Vatican
City, 13 February 2013
(VIS) – Today, the Pope sent a message to participants in the
meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD), which celebrates its 36th
anniversary this year.
The
Holy Father praised "the methodology followed by IFAD, which
gives ongoing development priority over mere assistance, and places
the group dimension alongside the purely individual dimension, to the
point of setting up forms of interest-free grants and loans, often
choosing, as the primary beneficiaries, the 'poorest of the poor'.
This activity shows that approaches inspired by the principle of
gratuitousness and by the culture of gift can 'find their place
within normal economic activity' (Caritas in Veritate)."
"Indeed,
the approach taken by the Fund is to link the elimination of poverty
not only to the fight against hunger and the guarantee of food
security, but also to the creation of work opportunities and
institutional decision-making structures. It is well known that when
these elements are missing, the involvement of rural labourers in
choices that affect them is restricted, hence reinforcing their sense
of being limited in their capacity and their dignity."
"In
this area there are two specific lines taken by the Organization that
are to be commended. The first is the constant attention given to
Africa, where, by supporting projects of 'rural credit', IFAD aims to
endow small farmers with modest but essential financial resources,
and to empower them in the decision-making and administrative phase
as well. The second line is the support given to indigenous
communities, which have a particular care for preserving
biodiversity, recognized as a precious good that the Creator has
placed at the disposal of the entire human family. The safeguarding
of these peoples’ identity needs to be given priority, and their
indispensable role in handing down traditional know-how needs to be
acknowledged."
"The
Catholic Church, in her teaching and her activity, has always upheld
the centrality of the worker on the land, urging concrete political
and economic action in areas that affect him. This stance, I am happy
to observe, harmonizes with the Fund’s approach in underlining the
role of farmers, as individuals and as small groups, thus actively
involving them in the development of their communities and countries.
This attention to the person, both individually and collectively,
will be more effective if it is achieved through forms of
association, both cooperatives and small family businesses with the
wherewithal to produce an income that is sufficient to support a
decent standard of living."
Referring
to "the next International Year that the United Nations has
chosen to dedicate to the rural family," the Pope added that it
will promote "a deep-rooted and sound notion of agricultural
development and of the fight against poverty, based on this
fundamental cell of society. IFAD knows from experience that the
family is at the heart of the social order, and what serves to
regulate family life, prior to the laws of a State or international
norms, are the moral principles inscribed in the natural patrimony of
values which are immediately identifiable in the rural world as well.
These principles inspire the conduct of individuals, the relationship
between spouses and between generations, and the sense of shared
ownership. To ignore this reality, or to fail to recognize it, would
be to undermine the foundations not only of the family, but of the
entire rural community, with consequences whose gravity is easily
foreseeable."
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