group meeting, addressing five key agenda items:

1. Finalizing the new RBA MoU and signature process.

2. RBA Principals’ visit to South Sudan.

3. Update on the UN Food Systems Summit + 2 Stocktaking Moment.

4. The Global Network Against Food Crises.

5. Updates on the UN Efficiency Agenda.

 Key takeaways from the meeting and the signed RBA MoU are available here.

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New appointment announcement

by Alvaro Lario

I am pleased to announce that after a very robust recruitment process, including an external panel review, I have appointed Ms Gérardine Mukeshimana, a national of Rwanda, as Vice-President. 

Until March of this year and for the previous eight years, Gérardine served as the Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources of Rwanda. Under her leadership, the agricultural sector was transformed into one of the best performing on the continent and farmers experienced a dramatic improvement of their livelihoods. During her tenure, Gérardine engaged with rural youth, attracted private sector interest in agri-business in Rwanda, and pioneered the use of climate funds for the agricultural sector.

Gerardine possesses a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture and Horticulture from the University of Rwanda, a Master’s Degree and a doctorate in Plant breeding and Genetics- Crop and Soil Sciences from Michigan State University (USA). 

Gerardine will bring to IFAD her extensive knowledge and networks in the agricultural development domain, including with other multilateral development banks and climate funds, as well as her strong technical experience from her work and research at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Michigan State University.

Gérardine will come on board on 28 August 2023. Please join me in welcoming her to her new position. I wish her the greatest success at IFAD.

To read this communication in the other official languages of the fund, please click on the following links: (Arabic) (French) (Spanish)

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Launch of Annual Report 2022

2022 was a year in which we dealt with multiple crises – among them conflict, climate change and the ongoing effects of the pandemic. But crisis can also be a driver of positive change. With this in mind, IFAD’s Annual Report 2022 describes how IFAD is addressing the multiple challenges the world is facing.

We invite you to browse through the report to learn more about milestones and highlights from IFAD’s work during 2022. You can read about how IFAD is supporting rural people to build their resilience to the crises of today and tomorrow, and of the different initiatives that will put us in a position to achieve even greater impact as we look to IFAD13 and beyond.

You can download the report at:

• https://www.ifad.org/ar/ar2022/
• https://www.ifad.org/en/ar2022/

• https://www.ifad.org/fr/ar2022/
  
• https://www.ifad.org/es/ar2022/

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New Appointment Announcement: Chief, Ethics Office

By Alvaro Lario

I am pleased to announce that following a comprehensive recruitment process, I have appointed Ms Berkis Patricia Perez as Chief of the Ethics Office (ETH). A Dominican national, Patricia has been with IFAD since 2019, as Senior Security Officer responsible for the management and oversight of IFAD security operations worldwide. In her security role, Patricia ensured the protection of all our workforce and assets across the globe, in all duty stations and countries of operation.

In addition to her extensive experience in the field of security for the UN and its peacekeeping missions, earlier in her career Patricia was a lawyer for the Dominican Republic’s armed forces, where she gained extensive experience in handling allegations of misconduct and unethical behaviour, as well as reforming their code of conduct. This unique expertise will be critical in our ongoing efforts to further strengthen IFAD’s workplace culture while ensuring continued focus on core ethical values and how these values actually protect and serve our workforce around the world. Senior managers and I count on Patricia to continue work being done to enhance the trust IFAD personnel have in the organizational mechanisms and procedures to ensure there is zero tolerance at IFAD for abuse of authority, misconduct, misbehaviour, harassment, or sexual exploitation.

Patricia holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and a Master’s Degree in Public Management, both from the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra, as well as a Master’s Degree in Security and Defence from the Nebrija University.

Patricia will start as Chief of the Ethics Office on 5 June 2023,  ensuring a smooth transition with Sylvie Martin, the current Director of the Ethics Office.

I want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Sylvie for her dedication and service to IFAD.  Sylvie has been leading ETH since 1 January 2018, after a tenure of more than 15 years in the Office of the General Counsel. Sylvie has ensured excellence in the services and support ETH provides to IFAD’s workforce, and has lead the corporate efforts against sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse, providing regular updates to the Executive Board on this important topic as well as on other activities of the Ethics Office. Under her leadership, ETH has become an essential piece among IFAD’s mechanisms for promoting and living our core values of respect, integrity and professionalism in the work we do. I know you all join me in wishing Sylvie all the best in her retirement!

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New Appointment Announcements

By Alvaro Lario

It gives me great pleasure to announce that following an extensive recruitment process Ms Claudia Ten Have has been appointed as Secretary of IFAD and Director of the Office of the Secretary (SEC).

A South African national, Claudia joins us from the United Nations Environment Programme - Secretariat of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, where she has been Senior Policy and Coordination Officer and Deputy to the Executive Secretary of the Minamata Convention for seven years.

Her extensive experience in coordination functions and expertise with governing bodies will serve us well in our ongoing efforts to further strengthen how we do business in IFAD. Having been responsible for the Minamata Convention’s relations with State Parties, reporting obligations on Convention provisions, and as Secretary to a Governing Board, Claudia will be putting her strong expertise in multilateral diplomacy in the service of IFAD and its Member States.

Claudia possesses a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies and Media, a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Studies from the University of Johannesburg, a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the University of Witwatersrand and a PhD in Public Administration from the International Christian University.

Claudia will come on board 1 June 2023. Please join me in welcoming her to her new position. I wish her the greatest success at IFAD!

I want to take this opportunity to also thank Ms Deirdre Mc Grenra, Chief, Institutional Governance and Member Relations, who has led SEC as Officer-in-charge since October 2022. I am extremely grateful to Deirdre for having dedicated her time and energy to making sure the IFAD Secretariat worked effectively and smoothly. 

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Distinguished Representatives,

I am thrilled to share this Paris Summit special media and digital impact report. IFAD participation in the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, held in Paris 22-23 June was an opportunity to confirm France’s championship to IFAD 13 and President Macron’s commitment to our institution and replenishment efforts. Linking both this announcement and IFAD’s unique mandate at the summit gave us a fresh chance to resonate far and wide, at a time when boosting agricultural development and climate adaptation is critical to future global food security and stability.

Our outreach garnered over 470 media articles including in The Guardian and les Echos, an op-ed published in Newsweek, a live news interview on F24 capturing over 40 million viewers and an IFAD13 A New Day video spot that reached a global audience of 100 million people.

I hope you enjoy this report.

Best wishes,

Hélène Papper

Director, Global Communications and Advocacy

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Distinguished Representatives,

IFAD and Japan boost global food security by connecting small-scale producers to the private sector

Read the Japan-IFAD Joint Statement here

Read the IFAD press release here[Arabic] [English] [French] [Spanish] [Japanese]

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New Appointment Announcements

By Alvaro Lario

It gives me great pleasure to announce the appointment of Mr Hernan Danery Alvarado as Associate Vice-President of the Financial Operations Department (FOD) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Hernan, who came on board on 17 April, joins us from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), where he has been the CFO for 13 years and Head of the Asset and Liability Management (ALM) Department.

His long experience in finance functions will serve us well in all our endeavours to continue the transformation of how we do finance in IFAD and ensure we continue to innovate in that sphere of our reform journey. Having been responsible for CABEI's relations with investors, credit rating agencies, external auditing firms, multilateral banks, cooperation agencies and governmental organizations, Hernan will be putting his significant expertise on public- and private-sector loans to the benefit of IFAD and its country clients. Hernan also promoted initiatives to mobilize climate change financial resources for adaptation and mitigation projects and programs, and worked to ensure CABEI was the first entity to obtain the Green Climate Fund (GCF) accreditation in Central America.

Hernan possesses a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) with Specialization in Finance from Universidad Católica de Honduras.

Please join me in welcoming Hernan to his new position. I wish him the greatest success at IFAD!

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Explore co-financing opportunities using the IFAD Co-financing Opportunities Catalogue

IFAD is pleased to present a new digital tool - Co-financing Opportunities Catalogue, which aims to strengthen and streamline the communication of IFAD’s co-financing needs / requirements to all Member States and potential partners of IFAD.

