The publication of the Morelia Declaration marked the end of the 7th World Congress on Rural & Agricultural Finance, an event that took place from November 23 to 25 at the FIRA headquarters in Morelia, Mexico.

The document contains the main reflections and commitments of the institutions participating in the congress , and highlights the importance of revaluing the agricultural and rural sector as a strategic sector to promote food security and fight against climate change .

In addition, it invites agricultural and rural financing institutions to play a catalytic role that encourages the public and private sectors to inject more resources. In this way, it seeks to reduce financing gaps and promote a more sustainable agri-food system in the world.

The text recognizes that the rural sector coexists with a diversity of production units that have different levels of income. For this reason, it stresses the importance of working for financial and social inclusion and integration with a comprehensive and multisectoral intervention.

The Morelia Declaration was signed by the general director of FIRA, Alan Elizondo; the general secretary of APRACA , Prasun Kumar Das; the general secretary of AFRACA , Thomas T. Essel and the head of ALIDE ‘s Institutional Relations Program , Eduardo Vasquez, representing the general secretary of ALIDE, Edgardo Alvarez.

Revalue Agriculture

During the closing of the world event, the head of Economic Studies and Information of ALIDE, Romy Calderón, highlighted the importance of agriculture and shared the fundamental concepts related to it: sustainability, hunger and poverty and small farmers .

“The sector must be greatly revalued, we must feel proud and very empowered,” Calderón asserted, referring to the relevant role that agriculture played during the pandemic to maintain the flow of food in the markets and avoid the chaos that could be generated by the hunger.

The specialist added that, if you plan to combat poverty that is especially concentrated in rural areas, it is important to generate strategies and mechanisms that improve the standard of living of farmers , because they are the ones who produce food, but they receive little return for it. his work.

To generate a greater impact in the sector, Romy Calderón emphasized that it is important that financing go hand in hand with technical assistance and knowledge to improve the conditions that promote development.

The Next Venue

AFRACA Secretary General, Thomas T. Essel , announced that the 8th World Congress on Rural & Agricultural Finance will be organized by his institution and will be held in Africa in 2025 .

It should be noted that accessing financing is still a great challenge for small farmers in Africa, despite the fact that more than 60% of the African population is engaged in small-scale agriculture and close to 23% of the continent’s Gross Domestic Product comes from the Agriculture.

In this sense, AFRACA is an important network of financial and non-financial institutions that promotes and coordinates access to rural and agricultural financing in the African continent since 1977. It currently has more than 90 member institutions and has facilitated access to financial services. to more than 5 million small rural farmers.

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