2020年不是减贫合作的终结——专访国际农业发展基金中国及蒙古代表马泰奥（Matteo Marchisio）

“By 2020 in fact, China will have eradicated extreme rural poverty, succeeding in bringing more than 800 million people out of poverty in four decades. This will be a historic achievement in human history.” Matteo Marchisio, Country Director and Representative of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in China and Mongolia, said in an interview with China Investment, “I am proud of the humble contribution that my organization provided to China in accompanying it along this journey.”

In China, since 1981 when IFAD's first project in China was approved, IFAD has financed 31 projects in 21 provinces worth USD 2.6 billion, benefiting about 20 million people.
“But 2020 will not be the end of the collaboration between China and IFAD.” Matteo Marchisio adds, He still foresees that IFAD can play an important role in supporting the Government in pursuing its poverty and rural revitalization agendas.

Investment is essential to the fight against poverty
China Investment:In terms of poverty reduction, what are the practices of IFAD in recent years and what are the results?

Matteo Marchisio: IFAD, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, is an International Financing Institution and specialized Agency of the United Nations, whose mandate is to reduce rural poverty, enhance food security, and overall promote rural development in developing countries. IFAD provides concessional loans and grants to developing countries to finance poverty reduction and inclusive rural development projects.
The mandate of IFAD is critical for the following reason: there are more than 800 million people living in poverty today: 80% of them live in rural areas, and most of them depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. In order to overcome poverty, it is thus critical to invest in rural areas.

In terms of "practices", IFAD's approach can be defined in two words: integrated and people-centered. Integrated, as IFAD's investments provide a package of integrated, complementary interventions.  production enhancement, infrastructure development, access to markets, access to finance, nutrition enhancement, community development, etc. complemented by interventions aimed at reducing the impacts of climate change on the local populations. People-centered because the main focus and the ultimate beneficiaries of IFAD's investments are people. IFAD specifically targets poor rural households, with specific focus on the most vulnerable groups: smallholder farmers, women, young people, and ethnic minorities.

In terms of "results", since 1978, when IFAD was established, IFAD financed over 1,000 programs and projects in 125 developing countries worth about USD 47 billion, out of which about USD 20 billion from IFAD financing, and USD 27 billion leveraged from recipient countries government budget, the private sector, beneficiaries, and other development organizations. Over 40 years, IFAD's interventions benefited 474 million people, half of which are women, helping them to grow more food, sell their products, manage their lands and natural resources better, learn new skills, start small businesses, access finance, build stronger organizations, and overall gain a voice in decisions that affect their lives.

In China, since 1981 when IFAD's first project in China was approved, IFAD has financed 31 projects in 21 provinces worth USD 2.6 billion, out of which about USD 1 billion from IFAD financing and USD 1.6 billion leveraged from other sources, benefiting about 4.5 million rural households, or 20 million people.

China Investment: From these practices, what are the ways or patterns that you have summarize to be effective in poverty reduction?

Matteo Marchisio: If we observe the global trends and patterns over the past 20-30 years, it is undoubtable that the world has made enormous progress in reducing poverty. In 1990 there were about 1.8 billion people living in absolute poverty; today less than half.

However, trends show the following patterns. First, poverty remains a rural phenomenon, and it is critical to invest in rural areas if we want to address poverty globally.
Second, the majority of poor people in the world live in middle-income countries, about 75% of the remaining poor. Efforts and investments to address poverty need to include middle-income countries as much as low-income countries.

Third, while in many cases incomes have risen, other forms and dimensions of poverty persist: inequality, and thus the importance of inclusive policies and interventions; undernourishment and malnutrition, and the importance of focusing on the quality (and not only on the quantity) of food; and vulnerability to climate change – among other dimensions.

The same patterns can be observed in China: first, China is an upper middle-income country. Yet, there is still a significant, though decreasing, number of people living in – or close to – poverty. Second, most of the poor in China live in rural areas: poverty in China is still predominantly a rural phenomenon, and addressing it requires investments in rural areas. Third, while China is about to eradicate extreme poverty, measured against the national poverty line, issues like inequality (between urban and rural areas and between different groups of people, with the women, the elderly and ethnic minorities being the most vulnerable groups), vulnerability (particularly to the effects of climate change), persist.

Poverty reduction requires the steady and continuous strong political commitment
China Investment:What do you think is the most important driving factor for poverty reduction?  How do you view the role of international organizations in poverty reduction?