The digital tool provides detailed and up-to-date information on projects, both at implementation and design/pipeline stage, and country portfolios with co-financing needs. You can access the IFAD Co-financing Opportunities Catalogue at the following link - https://ifad-cofinancing.org/ - or via IFAD website.

For more information, please contact Max Von Bonsdorff, Chief Partnership Officer at: m.vonbonsdorff@ifad.org, Denisa Butnaru, Partnership Officer at: d.butnaru@ifad.org, or Yinuo Sheng, Consultant at: y.sheng@ifad.org.

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Distinguished representatives,

 The Change, Delivery and Innovation Unit (CDI) at IFAD is pleased to announce that this year’s IFAD Innovation Day will be held on Wednesday 28 June.

CDI is currently welcoming proposals for sessions to be included in the event.

 Last year, the initiative featured 74 speakers and circa 800 people registered for the event (please see here 2022 IFAD Innovation Day at the IFAD ’22 Conference). The event, which was part of the IFAD’22 Conference, was ran in partnership with governments, the private sector and with the media patronage of RAI Television.

 Each session of the 2023 IFAD Innovation Day is expected to last for one hour. We give ownership and autonomy to the hosting partner on the structure that they wish to have but highly recommend that sessions include a high-level keynote speaker (e.g. Ministers, Ambassadors, globally-recognised experts such as Nobel Prize winners, etc.) and we require that content is aligned to the following:

-          UN Quintet of Change, which includes behavioural science;

-          IFAD’s definition and approach to innovation;

-          Presentation of use cases with data and evidence on impact.

This year, we will also have a “marketplace” to feature solutions that have potential for transformative impact in rural areas.

We look forward to engaging with anyone who is spearheading innovation in rural development and agriculture. For any further information, please feel free to write to: g.moralesguevara@ifad.org

Anyone interested in designing and holding a session at the event is welcome to submit proposals by Wednesday 29 March, by sending an email to innovation@ifad.org. Please include the following provisional details:

·         Title of the session

·         Abstract

·         Technical lead

·         Tentative agenda

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IFAD June Media and Digital Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

I am pleased to share the June media and digital impact report. As we have now passed the six-month mark of 2023, I would like to share an encouraging media outreach statistic. In the first six months of 2023, we doubled our media coverage compared to the same time period in 2022, going from 4,559 to 9,149 articles and interviews. We have also increased our presence in top-tier media outlets. For example, of the 2,293 times IFAD was referenced in media this month, 114 of those were in top-tier outlets.

IFAD’s engagement at the Paris New Global Financing Pact Summit provided high visibility and brought the voices of small-scale farmers to global leaders. For example, an op-ed from world leaders published in a number of notable media outlets including Le Monde, The Washington Post, The Guardian, South China Morning Post and Il Sole 24 Ore, called for increased financing to strengthen IFAD and other development banks. More than 740 articles mentioned or quoted IFAD at the Paris Summit, 28 articles were in top-tier media such as Associated Press, Le Monde, DevEx, The Washington Post, Les Echos, and Süddeutsche Zeitung.  An op-ed authored by IFAD’s President was featured in Newsweek.

IFAD’s presence and leadership at the G20 Agriculture Ministers meeting in New Delhi garnered over 400 media articles and IFAD13 was referenced in the G20 outcome document: “We look forward to an ambitious replenishment of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) resources at the end of the year by IFAD members, to support IFAD’s fight against food insecurity.” While IFAD’s attendance at the Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development in Nairobi, secured over 50 media articles and interviews including with BBC, CNBC and El Pais.

Innovation Day, IFAD’s partnership with the European Space Agency, the launch of the IFAD13 campaign film “A New Day” and the issuance of IFAD’s largest sustainable bond to date, were also of interest to media.

Best wishes,

Hélène Papper

Director, Global Communications and Advocacy

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IFAD May Media and Digital Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

I am pleased to share the May media and digital impact report. During the month, the President’s missions garnered a great deal of media attention around IFAD’s work as well as IFAD13 messaging calling for greater investment. For example, his visit to Kenya included a field visit that was the perfect opportunity to showcase IFAD’s impact on the ground as well as continue to advocate for rural communities. The outreach generated coverage in EFE, EL Pais, Kenya KTN television and The East African, while his visit to Canada was focused on building visibility and expanding on IFAD’s comparative advantage as a development partner of choice and resulted in interviews and feature stories in Canadian Press, the country’s leading news agency, Radio Canada, the Globe and Mail, Reuters and Farm Radio International.

Announcements related to IFAD-supported projects in Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil and Ethiopia and IFAD’s participation in the Italy-Latin America Agri-Food SMEs forum in Rimini (Italy) also made the news. Several media platforms including Rural 21 and DevEx Dish covered IFAD’s new initiative to reduce methane emissions by applying best-practise in agriculture. Two financial agreements were signed with EIB and the media release highlighted the added advantage of the partnership to advance investments in low- and middle-income African countries. It received solid media interest including in leading Brussels based news agency, Agence Europe. The announcement of the Global Citizen concert mentioning IFAD ahead of the Paris New Global Financial Pact Summit also generated substantial visibility. Our coverage in top-tier media continues to be important with IFAD strongly referenced in Bloomberg, Politico, Xinhua, EL Pais, La Vanguardia and others.

IFAD video news stories on Somalia food insecurity and climate were picked up by the BBC, Norwegian television NRK 1, the Italian TG Com 24, Asharq Bloomberg in the UAE, Turkey’s global network TRT and MBC South Korea.

Best wishes,

Hélène Papper

Director, Global Communications and Advocacy

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IFAD April Media and Digital Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

I am pleased to share the April media and digital impact report . In our effort to promote IFAD13 we made strides in increasing visibility in a variety of media markets, specifically in Japan, Germany, and the US. IFAD's strong participation at the G7, as well as in the Japan-IFAD Joint Statement and the Hiroshima Action Statement, garnered media attention and continued to put us on the map. Issuing a new bond to Germany’s HPK, participating in the European Innovation for Sustainability Summit, and the Global Citizen Now event kept us in the news and relevant to a global audience.

IFAD's presence in top-tier media continues to be significant, this month we were featured in The Economist, Forbes, Asahi, Devex, the Associated Press and El País to name a few. Besides sending out press releases and pitching media interviews, we also crafted and distributed video news releases. During the month, 82 broadcasters, including F24, Asharq Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, Sky TG24, ORF2 Bundesland and CGTN, transmitted IFAD impact stories over 215 times globally.

Meanwhile, our media team is working with ICT to build a media monitoring dashboard in Power BI that will help us to refine and better analyse the data we collect. The dashboard will feature a simplified and user-friendly interface to easily find media stats based on regions, countries, press releases, top-tier outlets and other relevant KPIs. So watch this space for more interesting data analysis.

Best wishes,

Hélène Papper

Director, Global Communications and Advocacy 

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IFAD March Media and Digital Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

I am happy to share the March Media and Digital Impact Report. IFAD visibility continues to be substantial and varied. We expanded our outreach in Australia and the Pacific, and in the US around participation in key events. Our engagement in the Pacific Week of Agriculture and Forestry and the UN Water Conference garnered media coverage across the two continents, including in Associated Press News and Australia Associated Press, both top-tier newswires. We also released video new releases around these events and received pick up from a number of international broadcasters including Italy’s Rai, TG1 and Canada’s CFMT.

 The media announcement of President Lario’s mission to Spain was well received and replicated. A number of media interviews were held during the visit, including with El Mundo, Spain’s second largest newspaper, which resulted in a feature story.

 A visit from the EU commissioner Jutta Urpilainen and joint press briefing and press release attracted interest from top-tier media including Le Figaro and newswire Agence Europe. An innovative IFAD-funded project in Bolivia, Colombia and Honduras that encourages young people in rural areas to post to TikTok and YouTube was launched and the news was widely picked up by newswire Agencia EFE, El Diario and others. And of course, our participation in International Women’s Day together with our sister agencies in Rome was also of interest to the media.

