VATICAN CITY, FEB. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Assistance given to rural communities contributes to food security for the whole planet, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope affirmed this today in an address to members of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, who were marking the 30th anniversary of the fund's establishment.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations, was established in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. The conference was organized in response to the food crises of the early 1970s that primarily affected Africa.
The Holy Father affirmed that since its earliest days, the fund "has achieved an exemplary form of cooperation and coresponsibility between nations at different stages of development."
"When wealthy countries and developing nations come together to make joint decisions and to determine specific criteria for each country's budgetary contribution to the fund, it can truly be said that the various member states come together as equals, expressing their solidarity with one another and their shared commitment to eradicate poverty and hunger," he said. "In an increasingly interdependent world, joint decision-making processes of this kind are essential if international affairs are to be conducted with equity and foresight."
The Bishop of Rome lauded IFAD's emphasis on "promoting employment opportunities within rural communities, with a view to enabling them, in the long term, to become independent of outside aid."
He continued: "Assistance given to local producers serves to build up the economy and contributes to the overall development of the nation concerned. In this sense the 'rural credit' projects, designed to assist smallholder farmers and agricultural workers with no land of their own, can boost the wider economy and provide greater food security for all.
"These projects also help indigenous communities to flourish on their own soil, and to live in harmony with their traditional culture, instead of being forced to uproot themselves in order to seek employment in overcrowded cities, teeming with social problems, where they often have to endure squalid living conditions."
Church's help
Benedict XVI also noted the contribution made by nongovernmental organizations, "some of which have close links with the Catholic Church and are committed to the application of her social teaching."
"The principle of subsidiarity requires that each group within society be free to make its proper contribution to the good of the whole," he said. "All too often, agricultural workers in developing nations are denied that opportunity, when their labor is greedily exploited, and their produce is diverted to distant markets, with little or no resulting benefit for the local community itself."
The Pope contended that "a truly humane society will always know how to appreciate and reward appropriately the contribution made by the agricultural sector. If properly supported and equipped, it has the potential to lift a nation out of poverty and to lay the foundations for increasing prosperity."
Since 1978, IFAD's member countries have together invested almost US$10 billion in loans and grants, helping more than 300 million poor rural people.
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Full text of address: http://www.zenit.org/article-25151?l=english
