Islamic Development Bank to highlight role of agriculture in rural development

The Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB) will organise the Agriculture and Rural Development Week on 19th March under the theme "Inclusive Economic Growth through Productive and Resilient Agriculture" to highlight successful development models and promote inclusive rural economic growth, with emphasis on enhancing smallholder productivity and resilience, the bank announced today.

More specifically, the event will showcase progress and innovations that could be brought to scale, strengthen partnership for going to scale and sustain impacts made, and capture and document emerging lessons.

The meeting, to be held at the bank's headquarters in Jeddah, will bring together 250 participants including experts and representatives of multi-lateral development banks, United nations agencies and stakeholders from the private sector, civil society and research and academic institutions to discuss innovation and development in targeted areas, the bank said in a press release.

Among the participants is Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is also Special Advisor to former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

A two-day forum on agriculture will also be held by the group on 22nd March to discuss issues such as enhancing food security in an era of climate change, building strategic partnerships, governance and strengthening institutions, financing development, and sustainable development.