 These are a few of the visibility highlights, more information can be gleaned from the report. Many thanks to all the colleagues who worked with us to help expand our media outreach and increase our visibility across the globe.

Best wishes,

Hélène Papper

Director, Global Communications and Advocacy 

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IFAD February Media and Digital Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

I am happy to share the February Media and Digital Impact Report. IFAD visibility and outreach were steady and varied with much of our media attention captured around the 46th Governing Council (GC) meeting and, in particular, a press conference featuring IFAD’s President and the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. GC coverage generated IFAD-related stories in top-tier outlets such as AP News, Forbes, The Washington Post, Sky News, ABC Newsradio, Devex and BBC News. A video news release was also distributed during the GC and was picked up 151 times by broadcasters, among them were Africanews, BBC Arabic and CGTN Africa. Coverage in Italy was particularly strong and included articles in Adnkronos, ANSA, IL Sole 24 ore, La Repubblica, and L’Osservatore Romano. IFAD’s 13th Replenishment was also launched during the GC, kicking off our outreach campaign which is now underway and gaining momentum.

The Indigenous Peoples’ Forum hosted at IFAD included an audience with the Pope at the Vatican, which generated media attention. IFAD Goodwill Ambassadors, Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre Elba, also made news in February, bringing a great deal of visibility to IFAD when they were announced as winners of the TIME100 Impact Award. The video of their acceptance speech at the awards ceremony in Dubai was streamed on several news platforms, including TIME and Khaleej Times.

As always, my thanks to all those colleagues across the house who helped us make February such a success by providing critical information and taking part in interviews when asked.
 
Best wishes,
Hélène Papper
Director, Global Communications and Advocacy

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IFAD January Media and Digital Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

It is my special pleasure to share with you the January media and digital impact report. IFAD visibility and outreach were hugely successful in January as we captured media attention at the World Economic Forum in Davos and at the Dakar2 Feed Africa summit. We made a clear call to action to invest in small-scale farmers and our IFAD Goodwill Ambassadors Idris and Sabrina Dhowre Elba championed this call at Davos when they received the Crystal Award for their advocacy for IFAD and rural communities. The IFAD President had a number of media interviews together with the Elba’s and on his own, putting IFAD on the map at WEF like never before.

Our colleagues did remarkably well in the media this month, IFAD’s Financial Controller and Director Advit Nath wrote an op-ep and was interviewed by Coindesk, garnering media pick up from several outlets including Yahoo! Finance. Jyotsna Puri, Associate Vice President, Strategy and Knowledge Department, published in the Economic Times of India to name just a few of the media highlights.

All in all, we were featured in a number of top-tier media outlets including Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, CNBC, the Guardian, Sky News and Reuters. We reached 1,900 media articles for the month, a record number for the month of January.

Best wishes,

Hélène Papper

Director, Global Communications and Advocacy

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Dear IFAD Member State representatives,

The Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN) is conducting an assessment of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). MOPAN is a network of 22 members who have committed to conduct joint performance assessments of the major multilateral organisations that they fund.

MOPAN members use the outcomes of these assessments to, inter alia, inform strategic decision-making and their engagement with these organisations. Multilateral Organisations use MOPAN assessments to reflect on their performance, inform organisational learning activities and support their work with stakeholders.  

As an IFAD Member State representative, you are very well placed to provide feedback on the performance of IFAD. As such, we would like invite you to take part ion an online survey that MOPAN is carrying out.

To participate in the survey please register first at: [https://survey.mopanonline.org/2204?lang=en].

Once you have registered you will receive an invitation from the following email - MOPAN Secretariat <noreply@limesurvey.org> - containing a personalised link for you to access it.

If you do not receive an email from this address, we kindly ask you to check your “junk” or “spam” folder or contact MOPAN directly at survey@mopanonline.org.

The survey should take around 20 minutes to complete and it is available in Arabic, English, French and Spanish.  

All responses to this survey will be treated confidentially and analysed by MOPAN. IFAD will not know which representatives and organisations have responded to the survey. Data and findings will be shared in aggregate form only and included in the MOPAN assessment report of IFAD that can be sent to you upon request when available. 

We very much hope that you are able to take part so that your views can inform this performance review of IFAD. 

 Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact survey@mopanonline.org.  

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Executive Management Committee update

by Alvaro Lario

As you may be aware, Dominik Ziller, our Vice-President, has announced his decision to leave IFAD. His last day will be 28 February 2023.

During his time as Vice-President, Dominik has provided strong strategic direction to the institution, overseeing the critical functions of budget, quality assurance, enterprise risk management, change management and innovations, and ethics. He has championed improvements to how we ensure the quality of our programmes and projects, how we assess and manage risks, and how we do workforce planning in a more agile and forward looking way. Since he joined IFAD, I have appreciated Dominik’s leadership and dedication to the organization and its mandate, as well as being a fierce advocate of gender equality and work-life balance.

Dominik will continue to work with us for the next few months. Information regarding his successor will be communicated in due course.

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Appointment of Associate Vice-President, Financial Operations Department (AVP/FOD) ad interim

Further to Alvaro Lario taking office as President of IFAD, this is to inform the Membership that, as of 1 October 2022, the President has decided that Ms Katherine Meighan, Associate Vice-President, and General Counsel, takes up duties as Associate Vice-President, Financial Operations Department (AVP/FOD), a.i.

Ms Meighan will hold both positions until such time as the new AVP/FOD is appointed.

Appointment of Secretary of IFAD ad interim

Further to the departure of Mr Luis Jiménez-McInnis, this is to inform the Membership that as of 1 October 2022, the President has decided that Ms Deirdre Mc Grenra take up duties as Secretary of IFAD, a.i., until such time as the recruitment process for a new Secretary of IFAD has been completed.

Ms Mc Grenra has acted as Chief, Institutional Governance and Member Relations Office, since May 2018, and first joined the Office of the Secretary in 2003. From 2015 to 2018, she was Chief, Americas Liaison Office, in the Partnership and Resource Mobilization Division.

Ms Mc Grenra may be contacted by telephone at +39 06 5459 2374 and by e-mail at d.mcgrenra@ifad.org.

To read this communication in the other languages of the fund, please click on [French] [Spanish] [Arabic]

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IFAD December Media and Digital Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

 I am happy to share our December media and digital impact report. We closed a busy year with a number of media opportunities to reinforce our position as an organization that is in step with our partners, comes with solutions to the global food crisis and has a solid footprint on the ground.

The main highlights include the President’s mission to Madagascar which garnered quite a lot of media interest and our announcement of Germany’s increased pledges to the CRI and separately to IFAD’s Private Sector Financing Programme. The President had an opportunity to have an in-depth conversation with Spanish Voice of America (Voz de América) on food security, the effects of the war in Ukraine, and overall consequent effects on Latin America as well. We also had a number of media mentions in coverage of the African leaders meeting in Rome in December ahead of the African Food Summit (Dakar 2), which the President just attended in January. Additionally, we had a spike in media mentions in regards to the US-Africa Leaders' Summit in Washington DC as our Goodwill Ambassadors Idris and Sabrina Elba attended sessions at the Whitehouse.

A number of IFAD staff were quoted in the media and the President’s quote in EFE, with his hopes for the future, were picked up by several media outlets. COM also supported the remittance team with a number of press releases, to share news of our continued engagement plans in The Gambia and Cape Verde.

 Best wishes,

Hélène Papper

Director, Global Communications and Advocacy 

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IFAD November Media and Digital Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives, 

I am proud to share our November media and digital impact report. IFAD visibility and outreach were hugely successful last month as we rallied media around an urgent call for increased investment in climate adaptation, essential for small-scale farmers in their efforts to grow food and feed the world.  IFAD was featured in a number of top-tier media outlets including Bloomberg, CNBC, Le Monde, EFE, La Repubblica, FAZ, AP and Reuters. We reached over 2100 media pick-ups for the month, a record number this year.

