“When I was growing up, we had an extreme drought in Togo,” Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo, Togo’s previous head of state and the freshly selected sixth president of the International Fund for Agricultural Growth , recently remembered. To minimize the impact on his household, Houngbo would certainly bring his moms and dads to the city, so they had access to clean water …
Although grateful for the provision, Houngbo’s mom had not been happy with the plan. Her gratitude for access to potable water in the city was surpassed by just how much she missed out on staying in the town. “You need to prefer my [satisfaction], not what you think would certainly make me healthier,” she had informed him.
That experience formed just how Houngbo approaches development work today. “It is important to make sure that individuals are supplied with the right devices, the evaluation, the contemporary technology,” he said, “But it is [more] crucial to have nationwide or neighborhood ownership.”
With over 30 years of experience working in the federal government and growth field, Houngbo will currently lead IFAD, the U.N. agency devoted to purchasing enhancing life in country and agricultural areas.
When he assumes office in April, Houngbo told Devex that he will certainly focus on a people-centered strategy to growth. He bewares of moving also rapidly or producing a reform fatigue. His priority will be to continue to improve the legacy of his precursor and decentralize the activities of IFAD to enhance its visibility on the ground.
Check out Houngbo’s plans and goals as he takes the helm as IFAD’s brand-new head of state: