merrion street

The Minister for Agriculture, Food & Marine, Michael Creed, delivered the opening address at the Irish Forum for International Agricultural Development (IFIAD) Annual Conference in Iveagh House this morning.

The Minister said that,

sustainable agricultural development is central to the realisation of Ireland’s international development objectives.  

Minister Creed acknowledged the role of IFIAD as a forum for sharing knowledge and good practice in relation to agriculture and international development.

Minister Creed also spoke about the Ireland’s whole-of-government approach to the UN Sustainable Development Goals,

My Department is one of the five lead Departments on Goal Two: Zero Hunger. The eradication of hunger and under-nutrition has long been a cornerstone of Ireland’s international development cooperation programme. Ireland recognises the central role of nutrition in achieving sustainable development, and that improvements in nutrition are necessary for progress on global health, education, poverty, female empowerment and inequality.

Note for Editors

The Irish Forum for International Agricultural Development (www.ifiad.ie) was established in early 2016 as a voluntary, multi-disciplinary platform to share knowledge and good practices, capitalizing on Ireland’s excellence in the agri-food sector for the benefit of development programming and policy, in support of Ireland’s development objectives. The vision is to transform the livelihoods of people living in poverty in the developing world through initiatives which support resilient, equitable and sustainable agriculture, and increase food and nutrition security.

Department of Agriculture, Food & Marine Overseas Development Aid payments 2017

• €14m to the UN World Food Programme
• €1.8m subscription to UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and €2.7m to specific FAO emergency projects
• €700,000 allocated to the Africa Agri-Food Development Programme.