Our participation at COP27 also provided an opportunity to formalise partnerships and reinforce our public profile as an aggregator of finance. We issued press releases and spoke to the media about our accords for additional funds - from Norway, Germany, the European Investment Bank, and our agreements to lead with the USA on the methane pledge, with Egypt on the Nexus for Water, Food and Energy, with the Italian Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, and with France to reinforce and our commitment at the Paris Peace Forum.

We also had the opportunity to tap into new (or renewed) media environments, as we supported the President’s mission to the field in Indonesia, his trip to the capital in Japan and his foray to the soccer field in Frosinone - as part of a new collaboration with the Italian Lega B football league. All these efforts paid off with increased global visibility and have helped us to pave the way towards IFAD13 by increasing our presence in several of IFAD's top 20 donor media markets.

Best wishes,

Hélène Papper

Director, Global Communications and Advocacy  

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IFAD October Media and Digital Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

I am delighted to share our October media and digital impact report. IFAD visibility enjoyed a huge boost this month with President Alvaro Lario taking the helm on 1 October, and commencing his first 100 days in office. As the new President, media were interested in his vision and plans for the organisation, especially as the world struggles with a global food, fuel and fertilizer crisis. He hit the ground running with a number of high-profile media interactions – including a feature piece in The Guardian, an interview with Reuters, El Pais and Bloomberg. All attracting additional media pick-up and interest.

Other influential moments were around World Food Day, the President’s mission to Cote d’Ivoire to attend the Finance in Common summit and went to the field, the launch of the SAPZ initiative in Nigeria, and when we shared the results of the Impact Assessment report via a press release.

We concluded the month shifting our focus to messaging around climate adaptation for small-scale farmers in run-up to COP27.

Best wishes,

Hélène Papper

Director, Global Communications and Advocacy

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IFAD September Media and Digital Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

I am very pleased to share our September media and digital impact report. Key visibility moments included the incoming President Alvaro Lario’s engagement at the United Nations General Assembly, his participation at AGRF (now rebranded as Africa’s Food Systems Forum), IFAD engagement at the Egypt Forum, and last but not least, the announcement of the new President taking the helm at IFAD on 1 October, announced on 30 September.

The IFAD President-elect's participation at AGRF and UNGA were good opportunities to highlight IFAD’s unique positioning in speaking to the multiple challenges that are contributing to a global food crisis - and specifically gave IFAD a chance to promote the role of small-scale producers in shaping and transforming food systems in order to feed the planet. As President-elect, September was a great month to begin preparing the terrain for a new IFAD President, and a refreshed push in global visibility.

Best wishes,
Hélène Papper
Director, Global Communications and Advocacy

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IFAD July/August Media and Digital Impact Report 

Distinguished Representatives,

I am very pleased to present you with a new Media and Digital Impact Report. sporting a revamped design and a honed focus. Our ability to gather and analyse the information most relevant and useful to you as our champions, as well as incorporate your feedback is key to us – and we want this report to evolve in step.

In the report you will find media mentions, digital and social content, a “focus” section and incorporation of both quantitative and qualitative measurements of impact. The release of the SOFI report on July 6 and the election of President Lario on July 7 at the Governing Council Special Session generated major media interest, with more than 750 articles published between 6 and 7 July. We would like to also highlight success in promoting IFAD’s work on the ground (particularly for Belize, Cameroon, Nigeria and Pakistan, as well as AATI) and strong interviews with IFAD managers that appeared in global top-tier media –from the BBC to CNBC.

We hope you find this a useful and encouraging report format – and we look forward to your feedback.

Best wishes,
Hélène Papper
Director, Global Communications and Advocacy 

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IFAD Mango application

Distinguished Representatives,

The Office of the Secretary is pleased to draw your attention to IFAD Mango – IFAD’s Meeting Application for Networking on Governance. The app allows representatives to access documentation and information related to IFAD’s meetings and events, including accessing the meeting calendar and IFAD’s social media. The app also allows users to search, download and annotate documents.

You are encouraged to use the application on your personal devices, by downloading it for iOS and Android.

You may view a short video on the IFAD Mango application by clicking on this link.

For any queries, please contact the Institutional Governance and Member Relations unit at igmr@ifad.org.

Highest consideration,

Office of the Secretary

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Excellencies,

We are sharing, for information purposes, a brochure with answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub. The brochure contains details on the establishment and the operations of the Hub as of May 2022.

To read this communication in all official languages, please click on the following hyperlinks:

[Arabic] - [English] - [French] - [Spanish]

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IFAD February Media Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

I am very pleased to share with you the February Media Impact Report. The release of the IPCC Report this month was an important opportunity to position IFAD as a key thought leader on climate adaptation and to convey our message that adaptation finance for small-scale farmers needs to urgently increase. Top-tier media had the opportunity to see the impacts of adaptation finance at an IFAD-supported project in Senegal, and IFAD experts were directly quoted by media in response to the report’s findings. IFAD was featured in Reuters, TIME magazine, Le Monde, Radio France and other influential outlets. The Governing Council meeting, the President’s participation in the EU-AU Summit and the joint visit of IFAD’s President and the Norwegian Minister of International Development to Malawi were also important media opportunities that put the needs of rural small-scale farmers in the global spotlight.  

I hope you enjoy the report.

Best,
Hélène Papper
Director, Global Communications

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IFAD January Media Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

I am very pleased to share with you the January Media Impact Report. From coverage of the Rural Development Report launch in China to video stories of young farmers deciding to not migrate from El Salvador, IFAD’s impact on the ground remains in the media spotlight, and our experts continue to be well-positioned as key thought leaders on addressing rural poverty and hunger.
 
I hope you enjoy the report.

Best,
Hélène Papper
Director, Global Communications

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IFAD December Media Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

I am very pleased to share with you the December Media Impact Report, which is a bit delayed due to the festive season. December rounded out an exceptional year for media. In 2021, IFAD was featured in more than 18,100 media stories. This is an increase of more than 35% compared to 2019. IFAD experts featured regularly in top-tier and influential media outlets throughout the year, helping to position IFAD’s thought leadership on rural poverty, food security and climate adaptation.

I hope you enjoy the report.

Best,

Hélène Papper

Director, Global Communications

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IFAD November Media Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

November was one of IFAD’s busiest media months, with COP26 giving us the opportunity to further position our experts and spokespeople as thought leaders who attract global media attention. Our call to increase financing for climate adaptation was featured prominently in a range of top-tier outlets with an estimated audience of more than 4 billion people. The LAC Panorama Report and the President’s visit to Côte D’Ivoire were also other important media moments.
 
Enjoy this month's media impact report.

Highest consideration,

Hélène Papper
Director, Global Communications

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IFAD October Media Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

I am very pleased to share with you the October Media Impact Report, which comes with a bit of a delay due to our focus on COP26 activities. Throughout the year, IFAD has featured prominently in top-tier and influential global and national outlets and October was no exception. With the Finance in Common Summit, the Executive Board visit to Egypt and the lead up to COP26, IFAD was well-positioned as a thought leader on rural poverty, food security and climate adaptation, and we helped to ensure that the experiences and challenges of rural small-scale farmers were in the global spotlight.  
I hope you enjoy the report.

Highest consideration,
Hélène Papper
Director, Global Communications

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RURAL DEVELOPMENT REPORT (RDR) 2021

 Transforming food systems for rural prosperity

 Distinguished Representatives,

I am very pleased to share with you the Rural Development Report 2021.

The vision of this report is one of change driven by a new generation of rural agri-food entrepreneurs who have the support and the tool to diversity their livelihood and drive rural prosperity for all.

IFAD’s top recommendations to transform food systems for rural prosperity include:

•  Focus on off-farm enterprises through investments in agri-food midstreams enterprises and systems.

•  Enhance productivity of small-scale producers within planetary boundaries through nature-based solutions and knowledge-based agriculture.

• Invest in transformative social protection.

• Usemarkets, devise rule and regulations as drivers for equitable, inclusive and resilient systems.

• Remove distortions to ensure prices of food reflect the true costs of production, including environmental and social costs.

