The Diplomat
The Spaniard Álvaro Lario has been elected president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in elections held in Rome. His main task will be to lead the response to the global food crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
His mandate will begin on 1 October and he will lead this specialised UN agency based in Rome for the next four years.
The new IFAD president has a solid background and extensive experience in financial matters, both in the private sector and in institutions of the World Bank Group, according to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Until his election, Álvaro Lario was IFAD’s financial vice-president in his predecessor’s team, where he promoted a series of reforms that have led IFAD to become the first United Nations fund to obtain an AA+ rating from several rating agencies.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development is the specialised agency of the United Nations designed to provide funds and mobilise additional resources to promote economic progress and improved agricultural productivity for the poorest inhabitants of rural areas, where 80% of the world’s poorest people live.
“Spain advocates the importance of a multilateral approach to promote coordinated responses to the current severe food crisis, exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” the note adds.
IFAD plays a key role in this response by building the resilience of smallholder farmers, who are key to producing a third of the world’s food.
