African leader Gerardine Mukeshimana joins UN rural development agency IFAD as Vice-President

Rome, 28 August 2023 – Amid growing global food insecurity and an intensifying climate crisis, Gerardine Mukeshimana takes up duties today as Vice-President of the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Mukeshimana, a former Rwandan Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources, was instrumental in leading agricultural growth in Rwanda for almost a decade.

“I am thrilled to join IFAD and amplify the global call to invest in small-scale farmers and to keep focus on making global and local food systems more sustainable, resilient and equitable for the people who work in them and feed the world,” said Mukeshimana on her first day in the office.

© IFAD

She joins IFAD at a crucial time while the acceleration of climate change and the rapid decline of biodiversity are threatening food security and the livelihoods of billions of rural people. Both the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have exposed the fragility of global and national food value chains, leading to market disruption and high food, energy and fertiliser prices. Rural populations have been hit the hardest. According to the latest UN estimates, around 735 million people suffered from hunger in 2022, 122 million more compared to 2019.

“As per my experience, I strongly believe that agriculture can be a thriving sector and play a key role in lifting rural populations out of hunger and poverty,” she added. “What is required is political will to invest at scale, deploy the right agricultural know-how and innovations, and strengthen small and medium agri-business and local and regional markets, to boost rural economies overall.”

During her leadership as Rwanda’s agricultural minister between 2014 and 2023, the country’s agricultural sector continued to grow and benefit from remarkable transformation. Among her accomplishments, Mukeshimana was able to attract private sector interest in agri-business, promote women and youth empowerment in agri-food systems, and pioneered the use of climate funds for the agricultural sector.

Before serving as minister, Mukeshimana was a molecular biologist post-doctoral researcher for Biosciences East and Central Africa Hub at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), applying bioscience technology to improve the livelihoods of millions of resource-poor people in Africa. She also served as post-doctoral researcher at Michigan State University, the national coordinator of the World Bank Rural Sector Support Program in Rwanda, and a lecturer in the Faculty of Agriculture at the National University of Rwanda.

Mukeshimana has a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering from the National University of Rwanda and a Master’s degree and a PhD in Plant Breeding and Genetics, Crop and Soil Sciences from Michigan State University.

At IFAD, Mukeshimana will contribute to the Fund’s strategic direction and operational performance. She has direct oversight of IFAD’s budget, quality assurance, change management and innovation.

Note to editors:

Small-scale farmers produce on third of the world’s food and up to 70 percent of the food in low and middle-income countries. Yet, rural populations suffer from poverty. About 80 percent of the world’s poorest people live in rural areas.

IFAD launched its 13th replenishment in February 2023, calling for increased investments in small-scale farmers across developing countries. For more information visit the IFAD 13 Microsite.

Media contact: Caroline Chaumont | c.chaumont@ifad.org | +39 3496620155

No.: IFAD/81/2023

IFAD is an international financial institution and a United Nations specialized agency. Based in Rome – the United Nations food and agriculture hub – IFAD invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, we have provided more than US$24 billion in grants and low-interest loans to fund projects in developing countries. 

A wide range of photographs and broadcast-quality video content of IFAD’s work in rural communities are available for download from our Image Bank.