 The full report can be accessed at the RDR microsite: https://www.ifad.org/en/rural-development-report/

 Highest consideration,

Jo Puri
Associate Vice-President, Strategy and Knowledge Department (SKD)

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COP26 - Message to Member States

Distinguished Representatives,

The countdown to COP26 (31 Oct – 12 Nov) has begun and IFAD will be there. This is a critical moment in global efforts to tackle climate change, and to position the needs of small-scale farmers at the centre of climate financing discussions. I hope that you will share our communications content and become champions for IFAD and small-scale farmers during this time, and support our efforts to increase climate adaptation funding to create more resilient food systems.

I invite you to browse our dedicated event microsite to find out more about IFAD’s participation at COP26 and encourage you to register to attend one or more of our Pavilion events. In addition, the platform provides a curation of climate-related explainers, stories, blogs, news and publications.

You can support IFAD by helping spread the word on your social media channels about the importance of putting small-scale farmers at the heart of the climate change discussions. Explore our full social media package for suggested posts, photographs, videos, animations, suggested reads and more.

I also encourage you to promote our call to increase investments in climate adaptation for small-scale farmers by sharing one of the following messages on your Twitter account, tagging @ifad. You can also adapt the tweet as you see fit.

· Climate change is happening right now and affecting small-scale farmers the most. [@your name/organization] joins @IFAD’s call to increase investments in #ClimateAdaptation and help the people behind our plates be more resilient. #COP26

· Climate finance should reach the people who need it the most. [@your name/organization] joins @IFAD’s call to put small-scale farmers on top of the list. #ActOnClimate#COP26

· Small-scale farmers grow ⅓ of the world’s food, but only receive 1.7% of tracked climate finance. We must mobilise public and private finance to support those on the frontlines of the climate crisis. @IFAD#ActOnClimate#COP26

You can find accompanying graphic cards to be shared along with your tweet in this folder.

Thank you for playing a role in supporting this critical work. The future of our food systems and survival of many rural farmers depends to a large part on what happens in the next few weeks.

Highest Consideration,
Hélène Papper
Director, Global Communications and Advocacy

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New Appointment Announcements

By Gilbert F. Houngbo

I am happy to announce that Ms Katherine Meighan, a United States national who joined IFAD in December 2017, has been promoted to AVP. From 1 October 2021, Katie will deliver functions as General Counsel and AVP. During the past years, as member of the EMC, Katie has been key to shaping IFAD’s strategic vision to double and deepen impact for the rural poor, and, with the strong LEG team, she has led key IFAD transformation activities, including private sector finance, the ABC Fund, the IFAD credit rating, and amendments to IFAD’s basic legal instruments.

I am also happy to share that Mr Alberto Cogliati, a national of Italy who joined IFAD in September 2020, has been promoted to Associate Vice-President (AVP) of IFAD’s Office of Enterprise Risk Management (RMO). Before joining IFAD, Alberto was the Chair of the IFAD Executive Board Audit Committee. 

Please join me in congratulating Katie and Alberto on their promotions and wishing them the best in their new paths at IFAD.

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Digital RIDE

Distinguished Representatives,

IFAD presented the report on its Development Effectiveness, the RIDE, at the 133rd session of the Executive Board, held in September 2021. The report is now available in a new, more dynamic online format at this link: https://www.ifad.org/ride-report/. The website displays information in a more graphic and intuitive way, which facilitates reading and allows for analysing the data behind the analysis. We therefore hope to make IFAD’s results more accessible both for Member States, as well as for people generally interested in IFAD’s contribution to SDG 1 and 2, and rural transformation more broadly.

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IFAD September Media Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

I am pleased to share with you the Media Impact Report for September. The Food Systems Summit and launch of the Rural Development Report, amongst other media moments, resulted in more than 2,800 media stories about IFAD, its mandate and impact. Numerous IFAD staff made themselves available for media interviews which featured prominently in top tier and influential media outlets across the globe. We are increasingly recognised as a thought leader on food security, poverty, and environmental issues.

Highest consideration,
Hélène Papper
Director, Global Communications

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Fitch Affirms International Fund for Agricultural Development at 'AA+'; Outlook Stable

IFAD has completed its first annual credit rating review process after the initial rating was released in October 2020. On 29 September 2021, Fitch Ratings confirmed IFAD’s very strong AA+ rating, while also maintaining its Stable outlook. This is an excellent result for the Fund and its beneficiaries, highlighting the continued exceptional efforts being put forward by all staff in carrying out IFAD’s mission.

We invite you to take a look at the full Fitch press release here.

___________________________________________________________________IFAD August Media Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

I am very pleased to share with you the August edition of the Media Impact Report. Taken collectively, this summer has seen more media coverage of IFAD than ever before, with the relevance of our mission, impact of our work and our thought leadership garnering increasing global attention.

In case you missed the July Media Impact Report over the holidays, IFAD featured in over 3,800 media stories, which is an all-time record.

Highest consideration,
Hélène Papper
Director, Global Communications

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New Appointment Announcements

By Gilbert F. Houngbo

It gives me great pleasure to announce the appointment of two new Associate Vice-Presidents. Ms Satu Santala, from Finland, has been appointed Associate Vice-President (AVP) of the External Relations and Governance Department (ERG), while Ms Jyotsna Puri, from India, has been appointed Associate Vice-President of the Strategy and Knowledge Department (SKD).

Satu, who will come on board as AVP, ERG, on 1 December, joins us from the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, where she is currently working as Director General of the Department of Development Policy. She has represented Finland in replenishment negotiations for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), World Bank/IDA, and served on the GCF board. Prior to her current role, Satu was Executive Director from Finland at the World Bank (2013-2016) where she represented Nordic and Baltic countries. Earlier in her career, Satu held several positions in Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including: Director, Unit for Development Finance Institutions; Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Finland, Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania; and Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Finland, New Delhi, India. She has also worked with the Finnish Red Cross. Satu holds a Master of Political Science, International Public Law & Development Studies from the Åbo Akademi in Finland. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with a good book, garden tools or her camera in her hand. Satu is married and has three grown children as well as two dogs.

Jyotsna or “Jo”, as she is already known by everyone at IFAD, has been working as Director, Environment, Climate, Gender and Social Inclusion Division (ECG), since November 2020, and will come on board as AVP, SKD on 8 September. Before coming to IFAD, Jo was Head of the Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU) at the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in Incheon, Korea. She has also worked as Deputy Executive Director of the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) in New Delhi, India, where her responsibilities included fund raising and outreach, and as an associate research scientist at the Earth Institute at Columbia University, New York. Currently she is also adjunct faculty at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, where she teaches development impact evaluation. Jo has published numerous academic and newspaper articles in the areas of climate change, evaluation and smallholder agriculture. In 2020, Jo was recognized by the Global Landscapes Forum as one of 16 women global leaders leading the work on restoring the earth. She holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Agriculture and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland, USA, and an M.A. in Development Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, India. In her free time, she likes to run and bike while listening to geeky podcasts related to behavioural science and complexity.  

Please join me in welcoming Satu and Jo to their new positions. I wish them both the greatest success at IFAD!

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IFAD Vacancy Announcement

This is to inform that the following professional vacancy announcement within IFAD (https://www.ifad.org/who/job/overview) is now advertised and open for external applications.

Director, Asia and the Pacific Division, D-1, Rome - deadline: 22 September 2021

Please note that eligibility of former representatives of Member States on the IFAD Executive Board, who ceased their responsibilities as such and wish to seek, apply for or take up any appointment as IFAD staff may do so only after a six-month period has elapsed after the effective date of cessation of such responsibilities.  

Member States are encouraged to circulate this vacancy announcement to qualified nationals.

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IFAD July Media Impact Report

Distinguished Representatives,

I am very pleased to share with you a record-breaking July edition of the Media Impact Report. In this month, we achieved the highest-ever number of media stories featuring IFAD. The SOFI Report, the Food Systems pre-Summit and the launch of the PFSP, amongst other media moments, were pivotal opportunities to position IFAD and the relevance of our mission and messaging in top-tier and influential media outlets.

Thank you to all of you for playing a key role in championing our great institution. We hope you enjoy the latest report.

