IFDC Appoints African Union Commissioner To Board Of Directors

Posted by Matt Hopkins|22 January 2010

MUSCLE SHOALS, Alabama, US – IFDC, a US-based nonprofit public organization that provides a broad range of services in technical assistance, research, training and problem solving related to agricultural sustainability, has appointed African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, the Honorable Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, to a three-year term to the board of directors of IFDC, effective Jan. 1, 2010.

The African Union is a pan-African, intergovernmental organization made up of 53 countries, working to promote socio-economic integration of the continent and peace and unity for its people. Tumusiime has served in her position with the African Union since May 2008, promoting policies and strategies aimed at improving agricultural productivity and growth and enhancing rural development in Africa.

Tumusiime has been particularly involved in the implementation of the four pillars of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program: extending area under land and water management; improving rural infrastructure and trade capacities for market access; increasing the food supply and reducing hunger; and agricultural research, technology dissemination and adoption. She has chaired high-level committees and working groups that deal with policy issues ranging from trade, agriculture and environment to gender and HIV/AIDS. She has also authored several publications on agricultural development, food security, poverty eradication and HIV/AIDS.

During an interview at the 2008 African Green Revolution Conference, Tumusiime stressed the need for a holistic approach to achieve rural development in Africa. “The Green Revolution cannot be achieved unless there is sustainable development,” Tumusiime said.