Press Releases

The ID3A program was launched in August 2010 and supports the development of agri-food sectors as a mechanism for wealth creation and food security in rural Africa.

UNIDO works on this technical assistance program with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The program supports small-scale producers and agribusinesses in twelve low-income countries throughout Africa.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Mr. Kandeh K. Yumkella, Director-General of UNIDO, and Florence Mangin, Ambassador to France’s Permanent Representation at the Office of the United Nations and other International Organizations in Vienna. 

Consultations were held with national authorities and led to sectors targeted by the ID3A program being identified, for example, fruit and vegetables in the Comoros or organic silk and honey in Madagascar.

The ID3A program targets every segment of these agricultural sectors, from improving inputs to modernizing growing and livestock-raising techniques; organizing producers’ associations; introducing improved processing technologies; quality control.

The agreement between AFD and UNIDO comes under the partnership between the two institutions set out in a letter of intent signed in March 2009. They also work together on the African Agriculture Fund and the related Technical Assistance Facility and there are regular contacts between the technical teams and Directorates General of the two organizations, in close association with France’s Permanent Representation at the Office of the United Nations and other International Organizations in Vienna.

Support for agricultural and rural development is a core area of activity for Agence Française de Développement and accounted for EUR205M of commitments in 2010. The three priority areas for AFD’s operations are: to promote agriculture as an inclusive and sustainable engine of growth, the economic integration of rural areas and to support national and regional agricultural policies. 

Building upon the ‘Durban Platform’ agreed at COP17 to facilitate a new trajectory for the future climate change regime, the International Development Finance Club (IDFC), a network of 19 leading development banks from around the world will offer a Smart Partnership in support of the Green Climate Fund and its initiatives. The Fund is the newly approved governing instrument of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC).  

The IDFC members pledge their support to the constituencies that they serve by establishing partnerships to promote and leverage the resources of the Green Climate Fund and creating innovative developmental responses in preparation for its operationalisation within the next two years.

"The IDFC believes that a working partnership between the Fund and national, sub-regional and international development banks can have significant influence on global efforts in attaining the goals set by the international community to combat climate change", highlighted Paul Baloyi, Vice-Chairperson of IDFC and Chief Executive Officer of the Development Bank of Southern Africa, DBSA.

“The IDFC members collectively have significant development and climate-related expertise which they offer to the Interim Secretariat of the GCF to develop programmes, policies, procedures, financial products and portfolio management”, said Jacques Moineville, Associate Chief Executive Officer of the Agence Francaise de Développement, AFD.

"Our members have a successful and measurable track record of integrating climate change issues and related risks into their development mandates. We are therefore well positioned to help implement the Green Climate Fund to channel climate finance into programmes and projects in a country and regional driven basis. In doing so we can help the Green Climate Fund lift its potential to accelerate the ability of developing countries to implement their mitigation and adaptation interventions”, said Dr Ulrich Schröder, Chairperson of IDFC and Chief Executive Officer of KfW Bankengruppe.

"IDFC members enjoy acceptance and trust from both the donor countries and recipient countries due to their strong integration with national and sub-national policies, their historical involvement in accomplishing infrastructure and industrial development, as well as their significant field expertise across a broad range of development disciplines," said Ligia Castro, Director of Environment at CAF, Latin American Development Bank.

"IDFC members can implement climate programmes in a timely and efficient manner by leveraging, intermediating and chanelling resources, including grants, loans and technical assistance through established and trusted implementation networks," described Elvio Lima Gaspar, Director of the Brazilian development bank BNDES.

"IDFC members aim to significantly augment the resources made available through the Green Climate Fund through a variety of blended funding instruments and to assist in the effective leveraging of greater private sector contribution towards climate interventions." added Paul Baloyi.

Il existe une forte convergence des thématiques touchant au développement des pays de l’Asie centrale et du Caucase qui ont acquis leur indépendance il y a près de vingt ans, après l’éclatement de l’Union soviétique. Leurs trajectoires politiques et économiques présentent cependant des divergences significatives.

Les pays du sud Caucase aspirent plus spécifiquement à un arrimage européen, et les grands enjeux de développement de la région s’articulent autour d’une consolidation des reformes conduites dans le sens d’un rapprochement aux standards européens, y compris en termes de transparence et de conformité environnementale et sociale. Dans ce contexte, l’arrivée d’un bailleur de fonds comme l’Agence Française de Développement revêt un sens particulier.