Highest consideration,
Hélène Papper
Director, Global Communications

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IFAD Vacancy Announcement

This is to inform that the following professional vacancy announcement within IFAD (https://www.ifad.org/who/job/overview) is now advertised and open for external applications.

Director, Human Resources Division, D-1 / D-2, Rome - deadline: 5 September 2021

Please note that eligibility of former representatives of Member States on the IFAD Executive Board, who ceased their responsibilities as such and wish to seek, apply for or take up any appointment as IFAD staff may do so only after a six-month period has elapsed after the effective date of cessation of such responsibilities.  

Member States are encouraged to circulate this vacancy announcement to qualified nationals.

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Distinguished Representatives,

As the Food Systems Pre-Summit – in which IFAD is leading on long-term innovative  solutions to strengthen our food systems – comes to a close, it is my pleasure to share with you IFAD’s Annual Report 2020. The Report showcases how our work and our niche expertise continue to deliver on ensuring the poorest people in rural areas across the globe will not be left behind. We believe this will be an important input to the discussions coming out of the pre-Summit, as we continue to build momentum ahead of the main Summit.

Responding to the challenges of a year like no other: IFAD’s 2020 Annual Report We began 2020 with a sense of urgency. We needed to get on track to end hunger and poverty by 2030. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

IFAD’s 2020 Annual Report details how we responded to the challenges of a unique year. It describes our immediate response to the pandemic as we worked with governments to adjust existing projects to protect participants from the expected socio-economic impacts. And it contains the perspectives of the rural people we worked with as the pandemic spread across the globe.  

2020 was not only about dealing with the immediate effects of an unprecedented crisis – it was also about laying the foundation for a more resilient and inclusive post-COVID world. Our Annual Report describes how this has meant revamping our financial infrastructure so we can invest more and reach more rural people. 2020 was a historic year in this regard: we made our first investment in a private sector entity, with an investment of US$9 million in the Agri-Business Capital (ABC) Fund; and we became the first UN agency to receive a public credit rating.

Building towards a more resilient post-COVID world also means going even further to reach the rural people who, for different reasons, are most at risk of being left behind. Our 2020 Annual Report presents new and updated tools that we are using in our work with indigenous peoples, women, youth, and persons with disabilities. And it contains videos and testimonials highlighting the perspectives of the rural people with whom we partner. As you will be aware, innovation is at the centre of all this work. Indeed, as the challenges facing rural people become more complex and entwined, the solutions necessarily must become more sophisticated. Cutting-edge technologies – like new early-warning systems and mobile solar power – are gaining prominence in IFAD’s work, as reflected in many of the examples highlighted in the Report.This work – and the need to amplify the voices of rural people – is resonating with ever greater numbers and we are pleased that inclusion was a major topic of discussion at this week’s Pre-Food Systems Summit.We invite you to browse through the report to learn more and to hear first hand accounts from the rural people whose lives are being changed by IFAD-supported projects. Below are links to the digital versions of the report in all IFAD languages. You can also do your part by sharing stories about IFAD’s work on social media. You can find video content and suggested posts for sharing here.

• https://www.ifad.org/en/ar2020/
• https://www.ifad.org/es/ar2020/
• https://www.ifad.org/fr/ar2020/
• https://www.ifad.org/ar/ar2020

To view this communication in official languages, click here [Arabic] [French] [Spanish]

Highest consideration,

Office of the Secretary

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Distinguished Representatives,

I am pleased to share with you IFAD’s Media Impact Report which will be available each month on the Member States Interactive Platform. As the report highlights, IFAD has an extensive and growing media presence across the globe, which underpins its strong results, growing visibility and relevance.

Thank you all for playing a key role in championing our great institution. We hope you enjoy this new and evolving format, with multilingual versions coming soon.

Highest consideration,
Hélène Papper
Director, Global Communications

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Member States Interactive Platform New Feature

The Office of the Secretary of IFAD is pleased to announce the launch of a privacy policy feature on the Member States Interactive Platform (MSIP). This feature is designed to enhance communication with and among representatives.

As of 22 March, when accessing ‘My Area’ on MSIP for the first time, representatives will be invited to authorize the Office of the Secretary of IFAD to share their contact details with other representatives upon request. The following message will appear:

The Office of the Secretary of IFAD seeks your consent to be included in an IFAD Representatives’ mailing list. This mailing list would be maintained by the Office of the Secretary of IFAD and would be shared with Representatives upon request with the intention of facilitating communications among members.

Representatives will have the option to agree or disagree. Representatives may choose to change a preference at any given time, and as often as they wish, by clicking on the Privacy Policy Agreement tab in the ‘My Area’ page.

Highest consideration,

Office of the Secretary

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Guidance on the Payment of IFAD12 Replenishment Contributions

This note provides guidance to Member States that have announced their replenishment contributions to IFAD12, and wish to proceed with the payment of such contributions, or formalise the commitment to pay their contributions by depositing an instrument of contribution. 

To read this communication in all official languages, please click on the following hyperlinks: 

[Arabic] [English] [French] [Spanish]

Highest consideration,

Office of the Secretary

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Executive Management Committee updates

by Gilbert Houngbo

As you may be aware, two of our Associate Vice-Presidents (AVP) have announced their decision to leave IFAD. 

Marie Haga, the AVP, External Relations and Governance (ERG), whose experience and leadership were instrumental in IFAD’s twelfth replenishment, will be leaving us over the summer. Thanks to the work of Marie, her team and many IFAD staff and friends, IFAD has reached its highest replenishment target ever. Marie has communicated to me her difficulty and sadness in coming to the decision to leave IFAD, which is based primarily on her family situation made more challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, to be closer to home she decided to accept a recent job opportunity. She chose to wait until after the GC and the fourth replenishment (pledging session) meeting to share her decision with me to allow us to be fully focused on this important milestone for IFAD. I regret that Marie has decided to leave our organization but I am pleased that she will remain with us until 31 July.

At the beginning of the week, Meike Van Ginneken, AVP, Strategy and Knowledge Department (SKD), also informed me of her plans to leave IFAD in July. Since she joined us, I have appreciated Meike’s leadership and commitment to our mission as well as to SKD and corporate matters. I know that Meike’s decision to leave did not come easily for her. She expressed to me some of the challenges she felt she was facing and I sincerely appreciate the frank and open discussion we had before accepting her resignation.

Both Marie and Meike will continue to work with all of us for the next few months. During this period, I have full confidence that we will continue to work together to stay focused on the 2021 corporate and departmental priorities agreed during the latest EMC retreat. All measures will be put in place to ensure business continuity including, if necessary, ad interim arrangements.

Marie and Meike’s leadership will be missed by all of us, and I know for certain the EMC will greatly miss their strong contributions to its robust and candid deliberations.  Additionally, while these two departures set us back temporarily in our ambition to ensure gender parity in our leadership structure and across the house, let me restate that I remain entirely committed to ensuring diversity and gender balance in IFAD’s Leadership team, and indeed across the organization, as we embark on the recruitment process.  

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New Appointment Announcement

By Gilbert F. Houngbo

I am pleased to advise that Mr Indran Naidoo, a national of South Africa, has taken up his duties as Director of IFAD’s Independent Office of Evaluation (IOE), effective 1 March 2021. 

Indran is a globally experienced evaluation thought leader and manager who brings over 25 years of experience in the field. He has held several senior positions, most recently as the Director of the Independent Evaluation Office of UNDP (2012-2020), where he led the evaluation function to become one of the largest and most expansive evaluation programmes in the UN system. Prior to joining UNDP, Indran served as the Deputy Director-General of Monitoring and Evaluation at the Public Service Commission of South Africa, the country’s constitutional oversight body.

Indran holds a D. Phil (Evaluation) from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa and Master’s degree in Geography (Distinction) from West Virginia University, USA. He has published widely and made keynotes at most continental and global evaluation and development events.

Please join us in wishing Indran all the best in his new assignment at IFAD.

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Distinguished Representatives, 

Please click here to read a message on Group of Friends of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021 (GoFFSS): Invitation and save-the dates for new meetings of the GoFFSS in March and April 2021.  