Matteo Marchisio: I take the example of China to describe what, in my view, is the most important factor driving poverty reduction.

China is succeeding in bringing more than 800 million people out of poverty in four decades. China' success in poverty reduction can be attributed to the combination of right policies and reforms (particularly the introduction of the household responsibility system in the late 70s and progressive opening up to foreign investments), an integrated approach to poverty reduction which combined infrastructure development with social development (i.e. investments in the health and education sector) and economic development (i.e. production enhancement and "industrialization" of the rural areas), precise targeting and tailored poverty reduction measures (an effort to understand who the poor are and why they are poor, and – on the basis of the identified causes of poverty – the set-up of specific/tailored measures for poverty reduction), and strong and continuous financial support.

However, the most important factor of success in China's poverty reduction efforts was – in my view – the steady and continuous strong political commitment to poverty eradication which characterized Chinese leadership over the past four decades, which translated into a long-term vision, a series of consistent mid-term plans which supported the long-term vision, an adequate allocation of resources to achieve the goal, and a clear responsibility and accountability framework at all levels.

The role I see international development organizations can play in poverty reduction is that of "partners to the governments in the process": international development organizations can support developing countries in their poverty reduction processes by providing knowledge and advise, sharing international experiences and best practices, and access to catalytic financial resources.

That's exactly what IFAD does: it provides financial resources that are catalytic to attract and leverage resources from other partners (the private and financial sectors, other government programs, and other development organizations); it shares knowledge and international best practices during the project design and implementation process, and by linking countries through south-south cooperation; and it generates knowledge which is used to inform and advise governments in their poverty reduction efforts.

IFAD does not "choose" projects
China Investment:How do you usually choose projects? What factors do you value most?

Matteo Marchisio: IFAD does not "choose" projects. Projects are identified and proposed by recipient countries to IFAD for financing on the basis of their strategies and priorities.

IFAD participates and contributes to the process, supporting the government in the definition of the criteria for project identification and selection, the design of activities and targeting, and ensuring that the proposed projects are aligned with IFAD mandate and contribute to themes of global importance, such as addressing the causes and reducing the impacts of climate change, empowering women, creating opportunities for youth, and improving nutrition status among rural populations.

Most common criteria used in the selection of a project include poverty incidence, poverty density, vulnerability of target population, development opportunities of the target area, cost per beneficiary, economic and financial returns of the proposed interventions, among other criteria.

China Investment: What are the difficulties in financial assistance for poverty reduction?

Matteo Marchisio: The main challenge in providing financial assistance for poverty reduction (for instance subsidies and cash transfer programs) is to ensure that such assistance is accompanied by other complementary interventions that enhance the capacity of the recipients to became independent from financial support, thus ensuring sustainability of the poverty reduction efforts.

For this reason, IFAD's interventions focus on developing opportunities for its target beneficiaries (e.g. market opportunities, business opportunities, etc.), and – most importantly – building the capacity of the beneficiaries to take advantage of such opportunities. By building such capacity, IFAD ensures that poverty reduction efforts will be sustained over time.

2020 will not be the end of collaboration between China and IFAD
China Investment:What plans do you have in the future to promote poverty reduction in the countries and regions you are responsible for?

Matteo Marchisio: As Country Director of IFAD in China, I am proud of the humble contribution that my organization provided to China in accompanying it along this journey.
But 2020 will not be the end of the successful collaboration between China and IFAD. Despite China will be free from extreme rural poverty, I still foresees that IFAD can play an important role in supporting the Government in pursuing its poverty and rural revitalization agendas.

First, in sustaining poverty reduction achievements, that is to say to help the Government in preventing or avoiding that the people that were moved out of poverty fall back into poverty. This will be achieved by enhancing the income generating opportunities of rural population residing in vulnerable areas, enhancing their resilience to shocks, and improving the benefit sharing mechanisms of current government's chanye fupin (poverty reduction through industrialization) models.

Second, in stimulating entrepreneurship and attracting new investors in vulnerable areas- particularly among the youth and women – to retain, and possibly attract, the rural population.

Third, in making rural development more resilient to the negative impacts of climate change.

This is the focus of the two new "Rural Revitalization Demonstration" projects that IFAD is designing in Yunnan and Hunan provinces, and that will be implemented in 2020-2025.

Design | Sun Ziyue