De son coté le Bangladesh est confronté à de fortes problématiques énergétiques, de transport, d’eau et d’assainissement, et plus généralement environnementales.

Les six pays relèvent du mandat de l’AFD visant à la promotion d’une croissance verte et solidaire et sont intéressés par le savoir-faire de l’Agence notamment dans le domaine des infrastructures urbaines et plus particulièrement des transports. Les secteurs de l’eau, de l’assainissement et du traitement des déchets nécessiteront en particulier de lourds investissements dans les années à venir. L’expertise de l’Agence est également attendue en appui du secteur privé et sur les problématiques de restructuration des secteurs agricoles.

Disabled Employment Week was created in 1997 by ADAPT and mobilizes public support for this social issue of integrating people with disabilities into the workplace, an issue which concerns some 2 million people.

The job fair held during this Employment week gives companies the opportunity to present their job offers and have interviews with candidates.

From 14 to 20 November at Halle Georges Carpentier, Place de Port-au-Prince, Paris 13.

The meeting will begin with a speech by the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of AFD, Didier Mercier, followed by a presentation of  “Agribusiness for Africa’s Prosperity” made by Kandeh K. Yumkella, and then the reactions of agribusiness experts. This session will be followed by a debate with the public.

The aim of this meeting is to debate with a French audience made up of directors of large corporate groups, civil society involved in agribusiness, foundations and donors, as well as with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

This session will provide an opportunity to debate the topic of agribusiness, explain the activities of the different stakeholders in this sector and gather the different partners working together on this topic, which lies between agriculture and business activities.

This debate will be held on Thursday 10 November from 2 pm to 6 pm at AFD’s headquarters, 5 rue Roland Barthes, Paris 12e.

Register for the debate

The publication

The book looks at ways in which Africa can migrate from an agriculture-led growth strategy towards a development strategy for the agribusiness sector where demand is market-led. It shows that efforts must focus on increasing added value and on improving productivity throughout agricultural value chains; it suggests that attention must be directed towards all stakeholders in the value chains, suppliers, producers, processors and distributors on local, regional and international markets.

Consult the publication online :

  Find out more about agribusiness

Official Development Assistance: a need for the majority of the French

63% of French people support the continuation of Official Development Assistance (ODA), despite the budget problems experienced by France. 77% of the French even consider that the French State needs to have its own Official Development Assistance policy in Europe. The fight against poverty is the most important objective to be achieved for 36% of the French. The priority sectors continue to be access to drinking water (for 35% of the French), access to education (14%) and health (8%).

Although they want Sub-Saharan African countries to remain the priority focus area for action, many people also hope to see an additional commitment by France to support North African countries. 45% of the French consider that the overall result of ODA is quite positive and in line with their expectations, although 35% do think that France’s ODA budget is still too low.  

Aid must rely on local stakeholders

Despite the fact that 55% of the French consider that Official Development Assistance is effective, they do also want France to scale up its efforts to combat poverty and climate change. For an increasing number of them, aid must rely on local stakeholders, whether that be local authorities (23%), associations in developing countries (15%), or private entrepreneurs in these countries (12%). 42% of respondents consider that the transfer of skills and know-how is crucial for an official development assistance policy to be effective.

French show fresh interest in development

As in previous years, the interest of the French continues to remain high. 66% ask for more information about Official Development Assistance, particularly about projects financed by France, their progress and their results, as well as about the list of beneficiary countries or the control policy that is implemented. For 69% of the French, the media is the main vehicle for information about these topics. 81% would even like to be informed by TV reports or documentaries.  

For Henri de Raincourt, “With the rapidly changing domestic and international situation, it would appear more necessary than ever to listen to the opinion that the French have of policies conducted to support countries that are more disadvantaged than ours.
I am pleased to see that this poll confirms that we must continue to work to support countries in need and to pursue our efforts to place development at the heart of the international agenda in order to mobilize all stakeholders and all the financial resources for development.”

* Methodology Note :
Sample of 1,054 individuals aged 15 and over, representative of the French population. The representativeness of the sample was guaranteed by using the quota method (sex, age, profession of the head of household) after stratification by region and category of town. The interviews were conducted face-to-face in respondents' homes. Field interviews conducted between 7 and 18 July 2011.