Coffee Table Book Launch - The People Behind Your Plate

Distinguished Representatives,

Rural women and men are at the heart of our sustainable future. They are the foundation of the food systems that provide nutritious food for us all.

The people you will meet in this virtual coffee table book are all participants in IFAD projects, and come from some of the world’s most fragile and remote communities. Their stories are unique, but they will resonate because they speak of challenges we all share as we seek to build a more sustainable future for ourselves, our families and our world.

The book is organized around the “5 Ps” of people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships. The work that rural people do, including growing food and taking care of precious natural resources, is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda.

The Sustainable Development Goals outline 17 areas for eliminating poverty and hunger, protecting the planet, and promoting peace and prosperity. These priorities are fundamental to the transformation of rural areas. These stories show how IFAD is investing in rural people to support their efforts, knowledge and skills, as they help to solve some of the world’s most urgent challenges.

Browse the digital flip book here.

Distinguished Representatives, 

Please click below to read the invitation letter for the CFS Side Event: Transforming Agricultural Innovation for Climate, Nature and People – evidence insights for COP26 and the UN Food Systems Summit.

[English] [French] [Spanish] 

Distinguished Representatives, 

Please click below to read the letter from the President of IFAD on the Food Systems Summit Dialogues 

[Arabic] [English] [French] [Spanish]

Distinguished Governors,

Here is an update from the President to Member States regarding IFAD12 pledging. 

(Arabic) (English) (French) (Spanish)

Distinguished representatives,

The Food Systems Summit

Distinguished Representatives,

On behalf of The Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for The Food Systems Summit, please find the Information Note December 2020 here.

Distinguished Representatives,

IFAD becomes first United Nations fund to receive a credit rating, providing a boost to the world’s poorest people

Read the Standard & Poor's press release here

Read the Fitch press release here

Read the IFAD press release here [Arabic] [English] [French] [Spanish]

Distinguished Representatives,

Please find below a message from the Co-Conveners of the Rome based informal Group of Friends of the UN Food Systems Summit (GoFFSS)

GoFFSS Workshop "Action Track Days",   30 October to 05 November - Chairs´ Summaries

To the Permanent Representatives of the Rome based UN Agencies

Please find attached Chairs´ Summaries of the discussions on Action Tracks (AT) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, held at the Group of Friends of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021 (GoFFSS) Workshop “Action Track Days” from 30 October to 05 November. In line with Chatham House Rules,  they summarize the discussions under each AT during the workshop without revealing the identity or the affiliation of the speakers, irrespective if  consensus was reached. The individual summary also does not highlight only one singular view expressed, but rather one that was raised  by several participants during the meeting and therefore had a certain feasible resonance in the group. The Chairs´ Summaries are produced under the responsibility of the individual Chairs of the respective AT-workshop discussion and are not subject to negotiation. However, if someone wishes to comment on a Chair´s Summary, we will be pleased to attach the comments to the Chair´s Summary as an annex. 

 Subsequently we will be sharing  the Chairs´ Summaries with the respective AT Chairs and Co-Coordinators of the Sub Groups of the Scientific Group as well as with the Special Envoy and the Chair of the Advisory Committee for their information.

Sincerely Yours

Hisham Badr, Alexandra Bugailiskis, Hans Hoogeveen, Benito Jimenez, Malik Melvin, Ulrich Seidenberger, Khalid Mehboob, Marie Haga

(Co-Conveners of the Rome based informal Group of Friends of the UN Food Systems Summit)

Chairs´ Summaries: Action Track 1, Action Track 2, Action Track 3, Action Track 4, Action Track 5

Food Systems Summit 2021

Distinguished Representatives,

Please click below for communications regarding the Food Systems Summit Dialogues.

Letter from the Deputy Secretary-General to Permanent Representatives of Member States to the United Nations Organizations in Rome, Letter from the Deputy Secretary-General to Permanent Missions in New York, Food Systems Summit Dialogues Timeline, Outline of the Programme for Food Systems Summit Dialogues 

Food Systems Summit 2021

Distinguished Representatives,

Please click here to read the quarterly Information Note for the Food Systems Summit 2021

Distinguished Representatives,

IFAD becomes first United Nations fund to receive a credit rating, providing a boost to the world’s poorest people

Read the IFAD press release here [Arabic] [English] [French] [Spanish]

Read the Fitch press release here

Distinguished Representatives,

Spotlight on Rural Women – Key Leaders in Global Resilience. 

SAVE THE DATE: 15 OCTOBER 2020, 15.30-16.30 CEST

PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EVENT.

COVID-19 Updates (September)

Highlights

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve globally, with varying levels of transmission in different regions of the world. While the potential for COVID-19 to adversely impact poor rural communities remains high, IFAD continues to work toward solutions that will ensure no one is left behind.

 Latest news:

 Sweden commits funds to IFAD to help avert COVID-19 food crisis

The Government of Sweden has generously donated SEK 50 million (approx. US$5.7 million) to IFAD’s Rural Poor Stimulus Facility, a rapid-response fund for COVID-19 relief. Thanks to donations like these, IFAD can help prevent food crises in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities in the wake of COVID-19. Read more.

A call for proposals to support post-COVID-19 food security and resilience through South-South and Triangular Cooperation launched on 28 August

The China-IFAD South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) Facility has launched a call for proposals for innovative solutions to help national governments respond to, and recover from, the impacts of COVID-19 on food security. The Facility is committed to supporting IFAD’s global response to COVID-19 by designating funds to support building back better, more resilient societies. Read more.

Mobile phones to help 1.7 million small-scale farmers increase production during COVID-19 economic slowdown

In partnership with Precision Agriculture for Development, a global not-for-profit organization co-founded by Nobel Prize−winning economist Michael Kremer, IFAD will deliver personalized agricultural advice to 1.7 million small-scale farmers across Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan via mobile phone technology. This innovative undertaking is one of 11 proposals that have received initial funding under IFAD’s Rural Poor Stimulus Facility. Read more.

Other news:

Gradual Return to IFAD Headquarters Offices – Phase Three

On 24 August, IFAD’s Executive Management Committee agreed to begin the third phase of the gradual return to headquarters offices as of 14 September, based on a cautious and risk-averse approach to ensure the safety and health of all personnel.Phase 3 expects an increase of full-day on-site personnel from 130 to 150, with the potential for a maximum of 200 on-site personnel. Colleagues on-site will continue to be able to work in teams on a rotational basis.

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Holding on: IFAD-supported programme sustains assets – and rural livelihoods

When COVID-19 struck rural Pakistan, many participants in IFAD’s National Poverty Graduation Programme (NPGP) worried that they might have to sell off their livestock and other assets just to make ends meet. IFAD extended a hand through its new NPGP-Plus initiative, contributing extra income support that helped these participants keep their businesses running. Read more.

Podcast Episode 11 – Coping with COVID-19: Building Farmers’ Resilience

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues on, many people around the world, including small-scale farmers, are learning how to cope with its various effects. In this episode, we hear from representatives of IFAD-supported projects across the world that are helping farmers build their resilience. Read more.

Shining the development spotlight on youth

Youth around the world, especially those in rural areas, have long faced difficulties in finding gainful employment – and COVID-19 has only exacerbated these challenges. IFAD’s newly published Practitioner’s Guide for Mainstreaming Youth in IFAD Operations seeks to address these realities, laying out a framework for centering the needs of youth in IFAD’s work. Read more.

Indigenous youth in agriculture during COVID-19

The indigenous youth in Koraput, a rural district in the Indian state of Odisha, have managed to keep their work alive – and stay healthy – throughout the lockdown, thanks to the training and support they’ve received from IFAD’s Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility. Read more.

Bloomberg Green Festival

Please join us tomorrow -  Friday, 18 September 2020 - for a very special IFAD12 Spotlight live event and media broadcast at the virtual Bloomberg Green Festival.

The Bloomberg Green Festival looks to redefine the rapidly evolving climate agenda to provoke debate, spotlight solutions and optimize the most transformative solutions. The five-day festival will feature a mix of panels, presentations, fireside chats, and interactive elements. The audience includes a cross-section of companies, business leaders and young professionals focused on core issues of action in the climate era.

IFAD 12 special event: Feed the Future

IFAD and Global Citizen have teamed up with Bloomberg Green to host a special IFAD12 virtual event called Feed the Future which will look at the changing nature of food security in the context of climate change during the COVID-19 pandemic and will feature leading voices working at the forefront of environmental change and food security advocacy and action.

This is the first of many upcoming IFAD12 high visibility events and media opportunities this fall in which Member States can show their leadership and commitment to our mandate and IFAD12 replenishment.

Session Date: 18 September 2020

Time: 3 p.m. Rome. 9 am EDT

Our distinguished speakers include:

·    Gilbert Houngbo, President, IFAD

·    Aksel Jakobsen, State Secretary of International Development, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

·    Sabrina Elba, Actress, Model, and IFAD Goodwill Ambassador

·    Monika Froehler, CEO, Ban Ki-moon Centre

·    Moderator: Mick Sheldrick, Co-Founder and Chief Policy and Government Relations Officer, Global Citizen.

The session offers strong visibility for IFAD and our replenishment and will run globally on Bloomberg terminals, Bloomberg TV in the US, as well as the Bloomberg Live website and social platforms.

To watch live, please visit the Bloomberg Green and create an account here:

https://events.bloomberglive.com/bloomberg-green-festival

Other panel and event speakers include Bill Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Ursula von der Leyen, President, European Commission, CEO Google, Governor Gina Raimondo, Governor, State of Rhode Island, Rostin Behnam, Commissioner, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder, Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and more.

Celebrities attending include Matt Damon, Ted Danson, Dr. Jane Goodall, Robert Redford and others. A full list of speakers and attendees can be found here.

Event website: https://events.bloomberglive.com/bloomberg-green-festival/home

We hope you will share this special event with your networks and tune in for what should be a vibrant and important discussion.

On social media please follow @IFAD and @BloombergLive and tweet with the hashtag (s) #BloombergGreen, #InvestinRuralPeople and #FundAgriculture

COVID-19 UPDATE

Distinguished Representatives,

Your attention is kindly drawn to the following COVID-19 update.

Please also visit the following link to see lessons learned as the COVID-19 crisis unfolds: https://www.ifad.org/en/web/knowledge/publication/asset/42023706

Food Systems Summit 2021 UPDATE

Please read the Follow Up to the High-Level-Meeting of the Rome based Membership informal Group of Friends for the UN Food Systems Summit ( GoFFSS) 2021 with the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, on 14 July here.

Food Systems Summit 2021 UPDATE

Distinguished Representatives,

Your attention is kindly drawn to the following update:

An Information Note, a Summit Overview Presentation and a Summit Overview.

COVID-19 UPDATE

Distinguished Representatives,

Your attention is kindly drawn to the following COVID-19 update.

RBAs COVID-19 Responses - Webinar

Distinguished Representatives,

The three United Nations Rome-based agencies (RBAs) are pleased to invite you to a 2-day Lightning Talks event on Bridging Research and Policy Responses to COVID-19: Value Chain, Food Security, Women, Youth and Vulnerable Groups.

The second webinar will take place on 19 June 2020 at 5 p.m. (CEST).

View the recording of the 12 June 2020 event and read more about the 19 June 2020 event here.

UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech

Distinguished Representatives,

You are invited to read a letter from the President of IFAD to the United Nations Secretary-General informing of IFAD’s intention to contribute to the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech. Please click here to read.

RBA Senior Consultative Group - Follow-up session on COVID-19

Distinguished Representatives,

Please click here to read this message.

COVID-19 UPDATE

Distinguished Representatives,

Your attention is kindly drawn to the following COVID-19 update: https://webapps.ifad.org/members/events/29/05/20/docs/COVID-19-Update-for-Member-States.pdf.

EVENT - IFAD and WEF - Protecting food security during COVID-19

29 May 2020, 19:00-20:00 CEST

On Friday, 29 May, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and IFAD will host a special event and online briefing on food security in times of COVID-19. The event will be led by the leadership from IFAD and the UN Goodwill Ambassadors for IFAD, Idris and Sabrina Dhowre Elba.

The event will take place at 13:00 New York Time/ 18:00 British Summer Time/ 19:00 Central European Summer Time this Friday, 29 May.

On Friday, view the event live on WEF's platform via this link: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/how-is-covid-19-affecting-food-security/ as well as on the IFAD event page here.

EVENT BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic could see more than a quarter of a billion people suffering from acute hunger by the end of the year, unless swift action is taken to ensure food supply chains keep running.

The arrival of the novel coronavirus has exacerbated what was already a huge global challenge. Before the pandemic, more than 820 million people were suffering from hunger, including 110 million who were living with acute food insecurity.

About 80 per cent of the world’s poorest and most food insecure people live in remote rural areas, many working in small-scale agriculture.

Restrictions on movement and trade mean that they cannot access markets, threatening both their lives and their livelihoods.

Concern is highest for those in countries across Africa and the Middle East as the virus threatens the agricultural and informal trading networks they rely on for survival.

 Panel:

·       Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development

·       Sean de Cleene, Head of Future of Food; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum​

·       Sara Mbago-Bhunu, Director of IFAD's East and Southern Africa Division

 Joined by:

·       Idris Elba, Actor, Humanitarian and IFAD Goodwill Ambassador

·       Sabrina Dhowre Elba, Actress, Model and IFAD Goodwill Ambassador

 Moderated by:

·       Adrian Monck, Managing Director, World Economic Forum

COVID-19: IFAD’s Response

Distinguished Representatives,

We are pleased to share with you a recent Op-Ed authored by Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe, former Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Both are IFAD Special Envoys engaged to mobilize support and advocate for greater investment in rural areas.

The Op-Ed may be viewed at the following links [English] and [French].

Highest consideration.

RBA Senior Consultative Group - Special session on COVID-19

Distinguished Representatives,

Please click here to read this message.

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 AND IFAD’S RESPONSE

Distinguished Representatives,

Your attention is kindly drawn to the following documentation providing details on the impact of COVID-19 on IFAD’s beneficiaries and IFAD’s response. Please click here to read this message in the official languages of the Fund.

• Letter from the President of IFAD [Arabic] [English] [French] [Spanish]

• IFAD’s Strategic Response to COVID-19 Crisis - Contributing to the global response to COVID-19 [Arabic] [English] [French] [Spanish]

• Preventing the COVID-19 crisis becoming a food crisis - IFAD’s Rural Poor Stimulus Facility (RPSF) [Arabic] [English] [French] [Spanish]

 Please click here to read this text in the official languages of the Fund.

 Highest consideration,

 Office of the Secretary of IFAD

Important communication on forthcoming meetings of IFAD’s governing bodies

Distinguished Representatives,

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, measures have been taken in close consultation with the List Convenors to ensure business continuity, while complying with the decrees issued by the Italian authorities and the guidelines of the World Health Organization.

Please be advised therefore that the upcoming formal and informal meetings of IFAD’s governing bodies will be conducted according to the modalities listed in the following hyperlinks: [Arabic] [English] [French] [Spanish].

Welcome to the IFAD Member States Interactive Platform

This Platform has been designed for the use of representatives of IFAD Member States.

The aim of this Platform is to facilitate the exchange of information and communications between the Fund and its representatives with respect to IFAD governing bodies meetings and other official events.

Through this web application, authorized representatives will be able to:

• Consult up-to-date information on forthcoming official meetings and events;
• Receive and consult communications and documentation sent by the Fund on governing bodies meetings;
• Request pre-registration for specific meetings and provide the names of participating delegates; and
• Consult contact details of one’s own country’s official representatives maintained by the Fund, and request updating of these details or of IFAD’s official mailing lists for matters relating to governing bodies.

We hope the Platform becomes a useful tool and facilitates the work of IFAD’s governing bodies.

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• IFAD Interest Rates July 2022 - [Arabic] [English] [French] [Spanish]
  

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